Maybe if we don’t think about Christ
asking for room in our hearts it’s because we don’t recognize Christ when he
comes to us. And yet, Christ comes to us in every person we meet, and everyone
who is a part of our lives. Christ is there knocking on our hearts, asking us
to make room for him. If we have a hard time seeing Christ in everyone we know,
and in everyone we come in contact with, maybe it’s because we think of the
Christmas story we just heard as an event from long ago in far away Bethlehem.
But if we realize that the story is
our story too, we might be able to see Christ when he asks for room in our
hearts. We have all been gifted in some way to be welcoming to the Christ in
others.
Maybe you are like Joseph -
protecting the weak and the powerless who need us to care for them and defend
them.
Maybe you are like the donkey that
carried Mary – lightening the burden of someone who is ill, or in a strange and
unknown place.
Maybe you are like the unnamed “inn-keeper”
who was able to provide shelter and warmth to folks who otherwise would have
been at the mercy of the outside world.
Maybe you are like the shepherds –
willing to leave your routine and your everyday life and be spontaneous in
order to experience the great and marvelous things that God is doing for us.
Maybe you are like the angel –
announcing the “good news” of our salvation and giving glory to God – and
proclaiming peace to everyone around you.
Maybe you are like Mary, who said
“yes” to what God asked of her, and to bring Christ into the world – to give
life to Jesus and his kingdom and to share him with the rest of the world.
