Making Room

Christmas Eve, 2024

It seem to me it’s a bummer that Jesus was born in a stable, where it’s smelly and dirty! But we don’t know that it was a stable. The Scripture does not say that there were animals there. It just says Jesus was laid in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. A common living arrangement back then was your animals lived on the first floor, and the family lived on the second floor. It sounds like Mary, Joseph and Jesus were on the first floor, which was often occupied by animals. But maybe there were no animals. It might have been a tidy place where Jesus’ born. I hope! But I still like the idea of some sweet animals nearby.

At that time the Roman emperor ordered that the world be registered in a census. That’s why Mary and Joseph and so many others travelled to Bethlehem. With all those people, it is hard to find a place to stay. They can’t find the customary guest room, but still someone made room for Joseph and Mary, and they had a humble place to stay. That’s good news!

Then Jesus, the son of God, is born, which is excellent news! But not in a palace! He’s not born in the big city of Jerusalem to a powerful religious family. Instead, he is born in little Bethlehem, maybe or maybe not surrounded by smelly animals! God shows up where we least expect.

The night Jesus is born, an angel comes to shepherds watching their sheep and says, your Savior has been born! Now, today when something big and newsworthy happens, it is broadcast to as many people as possible! Here’s what does not happen when there is big news: No one goes out in the middle of the night to a field to talk to a few shepherds and a flock of sheep to tell them the news! But God does things differently. God shows up where we least expect.

The angel gives the shepherds directions to find Jesus, saying, this is the sign: “You will find a baby wearing baby clothes and lying in a manger.” The sign is the manger: the feeding trough! Shepherds, if you’re looking for your Savior, look for the baby in the last place you would think to look! Because God shows up where we least expect.

Next a whole army of angels fills the sky, praising God and singing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Who does God’s favor rest on? The shepherds! When Jesus grows up, he will favor certain people: he makes time for children, he heals the sick, he welcomes outcasts, and he forgives sinners. God makes room for the people others consider unimportant. To God, they are very important! God loves everybody, especially the least of all people.

The wonderful thing about the shepherds is they make room in their lives for the adventure of searching all the feeding troughs of Bethlehem for a baby, their savior!

The Shepherds are very different from King Herod in Jerusalem. When he hears about a baby king, he can’t be bothered to go look for him. The last thing he wants to do is worship a baby! He wants the magi to search and come back and tell him where this baby is so he can kill him! But Herod never finds him.

The shepherds make room in their hearts to search for Jesus, and they find him! They tell Mary and Joseph that an angel gave them good news of great joy, Jesus is our Savior!  

After this the Shepherds return to their fields, glorifying and praising God! They are so grateful that the angels came and pointed them to Jesus! They praise God that baby Jesus, the Savior, has come for them!

There’s an idea that Christmas should be perfect: wonderful presents, delicious food, family is close by, and there’s no stress or worries. But that’s not realistic. You might be far from people you love. You may have an empty seat at the table this year. Well, the first Christmas was not perfect either. Still, God showed up!

God shows up in surprising ways! He comes to each of us. You can easily miss God, because we often look for him in the wrong places. He came in humble surroundings that were not perfect. Mary and Joseph were far from home, and maybe Mary gave birth in a stinky stable. The Shepherds searched for a baby in a feeding trough. It might seem far from perfect.

What the heroes and sheroes of Christmas did, was make room for God, when he changed their plans. And God made room for them!

God loves each of us! This is good news of Great Joy! He sent Jesus to show us his love, save us from our sins, and lead us in his ways. God calls us to make him first in our lives. And he offers us peace and joy as we walk in his paths.

Make room for God. Make room for hope! God showed up on the first Christmas to a couple far from home about to have a child. He showed up to shepherds in their fields at night. The Savior of the world was born in a feeding trough. Because God shows up where we least expect! Amen.