Prepare Him Room

Prepare Him Room

Hi friends! This post is part of a blog hop for Advent. At the end of my post you’ll find links to some wonderful blogger friends who want to help you prepare Him room. Take some time to read them all. You will be encouraged.

A Manger in the Middle of a Family Reunion

I am learning that welcoming Jesus is less about perfect preparations and more about scooching over. My sister Karen and I start talking sometime in September about simple Christmas recipes and scheduling well for the upcoming holidays. We long to stay focused on what really matters, but even the best-laid plans sometimes get interrupted with life.

One of the realities that gives us hope is the way God chose to intermingle his divine, holy story right into the everyday stories of ordinary people. If you had happened to be one of the families still living in your hometown of Bethlehem during the Roman Empire, the unexpected news of a census could only have meant one thing.

Company.

In those days just before Jesus was born everyone was coming home for Christmas (even though it wasn’t called that yet). Aunts and uncles and cousins would need a place to sleep and food to eat. In the Middle Eastern tradition of the day they would all be welcome to stay at your house.

So when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, family homes were already bulging. Kids were sleeping on the floor. Food was being eaten as quickly as it was being prepared. Familiar tradition tells us that Mary and Joseph sought lodging at an inn, but an innkeeper turned them away and they found refuge instead, inside of an animal shelter. Others believe that the manger-turned-cradle was found in a simple Bethlehem home—a feeding trough built into the wall or floor to feed animals brought in at night.A Manger in the Middle of a Family Reunion

Kenneth Bailey, in his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, builds a convincing case that the “inn” in Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ birth, is better translated as “guest room.” The well-read NIV translation actually says, “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them”(Luke 2:7).

 It is possible that Mary and Joseph were received into the home of a relative, whose guest room was full, but who carved out space anyway for this couple from Nazareth about to have a baby.
Regardless of where Jesus’ birth took place, Mary didn’t miss the miracle. There may have been commotion outside on the streets of Bethlehem and family reunions going on all around, but in that sacred space where she wrapped her newborn baby in strips of cloths and kissed his cheeks while he slept, the chaos around her faded. Her focus was on Jesus.

What you think really matters tends to stop mattering when it comes time for a baby to be born. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a whole list of things absolutely has to be done before the baby gets here, and then the baby arrives and you realize those things didn’t matter as much as you’d thought they did. We all have expectations and plans around Christmas time, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that our plans aren’t more important than the baby.

God could have delayed the census. He could have told Mary and Joseph to head to Bethlehem in a dream, so that there would have been plenty of room in the inn or the guest room of a relative’s house.

But God doesn’t need perfect organization to enter our world. He chooses to be present right in the middle of the messy and overwhelming pages of our lives.

Let’s step away from our to-do lists and linger for a while at the manger during this Advent season. Yes, the little town of Bethlehem was busy and loud, but for those who took the time to notice, the birth of Jesus was a miracle.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for choosing to come to Bethlehem on a night when there were not enough beds for everyone. It is so good for us to know that perfect accommodations didn’t matter nearly as much as scooching over so that there would be a place for you and your mom and stepdad.

We want to scooch over. We want to make time this season to sit at the manger. When our lives get loud and our lists get long, tug at our hearts and remind us again that you are right here in the middle of real life. Thank you for this season of remembering your birth. May we be among the people who don’t miss the miracle.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Condensed from Wrapped in Grace, The Birth Story That Changes Everything, by Deana Lynn Rogers

Be sure to read all these blogs that are part of the Prepare Him Room blog hop.

Lessons from Jonah on Advent – by Faith For Her

Advent Week of Hope: A man, a fish and God’s grace are more applicable to your life than you may think (and very telling of God’s character).

Prepare Him Room – By Going The Distance

Read about the love language of Advent season.

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room – by Living for God

Pause, Reflect, Enjoy, Praise, Accept, Rejoice, Exclaim

Prepare Him Room – by Revelations of a Southern Girl

Revelations about celebrating the season with an illness.

This post is part of the Prepare Him Room Blog Hop as part of the Woven Vow Blogger Group on Facebook. Join us for blog talk and faith filled encouragement.