Making Space for God

Making Space for God

Rev. Dr. Wilfredo J. Báez

Christmas Eve 2014

As we prepared for Christmas what was our most important decoration:  The Christmas Tree, the Poinsettias, the mistletoe, the lights, the ornaments, the stockings, Santa Claus  . . . I almost forgot to ask “the stable, the manger, the angels, the shepherds, the three kings of orient are and the baby?  Who to send a card or letter to this Christmas?  Who to provide a present?

It’s evident tonight that you made some room in your lives for Jesus . . . This time of year is so busy and so hectic . . . But God is important to you . . . and God is present in you and in your lives.

But how do we make room for God, not just on Christmas Eve, but everyday . . .

People here, in this church, and elsewhere in this community are making room of God in their lives tomorrow morning, serving dinners for thousands of people in the Tri-city area . . . We make room for God when we make room for God’s people.

We have places to be and things to do . . . people to entertain . . . and yet we are putting God first . . . We are saying God is present here in Binghamton . . . and we are putting God’s people first  . . . We are saying that all of God’s people are important to us.  After all we are all part of God’s family.  We are working hard to serve up some food and Christmas cheer for people who need and appreciate it.

We  are following the Great Commandments of Jesus Christ.  The Great Commandments are to love God with all your heart, mind and will and to love your neighbor as yourself.  At times Jesus nuances this – your brother and sister, one another and your enemy.

When Mary and Joseph showed up in Bethlehem there was no room in the inns there?  Have you ever experienced that, “No room in the Inn”; “No room for you?”  Many people turned them away.  But someone finally made room for them.

I remember taking my son to a basketball camp at Hamilton College.  He got to stay in the camp.  I decided to go camping but there was a nasty rain. It was late and I had not put my tent up yet.  I stopped by a motel nearby the college.  They were out of rooms.  I dreaded going back out into the rain.  The innkeeper said, “We have a little room that we set aside for visiting relatives.  It’s not quite up to code but you’re welcome to use it.  I was so relieved.  For some reason, when I returned the following three years, he put me up in the very same room!”

Is there room in your life to love God, your neighbor as yourself, your brother and sister, your parent, your child, one another . . .  your enemy?  Not just on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but every-day.

How many times have we sent people away, in a sense saying to them, “There’s no room for you here?”  Think about who we have said that there is no room in our lives before?  Why is there no room?  Who is there no room for?  Who can you make room for?  How can you make room for them?  When will you make room for them?  Can you imagine making more room in your heart and mind for people that have been consciously and unconsciously excluded?

I imagine that the innkeeper that allowed Joseph and Mary to use the stable had some concerns about letting out that space.  Perhaps they had to go back and clean up a little to make it presentable, reasonable and safe to stay in.  Perhaps there was some risk in letting them stay there.  After all, it was a place for animals and not for people.  The Bethlehem code enforcers might have something to say.  But when they made this space available to Joseph and Mary, they were making space for Jesus and they were making space for God and they didn’t even know it.  They were opening up their minds, their hearts, their doors, their lives and space.