Christmas Homily 2014

The Inn Thing

 

            All of us are so familiar with the Christmas story that I don’t need to repeat it. We know the major cast of characters: Mary and Joseph, the angels and the shepherds, the wise men and King Herod. But there’s one character who never gets any attention: the innkeeper. You know, when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem and there was no room for them in the inn, think about the innkeeper – who was he?

            He was just doing his job, trying to keep his business running during a very busy time. I’m sure in the hustle and bustle of trying to check in all the hundreds of guests to his modest inn, he had no idea of the great gift that would be born in his backyard that night. Which is kinda sad if you think about it – here’s a man who had the chance to be a part of the most amazing event in history – the birth of the everlasting Son of God, the Savior of the World. And he missed it because he was just too busy.

            How many of you here this evening/morning would say that your life is busy? I think that’s especially true in this holiday time. The Christmas parties, the shopping, the baking, Christmas cards, on top of everything else that’s usually going on – it tends to get crazy! If I had to take a wild guess, I would guess that 95% of people in this church who sent Christmas letters this year used the word “busy” in their letter. Modern life can get crazy at times!

            But what are we missing because we’re just too doggone busy? I think sometimes our relationship with God is a casualty of our busy lifestyles. We’re just running around all day, trying to taxi our kids from one activity to another, trying to finish all of the errands and check off our to-do list, and by the time we crash into the sack we have had no time to spend with God all day. Or our weekends are so filled with good things – sports, volunteering, community activities – that we miss out on that opportunity to nourish our relationship with God at Sunday worship?

            And that, ultimately, is why Jesus Christ was born – to bring us into a relationship with God. God is invisible, and His love is invisible – and that’s why we needed a visible, tangible Person to bring us into relationship with Him. Jesus Christ is God’s love incarnate, and He lived – and died – so that we could know of the depths of His love.

            But that love requires a response! Jesus isn’t just a historical figure who lived and died and then hasn’t been heard from since. He lives forever – and it is still possible to have a personal friendship with Him!

            For a lot of people, 2013 has been a tough year. Financial stress, maybe a health scare, a government shutdown, global crises – there’s always something that can stress us out. And I’m not going to claim that a relationship with Jesus is going to make all of our problems go away – but I am going to claim that He gives us a strength to get through the crises. Maybe even more importantly, he gives us a new perspective and a new meaning to them, because a relationship with Jesus Christ allows us to see that this world is passing and most of the things that stress us out aren’t going to matter much in eternity. We were created for God and for eternal life with Him, and this life won’t make sense at all until we have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

            I’m reminded of a young girl from our parish who was so excited last year to tell me what she wanted from Santa Claus. She was literally jumping up and down as she was in line to greet me after Mass one Sunday in December. Finally when she got to me she jumped up and down and said, “Guess what! Guess what! Guess what I want for Christmas!” So I asked her, and she exclaimed at the top of her voice, “A pink bible!” She was so excited to go deeper in her relationship with Jesus that the greatest gift she could ask for was a bible. But of course it had to be pink, otherwise it wouldn’t do.

            What a great gift, to have that relationship with God through Jesus Christ! If you’ve never begun one, today’s the perfect day to do so. Simply turn to the Lord in the quiet of your heart, and ask Him to come in. Offer your life to Him. Ask Him to forgive your sins. Invite Him to dwell in your heart. He will come.

            I just keep coming back to that innkeeper. Ya know, it has never been the “inn” thing to be a Christian. It’s demanding - it demands our entire life, given to Him. It’s not “cool” – to live for Jesus Christ and not for our selfish motives. It takes time and effort that’s in short supply in our busy, stressed-out lives. But it also offers the greatest treasure possible – a life with meaning, inner peace, and eternal life. Don’t be like the innkeeper, so busy with life that he misses out on the most important thing of all – a relationship with God.