It’s almost Christmas. It’s the fourth week of advent. And we wait. But for what?
Well, we say, we wait for the birth of Jesus, of course. We wait to welcome him again to the world because, unlike those people in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, we would make room for him in the “inns” of our hearts. Good answer. But would we?
Actually, perhaps the better question is, “do we?” For certainly the opportunity still awaits us. In his essay, “The Time of the End is the Time of No Room,” Thomas Merton writes:
“Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because He cannot be at home in it, because He is out of place in it, and yet must be in it, His place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied status as persons, who are tortured, bombed, and exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in the world.”
I’m not sure there has been another time in my 55 years that I have felt so much like I was living in a “demented inn.” The world seems wracked in pain — in war, terrorism and every conceivable kind of violence. And yet, Christ comes — has come and continues to come — to us all. Whether we invite him or not, whether we are aware or not, Christ is present. He is not far away, waiting on a high mountain for us to struggle up to him. He is not buried deep in the rubble of history waiting for us to excavate him. Rather, he is standing right beside us, waiting for us to turn toward him.
And when we do that and find him in the comfort of our warm homes, we must be aware of all the others to whom he has come as well. For if Christ lives in us, as we Christians so often claim, then it falls to us to be the sane room in the demented inn, available to others. It is up to us to present Christ to the world, and especially to those who seem to have no room to go to. If Christ’s place is with those who are weak and do not belong, then so is ours.
For those who do not belong,
For those rejected by power,
For the weak and discredited,
For those denied status as persons,
For the tortured, bombed and exterminated,
For those who have no room,
For the immigrant,
For the victim,
For the persecuted,
For the unjustly accused,
For the ignored,
For those led into lives of violence,
Yes even them,
Christ comes.
Christ is present.
And where am I?
17 comments On Christ Has Come, Uninvited
A PERFECT observation in these divisive & isolationist times; We OPEN to Christ, or we CLOSE to Him–always our choice! Again, I see the Marianists influence, thanks.
Steve – I’m sharing this on FB with all my friends and forwarding this to my Pastors at The Crossing. I wish that everyone had access to your thoughts and writings all the time. You always seem to be able to put what many of us are thinking and praying for much more elequently than most of us. Thank you for being my friend and sharing with me.
Steve,
Have a spiritually rich Christmas and New Year.
Blessings,
Jack Shannon
Hi Steve,
Such appropriate and fitting thoughts to examine our conscience with in this the 4th week in Advent.. What indeed are we looking for when we look forward to Christmas?
Thank you for leading our thoughts to those for whom there is no room and where Christ surely must be.
Wishing you and your loved ones a Blessed Christmas.
Warmest Regards,
Lily Lee
Ah, Steve. Always thought provoking words . . . and the weak and persecuted are much closer than we recognize sometimes. . .
Christmas blessings to you and your family my friend. Thank you for the many ways you inspire me. Pray for peace. God bless. Kathleen
Thanks, Kathleen. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thanks, Lily. Merry Christmas to you and all your family and friends.
Thanks, Jack. All the best of the season to you.
Thanks for sharing, Jim. All the best to you and Jan and your extended wonderful family.
Thank you, Sheila. All Christmas joy to you!
Hi Steve, You always give us lot to think about. May God bless you and your family with a very blessed Christmas and New Year!
Thank you Steve. What a blessing your words are to our wounded world. I think of how more and more, Christ is being shut out of so many things in our country. Now more than ever, we need to be a brighter light to show others that Jesus is our salvation! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Thanks, Debbie. And all the best to you and your family, too.
Thanks, Mary, for your kind words. And Merry Christmas to you, too.
God bless you Steve and all your family. Thanks for all your help and support over this last roller coaster year
Thank you Steve, a wonderful reminder that in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we need Christ’s mercy, just as much as we are called to share it. A Blessed & Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Little child whose bed is straw,
take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw:
justice purifying law.
Glenn Rudolph, The Dream Isaiah Saw
Thank you Steve for always saying what we need to hear and act upon. Steven and I wish you and your family a Merry, Blessed Christmas.