Let every heart prepare him room!
Be born in us today.
I sing it, but do I mean it? Have I prepared room in my heart? Have I filled up my time, my attention, my thoughts with busyness, things, and programs? Or did I leave room for something more meaningful? Am I open to Christ? Am I soaking up Light? Am I vulnerable to Love?
Let every heart prepare him room!
Be born in us today.
What does this look like? It looks like being open to the voice of God spoken through a vulnerable baby. Karl Rahner said, “When we say, “It is Christmas,” we mean that God has spoken into the world his last, his deepest, his most beautiful word in the incarnate Word . . . . And this word means: I love you, you, the world and human beings.” Am I hearing this Christ, this voice of Love? God loves me. God loves us. God loves humanity. God is closing the gap. God is clearing up the misunderstandings. God is here.
Let every heart prepare him room!
Be born in us today.
As Love flows into this world and into my heart, it looks like Light that offers clarity and warmth and growth. In Matthew 5, Jesus said that you (and me) are the light of the world and that we are to let that light shine! Ricky Maye in Barefoot Christianity put it like this, “Being the light of the world is about being a broken, exploding, scarred star and shining a light of hope and inspiration to everyone around you.” Am I that broken, exploded, scarred star pouring out the light of hope? Maybe it’s impossible to be this star if I haven’t been broken in the first place. Oscar Romero, martyred archbishop of El Salvador once said, “It is only the poor and hungry, those who know they need someone to come on their behalf, who can celebrate Christmas.” Can I celebrate? Truly celebrate?
Let every heart prepare him room!
Be born in us today.
In brokenness, Christ is born in me. In humility, Christ is born in me. In an explosive reordering of who I am and what life is about, Christ is born in me. This is the meaning of Christmas. This is the good news the shepherds spread far and wide. This is the light bursting into a dark world. This is the love of God pouring out of lives open to Christ. Pouring out in the following ways, as Howard Thurman put so beautifully,
“When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.”
Let every heart prepare him room!
Be born in us today.
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