Is there room for Him in your inn?

Once upon a time a church sign caught my eye: “Is there any room for Him at your inn?” As Advent draws to a close and Christmas arrives at the end of this week, I ponder that question and honestly wonder at the answer…

T h e season of Advent is a period of anticipation, of hope, even of penitence, as we as a world collectively scratch our head and wonder at God’s decision to lower Himself to such mean estate, to personally view with human eyes the mess we’ve made of things, to tabernacle among people with such little regard for anyone or anything else beyond themselves. I consider that ques

I consider that question again—“Is there any room for Him at your inn?” — as I consider the anticipation, the hope, and even the uncertainty in the heart of a teenage girl, 3½ months pregnant who “in haste” makes a journey of nearly a hundred miles from Nazareth to a village in the hills of Judea to visit with her “relative” Elizabeth, also with child and a walking miracle as the 88-year old mother-to-be of John the

Baptist. I wonder if Mary could even begin to grasp her part in the intricate plan of God unfolding all around her; as a temporary and portable vessel housing the immanent presence of the true God, she is not unlike the Ark of the Covenant.

Every year the church takes us through this season of Advent, to bear witness yet again of God’s grace at work in a young virgin girl and an aged, barren woman… to a world that is, by all accounts, deaf, dumb, and blind to the plan unfolding in the midst of crowded malls and airports, lights and lawn ornaments, Black Friday and Cyber-Monday and Super Saturday; as the tree in the corner twinkles and glows, as Santa Claus is still deliberating over who’s been naughty or nice.

While the church looks for the prophesied Messiah, the world looks for the closest parking and the best deals; while the church extends its hours and services in preparation for the arrival of Jesus into the world, the world overextends its credit in anticipation of Santa arriving through the chimney.

Some years back, I happened to catch the fill-in morning show host of a local talk radio station, a young woman with an all too human predilection for stuff.

This young woman regaled the audience about how she was cyber-window shopping the night before on her laptop in bed. She said she gasped when she saw what she thought had to have been a mistake on the Walmart site. A name-brand tablet that typically sold for about $180 was listed for less than $40. In a panic she got on the phone to every Walmart in the Valley looking for this gadget. Turns out only the Alamo Walmart had some left. At midnight this woman lit out for Alamo from wherever she lives and when she got to the store, she didn’t see any of the discounted tablets, so she asked the night guy in electronics if he—and she—could go look in the back. Lo and behold, she found one in stacks of similar models. The Walmart guy didn’t believe the price she said she saw online, but when he rang it up, she was right. She told this story like it was the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. Then she delivered the epilogue: she didn’t know what to do with the tablet, give it as a Christmas gift or keep it and try to resell it, you know, what could a little yuletide profiteering hurt? Her last words, before I switched stations, were “I don’t even need a new tablet, I already have one. But I just couldn’t pass up a deal like that!”

In a couple of days, after an 80-mile dusty trek south, Joseph will appear on our doorstep. His wife has a delivery to make. The hotels are booked. One after another, doors have closed in his face.

Friday is Christmas Eve. For many of us, there’s still much to do. Jesus is coming.

Is there any room for Him at your inn?

Pastor E.B. Holschuh serves at Zion Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Alamo. He is a retired Navy Senior Chief and former English and Russian teacher and always looking for new ways to reach people; people can reach him in English or Russian at pastor@zionalamo.org. Check out “Fear or Faith?," the official podcast of Zion Lutheran Church (episodes in English, Spanish, and Russian) at zionlutheranalamo.podbean.com or Apple, Spotify, Audible, and Google.