“All went to their own towns to be registered” (NRSV, Luke 2:3)

Christmas is a busy time and the first Christmas was no exception.  The Emperor Augustus had extended the system of national registration to the vassal Kingdom of Herod the Great.  The head of each family was required, in accordance with Jewish tradition, to register in the town from which he originally came and this meant long journeys for those who had moved to other parts of the country.

The main road running from the north through Jerusalem and then on through Bethlehem to Beer-sheba in the south would have been exceptionally busy with its two lines of traffic struggling forward in each direction as the people, some on foot, others on camels and asses, hurried on to give in their names and then to get back to their homes again. 

So day after day the congestion and the bustle went on until only a few hours were left before God the Son was born into the world – only a few hours left for the world to complete its preparation for his coming.

For 2000 years it had been preparing, ever since God had called Abraham and his family to worship him and to leave Mesopotamia and settle in what we now know as the Holy Land.  During the succeeding years that inconspicuous family became a great nation from which, when the fullness of time was come, God called the Maid of Nazareth to be the Mother of his Divine Son.

His birth had been foretold by God’s spokesmen, the prophets, and he was awaited not only in the Holy Land but throughout the Middle East and among the Jewish communities of the Roman Empire.  People knew that he would come, but they did not know the manner of his coming.  And when Jesus was born at last, the world was not ready.

It was a very busy time: the census was being taken.  Everyone was occupied: all the houses in Bethlehem were filled – some with strangers lodging for the night, others with friends or relations.  There was no room in the inn.  There was no room for Jesus – no time for him.  There never is, in the world.

It has been said that to everyone the world offers at least a twofold hospitality – to be born and to die, but even this is more than it offers to its Maker and its God – a manger and a cross.

And now we are coming to the end of Advent and we are within sight of the lights of Bethlehem.  Our preparation for Christmas will soon be over, but will we be ready after all for Jesus when Christmas Day comes?  It is a busy time in the world.  Christmas always is.  There is extra work to do, extra pleasures to prepare for and to enjoy.  Will we have time for Jesus on his own Birthday festival, or will we be too occupied to spare him more than a passing thought?

Jesus always comes when something else is calling: we always have to give up the world for him, or give him up for the world.  For the world has plenty of room for Christmas but no room for Christ.  Will we allow the festivities, held in his honour, to take the place of himself?  In a word, will we have the merriment of the inn without the joy of the shepherds?

Should anyone think that the cares and distractions of the world are too pressing to allow Christmas to be kept as what it really is – a religious festival in honour of the Child of Bethlehem – let us consider the preparation of Mary and Joseph who had far more formidable difficulties in their way.

For many months they had been quietly waiting and making ready for this day.  While Joseph made the cradle at his bench and Mary worked the little clothes for her holy Son to wear, they must often have pondered over the message which Gabriel had brought to her.

She was to be the Mother of God’s only Son and as she thought thereon, there came to her mind all those prophecies which foretold his Birth.

Then, at the very time when she would have wished to be free from all outside cares and distractions, the claims of the world strode into their home.

The decree was issued by the Emperor Augustus for the census to be held.  All was hurry and bustle, but it did not disturb their preparation, for Mary and Joseph were ready.  It meant a 70 mile journey with little hope of accommodation on the way.  Yet the hardships of the highland road, the jostling crowds in the narrow city streets, the fruitless search for lodging – none of these difficulties interfered with their preparation.

They knew that this was the supreme moment in human history, the moment for which the world had waited for centuries; their hearts were ready for Jesus, because their hearts belonged to him.

It was little they had to give to him who gave himself to them as the first Christmas gift, but they gave him all – they gave themselves.  And Jesus cares more for that than for all besides.

As, therefore, he gives himself to us on Christmas Day, let us give ourselves as our Christmas gift to him.  When we make our Christmas Communion, Jesus will come to us in the Blessed Sacrament, seeking room.

May our souls be made clean and ready so that we may be able to say to him with sincerity and truth, “Come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee” (1)(our emphasis).

 Reference

1. Elliott, E.E.S. (1864) Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown.  Available from http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/t/t585.html (Accessed 10 December 2013)(Internet).