Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Perhaps you are about ready to hit the road for Christmas. I am actually going to be home for a bit, but a year ago Christmas Eve my family and I were heading for Colorado and looking for a motel in the middle of nowhere in Kansas. On Christmas Eve it is not hard to find a motel, at least in Kansas. There are all kinds of rooms. In fact, the town was vacant. I had forgotten that it was Christmas Eve, and that means that none of the restaurants were open. There was no life on the streets. It was like a ghost town, and the people at the motel were very glad to have our business because there was almost no one else there.
When you think about the first Christmas, which was not the first Christmas but it was the birth of Christ, there had been no celebration prior to that. The Lord Jesus, Joseph, and Mary had the exact opposite problem as my family and I. Luke 2:7 says, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
This is the story of Joseph and Mary going up from Galilee out of Nazareth into Judaea unto the city of David which is Bethlehem because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David. Ironically, we all go home or think of home, get sentimental, and sing about going home at Christmas. The truth is that Jesus left home for Christmas. The whole point of Christmas is that Christ, God the Son, left His home in Heaven to come to this earth. He humbled Himself for people like you and me. So, Mary had a baby and we have a party. Jesus left home for Christmas and we often go home for Christmas. I’m glad we can. This is a marvelous time of year.
Something we should think about is that a Christmas without a purpose is just a party and not a celebration. Now, I love having parties. But a birthday is celebrating the birth, the life, that God has given to the person we are recognizing. We have Memorial Day, and I’m all about grilling out, but if we don’t remember what we are to remember, it is not a celebration; it is a party, an excuse to be off work and to grill steaks. Christmas is the same way. A party needs but an excuse; a celebration demands a reason. We should not crowd Christ out of Christmas. We hear this message every year, but it is reasonable to repeat it because Christmas is nothing but a party if we don’t remember what Christmas is.
The Bible says there was no room for them in the inn. I thought this morning as I was reading this again that this is really all we know about the inn. We have all watched plays and so on that characterize this innkeeper who did not let Joseph and Mary stay in his inn. We can guess about all that, but it is not actually found in the account, and we don’t know his name. I’m not saying it is wrong to fill in the story with what very well may have happened, but what we do know is that there was no room for Jesus in the inn at Christmas. Let’s make sure we make room for Jesus in our lives and in our celebration this Christmas.
Finally, when you wish someone a Merry Christmas, it is a wish and not a weapon. I’m not trying to beat people over the head with Christmas. I am trying to extend to them the wish that God has for us all, peace on earth and good will toward men. Ultimately parties are fine, but Christmas should be a celebration.