Thomas Griffin 12/25/23
Follow The ETP Blog
Read “Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine”
Mary “wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2: 7).
I tried to keep these words at the front of my mind as we began Advent this year. I had hoped that it would help me keep my commitments to pray more frequently and be more aware of the birth of God that I was supposed to prepare for. On many days, it helped. It pushed me to consider if I let him in enough in my life. Am I like the innkeepers who turned away Mary and Joseph or am I open to being interrupted by God like the shepherds?
On some days I was receptive, on others I was like the innkeepers. My day became too busy and my schedule filled up. My tiredness over these winter days began to cast a shadow on being vigilant for Him like the shepherds were when they were keeping their night watch (Luke 2:8). Reflecting on the days when I was not more committed to Him, I see a common theme: I stopped keeping watch.
The word used for the shepherds “keeping watch” is the Greek word phylakē. This is the language used for when a guard is being vigilant during his shift. It meant that they were completely entrenched in the present moment and the task at hand. The key to successfully keeping watch is to fight distraction through a commitment to what is in front of you.
One of the biggest reasons why people say they do not pray or go to Sunday Mass is that they do not have enough time; they are simply too busy. In other words, “I do not have room for God.” Other activities or tasks can easily fill up our lives to such a degree that we become overwhelmed by adding something else to our plate.
Before God was even born among us, people were saying the same exact thing. Mary and Joseph need a place to stay so that she can give birth. She would have been in pain after the four-day journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. She would have been clearly pregnant and uncomfortable, and yet, no one let them in. Some innkeepers might have felt bad that they could not help but they still made excuses and chose to close the door.
I can picture Joseph going door-to-door knocking on homes and inn’s to find a place for his wife to rest before the King of the World was born. He was probably dumbfounded at the way in which they were turned away. Objectively, Bethlehem would have been overcrowded because of the census taking place. It would have been like finding a place to stay or a spot to eat by Rockefeller Center in New York City on Christmas Eve.
What I learned this Advent is that God does not tell us that life is not crazy or that it is easy and simple to make room for Him. Jesus does not say that following after him makes things easier. Going after him means that we need to carry our cross. For modern men and women, and I know for myself, I think that the cross we carry is the weight of our schedules. Life can often be hectic and chaotic. Days turn into weeks and months and it can feel like all we are doing is accomplishing daily tasks with our heads down. We just need to get things done and when we do we go to bed and do it all over again.
Christmas, and Jesus, offers an alternative. The other option is to lift high our cross by letting him in. I know that, in 2024, I am being called to let go of some of the items on the calendar so I can commit to keeping watch more often in prayer. I know that there are some activities that can be sacrificed so I can spend more time with my children and my wife. Choosing to do so, I know, will make me live more in the present moment of what is most true and important for my life. Doing so will make me closer to God and make me more loving.
If we desire to let Him in and our lives have no room, then there is something that has to go. What can you move out so He can come in? Do you tend to be more like the innkeeper or more like the shepherd?
This Christmas, let us commit to being like the shepherds. Let us keep watch. Let us make room for God in our daily commitment to prayer and let us be more vigilant so we can hear the great news of this child that was born just for you and for me.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine.
Follow The ETP Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Empty Tomb Project 