No Room In The Inn

I thought I would share my thoughts about Christmas by posting the Homily I delivered on Christmas Morning at Church...Merry Christmas Everyone!!


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Throughout my life Christmas has always been a very special time of the year for me, largely because this Season brings back some of the happiest memories of my life. Those memories come not as much from my early childhood, but more from my teenage years.

When I was a teen I was very actively involved in my Church Youth Group. One of the biggest tasks that came along with membership in this group was the arduous task of decorating the Church for Christmas. Now you have to understand, the pastor of my home Parish growing up, Father Bert Richman, didn't believe that a few Trees, and a Manger was sufficient to celebrate the Season. In fact, our Church was known in the area as “The LaSalette of the East”. Every building was outlined in lights, every bush, tree, and handrail was illuminated. The inside of the Church was another story all together.

It was however while stapling Christmas Lights to the roof of the Church that I really began to come to understand God’s call in my heart to serve Him as a Priest.

You see at school I wasn't terribly popular; I wasn't good at sports, I struggled with academics, I was “average” looking at best, and I was super involved at Church. My best friend growing up however was the exact opposite. He was good at every sport, he got straight A’s in every class, every girl in school was in love with him (and I suspect some of the boys too), he was that kid who everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. What we held in common however was the youth group, and it was while kneeling in the snow stapling down those lights on the roof year after year, that we became the very best of friends. As a result of this, my understanding of the Church growing up, was that there were no outsiders, everyone was “a cool kid”, everyone had a place…and I wanted to provide that experience for every other kid out there who was just like me.

How appropriate that this incident happened while we were decorating for and celebrating the Solemnity of Christmas, because that’s what Christmas is all about. Jesus Christ- the eternal God, the Creator of the Universe – took human flesh, and came to live among us as a man. He left the glory of Heaven, and the King and Creator subjected Himself to His own creation; the parents that He had to obey, the animals that would now be a source of food, transportation, and clothing…indeed even the very sky beneath which He was born – were all the products of His creating word- yet now as a baby, He could not even speak. In fact so much was He now at the mercy of the world, that He was pushed into a dark, cold, stable upon His coming…because that creation of His told Him there was no room for Him in the Inn.

For Christ this was the beginning of a lifetime of being told there was no room for Him. When He grew older, this Son of God Himself would find there was no room for Him in the Organized Religion of His time. This King of Kings would find there was no room for Him in Politics either. As He went about His mission on Earth preaching, He would be driven out of well more than one place, because there was no room for His words of love, forgiveness, and peace.

When the Angels told the Shepherds the glorious news of Christmas, they said; “I bring you news of great joy, and it shall be for all the people.” … ALL the people...You see, you and I are the pieces of this manger for which there are no statues. Look at our beautiful Manger Scene; there are Shepherds; who were women and men who lived as nomads, and were the poorest of the poor. There are Kings, who came from the East, robed in resplendent garb, riding camels, with servants to tend to their needs, and bearing expensive gifts. There was a poor couple, who would provide for this child through manual labor, and whose love had been the topic of gossip and ridicule, because the society in which they lived did not understand their relationship. There may have been no room for Jesus in the Inn, but in His Stable it would seem there was room for every walk of life. He Himself came to be an Inn; a place of lodging, rest, and nourishment, for every weary traveler on the road;

for everyone who the world rejects and doesn't understand,

for the poor who have the hearts of nomads,

for the rich who want for nothing yet can’t find happiness,

for the family who labors only to make ends meet,

for you and I when we fit in any one of those categories on any given day…

There is room for anyone in the Stable…more than that, there is a place for everyone in the Stable.

I know that the people of our Parish believe very strongly in the values of that Stable. I know it because you welcome every single person who walks through that door with open arms. I know it because I know how you value our belief that “All Are Welcome”- gay or straight, rich or poor, happy or sad, married, divorced, single, or confused; All Are Welcome.

I know that you believe so strongly in the values of that Stable because on Sunday night I had the powerful and humbling experience of driving a pickup truck, with its entire bed chock full of the presents that you so generously gave to change the life of a family right here in Rhode Island. You provided for those children so much more then packages to open on Christmas morning; you gave them a place in the Stable. For the first time in their lives, when the kids are talking about what they got for Christmas they won’t feel left out of the conversation. For the first time in their lives, when they watch a television show or a movie about Christmas they won’t roll their eyes and think that it’s a bunch of nonsense, because they have been able to experience it for themselves. Thanks to you, Christmas has room for them this year.

You have sent Christmas Cards to the imprisoned.

You have given food to the hungry.

You have given clothes to the poor.

You have done everything in your power, to ensure that no one find themselves pushed out, and you do it – we do it – because we know that what’s in the Inn doesn't matter, but rather it’s what’s in the Stable that counts. May each and every one of us find our place in the Manger; weather you gaze in prayerful awe like Mary and Joseph, or kneel and feel as though you have nothing to offer like the shepherd…weather you stand with confidence and pride like a King, or look upon this scene with confusion like one of the animals... Let us gather around this newborn Christ Child, and take your place, that has been prepared for you…and may we join with the Angels in singing their song;

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, to those with whom His favor rests.”