There was no room in the inn. The innkeeper turned away a very pregnant Mary–possibly in labor–because there was no room. If nothing else, there was his room, but giving them his room didn’t simply mean he would have to sleep somewhere else for the night. Given that she was close to giving birth, odds were incredibly good she would have the child in his room, making it ritually unclean for eight days.
It was this whole thing; complicated, messy, and inconvenient. The easiest thing for him to do was to say there was no room and that his hands were tied. Saying something is not possible is much easier and less guilt-inducing than saying I don’t want to do it. A better answer than I can’t or I won’t is to simply say no. It’s simple, to the point, and a complete sentence.
But yes can also be a complete sentence. Yes. When I say I can’t, won’t, or no, it’s typically because I don’t want to be inconvenienced by something complicated and messy. But that’s how Jesus came into our world: complicated (virgin birth/Son of God), messy (born in a stable during a ridiculous census ordered by the emperor), and inconvenienced (the Holy Family had to flee Bethlehem to Egypt for fear that the puppet King Herod would murder Jesus).
Jesus came into the world the same as we all do; He didn’t wait for us to achieve perfection, but jumped in and joined us as we are. He said yes to us, even when the world said no to Him. He said yes, and He says yes to us now: yes, you are beloved, yes you matter, yes you were made for greatness (and what is more great than loving as we are called to love?). Jesus says yes to us. What are we saying to Him?
The Rev. Jason Shelby
Rector
jason.shelby@stfrancispalosverdes.org