Away from Home

We've said that the world wants you in the inn for Christmas - with all the noise, the hustle and bustle, living out of a suitcase, crammed into a small space with far too many other persons for comfort, unable to really find rest. And it's true - the world wants this for you. 

But what it wants most is simply to keep you away from home. 

That's what being in the inn means. It means you're not at home. Two thousand years ago on that glorious night, the inn wasn't full because everyone was exactly where they wanted to be; the inn was full because so many folks were away from home that the innkeeper was desperate to find space to put them all. 

They had traveled, sometimes fairly long distances, to come back to Bethlehem for the required census, to make themselves present for the ruling authorities. Their feet were dirty; their backs were bent; their bodies were weary. There was barely enough space to stretch out and get a little bit of rest, but with all of the noise, there was no rest. 

They were away from home. 

Have you ever been on vacation? Like, packed yourself up, gone away, stayed somewhere else - a hotel, an air b&b, whatever - lived out of a suitcase, felt like a stranger? Everyone always talks about how refreshing vacations are, but if we're honest, we also say that we need a vacation to recover from our vacation. 

Why is that? Because when the vacation is finally over and we come home, there's something in our soul that just breathes the air in a new way. We think it was the vacation itself that gave us a new way to breathe, but actually, it's coming home. It's coming back to the place where we're settled, where everything is just the way we like it, where our lives function in a way that they just don't when we're living out of a suitcase. Yes, the most refreshing part of vacation is the way it renews for us this place called "home," this place where we actually rest and rejuvenate. 

As long as you're still in the inn, you never feel that. 

That's what the world is really trying to make sure happens. 

It's also why, by the way, we feel such a sense of relief when the Christmas season is finally over - because we get "home" back. We get to clear our space, clear our heads, close our doors, be in our own place, have all the things of our life back around us, stretch out...and rest. The world tries to tell us that we're glad the season is over, but it's not that; we're just happy to be home. (But don't tell the world I told you.) 

Can you feel it? Is this resonating with your heart?

It's not supposed to. Cultural Christmas doesn't want it to. But it really is the true gift of the season.