A Noticer: Welcomes Inconvenience

A Christmas Series

There are many things that "get in the way" of Christmas.

Anyone who's been on a diet during the holidays knows this is true. Keto, Adkins, intermittent fasting, no sugar, no gluten - you name it. It may be helpful but definitely not convenient to diet through the holidays.

Work can also "get in the way." It's a real catch-22. We need work to make money to pay for Christmas but we have so many things to do - get all the groceries, make it to the kids' Winter music performance, buy gifts for the fam, buy gifts for the teachers, bake or pick up cookies for this get-together, prep an appetizer for the work luncheon, decorate the house, wrap the presents, pack the bags, load up the car. Who has time to work?

Then, Christmas comes and though work might feel like an escape for some - the kids are home so the 8-5p means not having to entertain relatives or the snowed-in kiddos who manage to complain of boredom (while surrounded with new toys and gadgets). Still, work may "get in the way" for many, for now there's a mountain of laundry to do, a sick kiddo to take care of with PTO grim from the holiday trip, a house to clean, a fridge to clear out, decorations and lights to take down. Truly, who has time to work between December 15-Jan 1?

Like a diet, work may be helpful but not always convenient through the holidays.

Grief and loss "get in the way" of Christmas too, whether a loved one has passed or grieving loss of connection due to unresolved tension or a fractured relationship. It's supposed to be merry. Let's eat and drink a bubbly, festive flute and be merry, gosh darn it. But our hearts are sad. No amount of power-through attitude can make up for the sadness we feel inside. Loss in all forms hits deeper this time of year.

For the first Christmas, lots of things were "getting in the way" of their preferences and expectations.

A census, for one. Nine months pregnant and having to travel not just down the block but 70 to 90 miles, estimated to be four to seven days on foot. I don't think paternity leave was much of a concept back then, and to think taking a week off from work before the baby even arrives... Major inconvenience for both of them. We read about this in Luke 2:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. - Luke 2:1-5

This on top of the already major inconvenience of being pregnant before they were married in a society known for stoning such an offense. The questions, the rumors, the gossip, the side-eyes - the passive aggressiveness would have been enough to make anyone want to hermit away from the ignorance around them.

Yet, we see Mary not just accept or tolerate this inconvenience. She shows us what it looks like to welcome inconvenience, to say, "This inconvenience is not what I want. It feels like it's "getting in the way" of what I wanted, but God, can you help me accept this and trust You are working in the midst of this?" Those are my words; she's on record for saying it this way:

“I am the Lord’s servant...May your word to me be fulfilled.” - Luke 1:38

I am the Lord's servant. In other words, "This is not how I imagined serving God today, but I will serve Him no matter what today looks like and in whatever way He asks of me - for He is the Master and I am the servant."

As they reach Bethlehem, we see someone else very much in a servant role. The innkeeper made his living by being welcoming. He welcomed weary travelers, and due to the census, there were more than normal, so we know he could tolerate inconvenience. The striking difference between the two is our focus today: The innkeeper and Mary both accepted inconvenience but one mustered up the strength to tolerate it while the other sought strength to welcome inconvenience.

I imagine the innkeeper a busy, frazzled bee, addressing all the needs around him, feeling a bit scatterbrained by it all. "Oh, yes, sir. Here is the pillow you asked for." Then turns his head to answer the woman patting his shoulder, "No, ma'am, we do not have coffee at this hour." After making it through the line of needy guests before him, he turns to his wife and says, "We're going to make it, hunny. Census is good for business!" He heads to the door to answer the knock, already rehearsing his response to the traveler he expects to see. Sure enough, he rattles it off just as he expected, "No room here. No room anywhere! The census has all inns at max capacity for the night." He hears Joseph's plea, sees his wife and unborn child standing with the donkey. Seeing the donkey, he remembers the other animals in the back. The innkeeper thinks quick and offers for them to stay with the animals for the night.

Had this innkeeper known what we know now, what Joseph and Mary knew then - that this was no ordinary child Mary was carrying, this was the Son of God, the Savior of the World! Had this innkeeper known who was in his midst, do you think he would have created some room? Do you think he would have asked the other guests if they would mind foregoing their room to give it to this couple, this new family? Would he have reached out to his good friend down the road and made arrangements for them there? Do you think he and his wife would have been willing to be inconvenienced to give up their own bed for them? I have to believe so.

Tolerating inconvenience requires very little, a grumbling attitude at best. Welcoming inconvenience, on the other hand, requires courage and a servant attitude, seeking strength from above. We only get this courage when we choose to trust God, and we can only trust God when we remember who He is, the Master, and who we are, the humble and loyal servant. As Mary said,

“I am the Lord’s servant...May your word to me be fulfilled.” - Luke 1:38

Mary and Joseph chose to serve God wholeheartedly even when it meant inconvenience so great they would need strength not their own. In doing so, they experienced something the innkeeper completely missed: God in their midst.

We, too, are going to be inconvenienced today. Most likely, it will come through someone else. We might bump into a strong personality or someone's oversight may change our plans for the day. Deeper, there are layers of fear and insecurity we may not recognize which cause our interaction with someone to be less than what we hope to share. Sin may disappoint us. In all its forms, it's very inconvenient when it comes. The invitation for us today is to make room. Making room for others' humanness is something I've been practicing. It doesn't mean everyone gets a hall pass to treat you poorly, but it does mean we see through the unmet expectation with compassion and we entrust them to God's care. We find strength to let people be people when we remember Jesus made room for our own humanness on the cross.

Whatever inconvenience is before us is where we will experience God today. When we feel the pressure like the innkeeper to push back and merely tolerate it, instead we choose to say, "Inconvenience, come on in! I didn't think I had room for you today but I'm going to make room for you." Not from a disillusioned perspective. No, fully facing the reality before us, similar to Mary we seek strength rather than muster up our own strength and pray: "This inconvenience is not what I want. It feels like it's "getting in the way" of what I wanted, but God, can you help me accept this and trust You are working in the midst of this?"

There's something beautiful which comes as we find the courage to pray this with sincere hearts. We welcome not only the inconvenience but a new, heightened sensitivity. Our eyes start looking at something else, someone else - God. As we learn to trust God's power and His position above our circumstances, our vision sharpens and we start to see through the lens of faith. We become a noticer of God's grace.

God has made a way for all of us to experience and notice Him in our midst. But many miss Him just like many missed that first Christmas. The innkeeper, he wasn't all that bad. His actions could be evaluated as moral, even kind - offering the only place he saw available. His limited vision caused him to tolerate inconvenience, unable to fully embrace and welcome it. Doing so, he missed Christmas, the miracle of Jesus' birth, in his own backyard.

In these weeks leading up to Christmas, we're looking at those who missed Christmas so we can learn how to be a noticer. How can we become aware and spiritually awake so we do not miss the miracles and God's presence in our midst. I so hope you'll join us next week, and if this is encouraging, consider sharing this link with a friend and rating it on your favorite podcast platforms so it can reach and encourage many more this Christmas!

May we find strength as we lean not on ourselves but seek strength from above. May we be surprised with joy in the middle of the inconveniences as we begin to practice trusting God in these spaces, and may we experience peace as we notice God's presence here with us. May we find our hearts rest easy when we abide and stay closely connected with Him.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.