"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." John 1:9-10 [NIV]
Before even getting up out of my chair, I knew what the knock at the door meant. From this side of the heavily treated wood and fogged up glass, it felt ominous, dark, and foreboding. I had no idea what to expect once the door actually opened, but I could guess about how it would go....
"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."
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| Image: wjhl.com |
Ducking behind proverbial skirts, I called out for Steven to answer the door. We both knew what was about to go down and I decided to be a big emotional chicken and pass the buck up to the head of the family. [poor Steven, lol].
It's been a rough year for everyone. Scratch that, it's been a rough TWO years for everyone. Unfortunately, that equates to a rough year for the owner of our current domicile, as well. Pulling up stakes, he has decided to place this home on the market.
Hence, the knock at the door.
"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."
Steven shuffled over to the door and opened it, stepping outside to greet the short woman who seemed about our age, with a slight deer-in-headlights look about her face, but a friendly smile across her lips. As I followed my hubby out the door, it occurred to me that this woman has probably had to deal with a lot if her job is to serve the people of her county walking papers all day. I then remembered that while packing up the storage pod, I'd placed Steven's heirloom shotgun right in the glass cubby of the door entry way. Probably NOT a very welcoming sight.
Then ... I was COMPLETELY surprised. Both parties relaxed a little. SHE saw the moving pod, all the boxes, the mountain of trash ready to be hauled to the curb. WE saw that she wasn't carrying hand-cuffs, or a bullhorn to announce our disgrace, or packing heat. She was just a woman doing her job.
She apologized. SHE apologized. It wasn't her job to. SHE doesn't own this property and decided to sell it out from under us. But SHE expressed how sorry she was that she had to serve us our official 15 day eviction notice.
WE apologized to her for having to come out here in the first place. Then we told her, we know God has everything under control. We really ARE richly blessed. And she returned with "Merry Christmas". Not happy holidays, not season's greetings or an awkward smile indicating some form of discomfort over the phrase. Just .... "Merry Christmas".
And then she brought the tears to my eyes because she made solid eye contact and said: "God bless you."
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| Image: Dave Granlund |
You know what, sweet eviction notice lady? He already has! He really already HAS!
Imagine a different sort of eviction notice in a different time and space, in a very chaotic and crowded atmosphere. Joseph and his very pregnant wife just WALKED roughly 100 miles with a donkey for their only comfort - not because they wanted to visit some distant family before the baby arrived or because they wanted to celebrate something with friends, but because they HAD to register for a census so the king could make sure he got taxes out of them. Fun, huh? Joseph gave this only comfort donkey ride to his wife, he very likely walked the entire way.
Bethlehem was by this point, bursting at the seems with folks, having all done their duty and travelled to register for the census. It was customary at the time for travelers to stay with family whenever they were away from home. Looking at the Hebrew words: malon, pandochelon, kataluma we learn that they translate to "earliest night resting place". In short, there were no inns the way we define them. An inn was a resting place for the caravan, or family, or group of travelers while on the road, but it was usually a predetermined spot where a family member lived or a watering hole hid tucked into some rocky outcrop. It wasn't some fancy building with a hostess dressed in all black and a fake smile plastered on her face.
Now imagine this ... Joseph and Mary didn't even get their foot in the door of the "inn" before being served their eviction notice. And it seems to me that this must have stung Joseph, at least just a little bit. His FAMILY was telling him, "oh sorry .... you took too long to get here .... or, Uncle Jeb has the guest room but you can stay down in our stable, we really don't mind.". I can see the person at the door wondering about what all the other family members would think if the household actually WELCOMED a woman of questionable pregnancy and her "husband". What would the neighbors say? But the dug out, cave like, dank storage space for the animals? Yeah, that's ok. We don't mind if you hunker down there out the way in the dirt where no one can see you and you can't visit with family.
But .... THAT'S where the party is! It's in the basement! It's in the dug out, cave like, dank storage space for the animals. In a watering trough for live stock, THE LIGHT of the whole world came to us. And even back then, when it all got started .... people didn't recognize Him for what He really is.
This little baby? Wrapped up in the swaddling clothes probably made by Mary, placed in a musty old drinking trough that probably still had animal spit on the outside of it -- this little baby, Jesus? He is EVERYTHING! God's FINAL word! This is it folks! We were gifted the one true real light. There isn't another one. There isn't something "bigger" and "better" coming just around the corner. JESUS is everything.
And WE were gifted this priceless gift in the most humble and unassuming way.
So many of us miss the party. We turn away the questionable pregnancy, or we shun the adulterer, or we gossip about so-in-so's finances or what's-their-name's language. We offer the stable to those of us with whom we don't agree, or don't understand. It's the trough for you of questionable sexual preference or orientation. Go to the dank cave you of the mental illness or bi-polar disorder.
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| Image: John Cole |
Guess what? You were, too!
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