Welcome the Guest at the inn of your heart

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7) .

The fact that there was no room for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the inn at Bethlehem on the first Christmas should make us wonder, because the birth of Christ was foreseen and planned by God from all eternity. Hundreds of years before it happened, the prophets announced He would be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14) and that Bethlehem would be His birthplace (Mic 5:2). Many other details of His life and death were also foretold. Did God, then, forget to make room for His only Son? How is it possible that there was no room, when the child born at Christmas owns the inn, and Bethlehem, and the world, and every inch of room in the whole universe?

Obviously, God did this on purpose. There was no room in the inn because this demonstrates that the world has rejected God. The world makes no room for the God who created it. There was no room in the inn because God wanted to show that His Son comes as a Savior, to reconcile a world that is at enmity with God. Being turned away from the inn foreshadows the fact that the Savior Himself will be rejected, despised, and ultimately crucified, and that all this was part of God’s plan from all eternity. Ultimately, the lack of room in the inn symbolizes the lack of room we make for Him in our hearts. When our hearts are filled with all kinds of other desires than God, we gradually crowd Him out altogether.

No room at the inn also means that we fail to make room for our brothers and sisters. The first great commandment is to love God, and the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. Christ willed to be left out, because He is always in solidarity with those who are left out, shut out, and crowded out. That is the position of the unborn children today. They are crowded out of the busy schedules of so many people who are doing so many good and important things, but who don’t have a finger to lift to protect the lives of these children from abortion. They are crowded out of legislative agendas, preaching schedules, career plans, pastoral plans, and volunteer activities. There’s just too much going on already; there’s no room in the inn.

Christ comes at Christmas to change all that. Today, He does not seek an inn; He seeks room in our own hearts and lives. And He asks that as we welcome Him, we welcome everyone whom He welcomes, including the children most defenseless and forgotten. We welcome the Divine Child, and in doing so, we welcome every child.

As we celebrate Christmas, we sing in “O Holy Night” the words, “Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease.” This verse of this familiar hymn was beloved by the abolitionists, for obvious reasons, and today it is beloved among the pro-life community working to end abortion. Indeed, let oppression cease, and let Christmas come for the unborn!

For more Advent and Christmas reflections like this from Fr. Frank, visit www.ChristmasForTheUnborn.com.

FATHER FRANK PAVONE is one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in the world. In 1993 he became national director of Priests for Life. He also is president of the National Pro-life Religious Council and national pastoral director of the Silent No More Campaign and of Rachel’s Vineyard, the world’s largest ministry of healing after abortion. He served at the Vatican assisting the Church’s pro-life work under Pope St. John Paul II.