“And the Word was made flesh
and made his dwelling among us.”
In Ireland, we have a tradition storytellers call “seanchaí.”
Before the advent of television,
even before the advent of radio,
the seanchaí was the one who would gather people
around the family room or the community room
and he would tell old stories.
He had the incredible ability to tell the same story
over and over again without missing a single detail of the story.
It was part of the oral tradition of old Ireland.
It happened even before Christianity got there.
The ability to be able to tell stories is embedded in our culture.
Most of our cultures have an oral tradition of passing on stories
and the precursors to the gospels and all these stories,
maybe not called seanchaí,
but they were the ones who told the stories over and over again.
The four gospels existed orally for some 60 to 100 years
before they were ever written down.
Can you imagine that same story told repeatedly for 60-100 years?
That is what we do every time we come here on Sunday.
We come to tell stories.
Why? Because story has power. Story has life.
Story has a way of encapsulating what it is that we are
and who it is that we are; or more importantly whose we are.
We gather every Sunday to tell the story of God;
and to tell the story, in particular of Jesus Christ.
But most especially today on Christmas Day,
we gather to share the story of Jesus Christ
because today is the day we remember
and we share the story of him being born among us.
It is a powerful story;
that the Savior was born among us as a little baby boy.
There are so many elements in the story that are important.
I could be here for hours talking about
and breaking open the so-many powerful parts of the story.
There are two elements I want to focus on today
that are worth highlighting because they are so powerful.
First of all, the Word became flesh and he dwelt among us.
He came to be one of us so that he would show us the way
and that he wanted everyone to know, from all eternity on,
that God loves humanity so much that he became one of us;
and that there is a part of the human condition that is divine.
And that is the beautiful part of the story.
The other part of the story that I want to highlight is the story
we read last night at the Vigil.
The story of Joseph and Mary looking for a place
and there is no room for them at the Inn;
and they give birth to Jesus in the stable surrounded by animals.
The idea that there is no room in the Inn
is a powerful metaphor for not just that generation
but for every generation because if the truth be told
all our hearts are full with lots of stuff
and our minds are competing constantly for attention.
So we have to make room for Jesus;
we have to make room for the story of God in our life.
Our minds and hearts will fill up with all the other stories
because there are tons of people who are trying
to compete for the stories of our lives.
And they want to insert their story into our lives.
Whether it is selling us something
or telling us to use their products or services.
Everyone is vying for our story.
So, we have to work hard at this story telling;
this keeping the story of Jesus alive.
And that is why we come not just here on Christmas
but we come every single Sunday to continue to tell the story.
Brené Brown is a social scientist and she writes some great stuff.
She used a term in her recent book I had never heard before;
and she talks about the “story stewardship.”
I have heard of financial stewardship;
I have heard of time and talent stewardship
but I have never heard of story stewardship!
But it is beautiful term.
And why is it so powerful?
Because stewardship refers to the work of accepting something as gift
and using it for its best purposes
whether that be treasure, time or talent.
And with story stewardship, we have to do the same thing;
we have to work at this.
We have to accept something as a gift and hold onto it.
Then we have to care for that story so that it carries on.
But there is a competing story out in the world;
when we tell the story about the little baby Jesus, they say
“Yeah, yeah, nice story but it’s just a nice story.
It’s just in your head, Brendan.
It’s not real.
There is no God. God is not real.
You just made that up to try and make yourself satisfied.”
The challenge with that is we cannot convince them otherwise
because they do not see it.
What they see is what they want to see - no God.
But we can testify to what we see like John the Baptist did;
testify to the light in our lives.
Here is an example:
I look out in the world, and I see God is there all the time
and they do not.
We both see the same thing but we see differently.
Imagine a sign in front of that says this
“GODISNOWHERE.”
They read this and they see
“GOD IS NOWHERE.”
But you and I, as people of faith, see:
“GOD IS NOW HERE.”
The exact same words.
But what we claim is God is here now.
And in this baby Jesus, God is right among us.
But we have to make room for that.
We have to work hard to hold that together
because it just doesn’t happen.
So, what are we to do?
We make room for the story and then share the story.
Then we live the story.
We become the story.
Where do we go with this?
First of all, we need to tell the story at home
that we believe, and we have to become that story;
and hold onto the story of other people’s lives.
Christmas is not easy for some people
because they have lost loved ones.
Christ came among us
especially for the people who are broken and wounded and hurt
because they are the ones he cares for the most
because they are the most wounded.
Can we make room for them in our lives?
For example, is there an uncle, aunt, grandparent
that you can reach out to today and call?
And tell them how much you love them.
Maybe you haven’t spoken to them all year.
Maybe there is a person in your neighborhood
who you never see but you are worried about them.
Can you make a phone call today?
Or go and knock on the door and say,
“Merry Christmas! Here is some food. I was just thinking of you.”
Make room in your heart for that story;
that one person who is hurt.
Make room in your heart for those who are homeless;
who are broken; who are hurt.
How could our hearts not be touched by the millions of Ukrainians,
who are without power and electricity;
millions of our brothers and sisters across the country in the cold.
That is what it means to live the story of God and the story of Christ.
It is to make room in your heart for these stories.
I want to close with this beautiful song by Casting Crowns.
It is a beautiful song talking about making room in your heart
for the story of God.
Let’s finish with this.
It is just a beautiful story with Jed and Robbie & Tim playing:
Make Room in Your Heart
(Casting Crowns, Song writers: John Mark Hall, Matt Maher)
A family hiding from the storm
Found no place at the keeper's door
It was for this a Child was born
To save a world so cold and hollow
The sleeping town, they did not know
That lying in a manger low
A Savior King who had no home
Has come to heal our sorrows
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?
Shepherds counting sheep at night
Do not fear the glory light
You are precious in His sight
God has come to raise the lowly
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?
You can come as you are
But it may set you apart
When you make room in your heart
And trade your dreams for His glory
Make room in your heart
Make room in your heart
Mother holds the promise tight
Every wrong will be made right
The road is straight, the burden's light
For in His hands, He holds tomorrow
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?
You can come as you are
But it may set you apart
When you make room in your heart
And trade your dreams for His glory
Make room in your heart
Make room in your heart
