In the birth and birthplace of Jesus there is something which corresponds beautifully with his personal biography as well as the fortunes of his Gospel.<\/p>\n
Two thousand years on, he still comes waiting to find room. And there is scant room for him.<\/p>\n
The reason why Jesus can’t find room for his Gospel \u201d\u201c which he embodied in his person at his first coming \u201d\u201c is closely analogous to that which he encountered in his birth \u201d\u201c namely that people’s hearts are preoccupied. They are filled to the brim with their own agendas already. And we, who are his followers, so poorly represent the worth and largeness of Christ and his Gospel. Preoccupied with the presenting and controverted issues of the day, we lack the inspiration he offers, and we end up giving him the stable, when we should be giving him the inn. Instead of putting him at the centre of our living, thinking and planning, we leave him at the margins.<\/p>\n
A story is told by a Jewish Rabbi of a town which was given three days’ warning of the arrival of a hurricane. A Roman Catholic priest called all the Catholics together and impressed on them the need to go to confession. An Anglican vicar gathered his congregation and told them to ask forgiveness from those they had wronged, and to make amends.<\/p>\n
The Rabbi met the Jewish community in the synagogue and told them, “You have three days in which to learn how to live under water”.<\/p>\n