Wednesday Words
We Make Room
December 20, 2023
Pastor Cathy Daharsh

Our theme for Christmas is “We Make Room.”  A theme that I admit has been a bit of a struggle for me as our family carries grief.  Yet in our grief God creates room for us.  God has been creating a room of care, love, and support through Bethany and our family, friends, and neighbors.

After I mentioned to friends in our neighborhood that we hadn’t put up our Christmas tree yet because we weren’t quite up to it, they offered to put it up for us.  I decided to take them up on their offer and make it a surprise for my husband, Tom, and our son, Aaron.  While we were at the Buck’s game in Milwaukee, the neighborhoods went to work on our house.  Tom and Aaron were so surprised!  Our neighbors even put up some extra special touches too—an ornament with our son Mitchell and our dog Chance who died this year, a poinsettia, and wine.  We shed tears of joy and sadness.  This will be a Christmas we will never forget.  In the midst of having trouble making room for Christmas, our neighbors made it for us through God’s work among us.

Christmas is a beautiful reminder that joy comes from the act of hospitality, both in being welcomed in and extending hospitality to others.  Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, and found no room in the inn, ultimately giving birth to Jesus in a humble stable.  God often chooses the most unlikely places to bring blessings.  Just as God made room for Jesus in a stable, let’s remember that God can make room in our lives, even in the midst of our own unexpected circumstances.

Christmas is not just a time for exchanging gifts or spoiling ourselves in festivities.  It is a time to reflect on the profound message of Christ's birth.  It is a story of God making room in unlikely places and circumstances.  It is a story that teaches us the joy which comes from both being welcomed in hospitality, and extending it to others.  As we celebrate this Christmas season, let us embrace the true meaning of hospitality and recognize that we are better together.

I hope you will make room to celebrate Christmas Eve with us at Bethany.  We are excited to share with you the Christmas present of worshipping together in our newly renovated sanctuary.  May we open our hearts, make room for others, and share the joy of Christ's birth with all those we come across in this Christmas Season.  Amen.

Merry Christmas,
Pastor Cathy