Preparing room

The candlelight, the dinner, the presents, the rush of the day is done...now what? We are still in the Christmas season and now is when it really matters. A lot of congregations will spend time Sunday doing a carol sing. I always found that appeased and pleased the folks especially since I am one of those pastors who won't sing Christmas carols during Advent. Thanks goodness, the hymnals have made that task easier by adding some solid, singable tunes to the Advent reperatoire.....if you have to reach for "Lo, How a Rose Ere Blooming....." you had surly congregants.....

The song "Joy to the World" includes the line, "prepare him room." And, that's the rub.

Living the faith is about preparing room, making room, adding room.

Imagine what it would mean to have policies that shared resources so that all had enough, had space, had room?

Imagine what our faith communities would become if we acutally made room for everyone and worked to inlcude everyone in the life of our faith communty? One didn't need to have a certain family pedigree, or income, or fashion, or membership, or intellect --- we just welcomed, included and involved everyone. Why the possibilities are astounding!

Imagine what would change in us if we made room to listen to another and especailly to the other who's view, perspective, reality, faith and experience is completely opposite from our own.

Because the car I currently drive is in the "pray and start" phase and because it's so wonderfully easy and efficient, I've become a frequent user of the trolley system of Pittsburgh known as the T. (Also, I just enjoy telling someone that I'm taking the trolley...it's some kind of homage to Mr. Rogers). My morning and evening commutes on the T have given me an excellent glimpse of community and the possibilities present when we actually look up from our technological devices and see each other and acknowledge a fellow being.

The T gets crowded. The closer one gets to the city, the more uncomfortably crowded the T becomes. Yet, no matter how packed, whenever a senior, or a woman with a stroller or with toddlers in tow boards, without fail, several persons will offer their seat and choose to wedge themselves in with the standing hoards so someone else who needed the room of a seat could have theirs. I confess, witnessing those small acts of kindess gets my day off to a lightened start. It's even more fun when two or three people offer seats similtaneously.

A simple practice of faith is to pay attention, notice, look up, look out, look out for.

As the year draws to a close, notice when and where and who and how folks prepare room and make room. Share those reflections.

The gift of my mother was frequently heard saying to anyone who came to her home, "Come on, in. Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Have you eaten? Sit down, we've got plenty of room." ....yes, we do....if only we pay attention and make the effort.

sj;