MAKING ROOM FOR JESUS

Monday in the 2nd Week of Advent
Lk 5:17-26

Jesus was inside a house. The house was jam-packed. There was no way for four men, carrying their paralytic friend, to inch through the crowd. But the four men were clever. They lowered down their patient through the roof of the house.

Was there already a hole in the roof through which those four caring men could lower their friend or did those four daring men have to make a hole, thereby destroying the roof? If there was already a hole, there was no problem. But if those four daring and caring men needed to make a hole through the roof, that could have been a very big problem. They could have picked a fight with the owner of the house! But if you were the owner of the house, you would not mind a hole in your roof, right? Or would you?

The house in the Gospel today may well symbolize the hearts of those who were crowding around Jesus. Jesus had to break open their hearts to accommodate the crying need of the paralytic man.

In the same fashion, Jesus teaches us an important lesson: We must learn to accommodate the needs of our fellowmen. But such a lesson can only be learnt if we are willing to let Jesus break open our hearts. If we allow Him to do so, miracles happen because miracles begin with an act of love. Breaking our hearts for others, like break broken for the life of the many, is an act of love.

During this Advent season, there is so much talk about welcoming Jesus in our hearts. We welcome Jesus in our hearts when we welcome in our hearts the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the marginalized, the least of our brethren.

What is it in our hearts that Jesus needs to destroy so that He may break open our hearts and, through our neighbors, most especially the least of our brethren, enter into it?

Welcome Jesus in our life. Let us give a room in our hearts for the least of our brethren. Let us give our hearts Jesus. May Jesus possess our hearts even more than our hearts possess Jesus.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus found no room in the inn. Will we not dare change that very sad story today?