Brief synopsis of the readings: From the book of Jeremiah we read that the Lord will fulfill his promise to the houses of Israel and Judah. He will “raise up for David a just shoot” who will do what is right and just. Judah will be safe and Jerusalem will be secure. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus spoke to his disciples. He told them about signs in the sky and on earth that will frighten people. Then the Son of Man will come with great power and redemption will be at hand. Jesus then warned them not to let their hearts grow drowsy “from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life” lest they be surprised. Finally they should have the strength to escape tribulations and stand before the Son of Man.

Though it may not feel like it, today begins the liturgical new year. It’s the season of Advent, the four weeks before Christmas. It’s an odd time of the liturgical year because I suspect we were often told as children to use this season to “make room of Jesus” when we’ve been bombarded by advertisements since before Halloween. It’s hard to make room for Jesus when nearly everything tells us that we need to get the perfect gift for everyone and get the tree up and lights on our house before New Year’s. Make room for Jesus? It’s hard enough to make room for the cookies we’re going to eat.

So let me let everyone off the hook. Jesus came over 2000 years ago and his birth was not dependent on readiness or any human action. Jesus came because it was part of God’s plan, not because we were good enough that we deserved it, or bad enough that he needed to put out the fire we created. He came to redeem us and that redemption took human form that night in Bethlehem.

What happened in that place and at that time centers everything we are doing now. Recognition of the newborn showed clearly to Mary and Joseph, to the Magi, and to the local shepherds what they were to do. They were to give honor and to recognize that the world will be saved. That’s a good thing.

But in time Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth (by way of Egypt, at least in Matthew’s Gospel), the shepherds returned to their flocks and the Magi returned to their homes. As time went on (except to Mary and Joseph) the memory of that first Christmas began to fade as life went on and whatever expectations they had for the future likely began to fade.

So is that why we celebrate Christmas every year? In a sense, yes. Sometimes I think we get caught in the trap of trying to recreate the event every year. Show of (virtual) hands, how many households have a yearly debate over whether or not to put Jesus in the Nativity Set now or wait until Christmas morning?

Apologies to all those whose livelihood depends on a new sales record for Black Friday but I think we may feel pressure to make this Christmas bigger and better than last year, only to outdistance it next year. We don’t celebrate to recreate; instead I think we celebrate to remind and re-anchor us.

All of our lives include events that mark our lives: marriages, the birth of our children, etc. We mark those dates to keep us on track and renew our relationships. Childrens’ birthdays remind us of the joy and wonder of being responsible for a whole new person. Wedding anniversaries remind us of why we chose the person we did. Many years ago I was talking with a parishioner who felt her marriage was getting stale and I asked her what it was about husband that first attracted her to him. She didn’t have a ready answer but I saw her a few weeks later and she thanked me for the question. She said that thinking about when they first met reminded her of how wonderful he was and some of those feelings began to come back.

This renewal, while it’s a good thing, doesn’t mean that we are heading in a bad direction and it comes “just in time.” I’ve always treasured bearing witness when couples renew their vows because it’s virtually never done to save a marriage that’s in trouble. Vow renewals give time to reflect not only the joy of the wedding but the joys of the years since.

I say this because in today’s Gospel Jesus warns against “carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.” Renewal doesn’t depend on waiting until things are going bad. But carousing and drunkenness often happen because we don’t pay attention to the signs around us. I think our challenge isn’t carousing or drunkenness but complacency. When things are going well, well that’s also a time for renewal. One side effect of the Christmas frenzy is when we feel like we’re getting it wrong, that if we did it right it would be easy.

Our lives are complicated and saying yes to a Christmas party may mean saying no to something else we want to do. But let’s give ourselves the gift of recognizing that a complicated life often means a bountiful life. We are always going to need to balance the expectations others have for us and expectations we have for ourselves.

And finally, renewal reminds us that when we face complications and uncertainties ahead we’ll be OK because we’ve done it before. When the God we read in Jeremiah speaks of the “just shoot” for David, we are reminded of a time when things were good, and that they will be good again. We face an uncertain future but that’s always been true and we’ve survived so far.

So maybe “finding room for Jesus” doesn’t mean an additional bullet point on our “to do” list as much as it is recognizing that Jesus has always and will always make room for us. We have four weeks ahead of us this Advent and perhaps its time to recognize those small moments that have always brought joy. Maybe “making room for Jesus” asks us to find the joy in a child’s laugh or a quiet moment in a mall parking lot.