Advent - Making room.

I can remember when my dad passed away, (Dec 28, 1987), that I was so offended and appalled that the world just continued on as if nothing had happened. I wanted everything to just stop a while with me and show their respect by mourning. Yesterday, Troy's memorial was held in the viewing terrace above the hockey rink in Matsqui. It was an appropriate place to remember a man who loved hockey, playing and coaching. While we sat and waited for the memorial to start we could look out the big windows and watch the kids playing a game, chasing after that puck. It's a small room and people just kept coming, standing room only. I was struck by the fact that this man had made a bigger impact on the lives of those around him than even his family had anticipated. It was a good problem to have, that lack of space. It showed our support, it showed the family that we were stopping to mourn with them, and to remember him.
Two thousand years ago, when the baby Christ child was born, the world should have stopped. It was a momentous event. There should have been a huge celebration of life, felt throughout the world. Yet life just continued on, to the extent that the greed and self-centeredness of the people was reflected in His birthplace. There was no other place for Him. No one was going to give up their bed for his pregnant mother and certainly not for Him. He knew that and yet he still chose to come.
There are those who today remember his birth and rejoice in his coming. Many do it out of respect, I can see that and appreciate the thought. Then there are some who remember with a better understanding of why he came and what he left to get here. There is a sense of joy in that as well as a sense of mourning, seeing that there is still a self-centeredness in all of us that continues to this day, and I have no response to that, it will continue. But there lives in me the hope that I will live my life in such a way that there is room for that baby. That with the season I will remember and stop to mourn and to rejoice, in the gift that was given.