The lights are up and twinkling across the whole region.

In spite of the energy costs it appears there is a determination to make sure that we celebrate Christmas well.

After several Christmases limited by the impact of the Covid19 pandemic there is a longing to celebrate.

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Parents, and grandparents, are making sacrifices in other parts of their spending to ensure Christmas is a cracker for their family.

Christmas meals for those who would otherwise be alone are planned.

The TV shows are ready to go; Panto season is back in full swing.

We are finding ways of ensuring that we make room for being together and enjoying this festive season.

Christmas should be a time for rejoicing. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem came as the hope for the world; God acting in love for us all.

The angels sang rejoicing at his birth.

Yet at the time no one, except Mary and Joseph, knew that this child was to be the fulfilment of centuries of longing for God’s rescue act.

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So whilst we might wonder why some found no room for a young pregnant woman no one had any idea of the true identity of the babe in Mary’s womb.

Then room was made amongst the domestic animals and the feeding trough turned into a cradle.

When the shepherds on the surrounding hills were told of the arrival of their saviour they made room from their work responsibilities to race and find the baby.

If God was making room for them, then they would make room to welcome him.

So this Christmas I wonder how we will ‘make room’, and for whom?

Rightly people are making huge efforts to make room for their own family celebrations.

I really hope all are able to celebrate well.

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However, we all know that large numbers of people are struggling to cope in the current cost of living crisis.

We are aware of asylum seekers wondering what their future holds.

We see the people of Ukraine desperately suffering.

We hear of desperate hunger in Somalia and other places.

How might we make room, compassionate and generous, for these various people in need?

We can make room to purchase a few extra items and donate them to the local foodbank.

We could make room to support the Warm Rooms which are now in place across the region, in churches, libraries, community centres.

Further information on Warmwelcome here 

They need volunteers and support for their running costs.

We can support refugees and asylum seekers through the various organisations alongside them.

Let us make room to give to organisations like those supporting Ukraine and Tearfund, Christian Aid and Oxfam to support those facing hunger around the world.

Christmas is a season to be generous supporting others.

This generosity needs to come even in the context of a nation that feels at a high level of unease.

This is expressed in many ways.

The wave of ‘strikes’ being undertaken.

The levels of ‘in work’ poverty.

The rising number of people with mental ill health concerns. I wonder if ‘making room’ might help us all.

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We could make room to support the Warm Rooms which are now in place across the

Within the unease of the causes of strikes there is surely a need for employers, including the government, and employees to make room to truly listen to one another.

Showing unwillingness to explore steps to resolution, is not going to see us working together through the challenges that all face.

Work is meant to be fulfilling. It is intended to pay enough to ensure we can live adequately. Yet for many this is not the case.

We need something of a revolution to ensure work for all is truly fulfilling.

The Real Living Wage, set higher than the Government’s National Living Wage, helps ensure many do earn enough.

The Living Hours campaign seeks to ensure that people have contracts that ensure they have adequate hours of work.

There is a need to make room for one another to find the way forward.

When we consider the serious rise in mental ill health amongst all ages then we must make room for support.

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For many the simple provision of friendship and a listening ear makes a huge difference; they feel valued.

Some, clearly, need higher levels of support but early action that comes through making room for listening is a way many of us can play our part.

Jesus grew up to be a hard working carpenter; he understood the challenges of being a working person.

When he moved on to become the world’s greatest ever teacher he experienced having nowhere to lay his head.

He was reliant on the generosity of others alongside giving himself entirely in compassionate care of the most vulnerable.

Ultimately he gave himself up to death for us all saving us from our own sin. Jesus was God making room for us.

The call on us is to make room for him in our lives.

This is the hope of Christmas – a restored relationship with the God of all.

May all have a cracking good Christmas.