December 24

Eve of Nativity

Chapter 66

The Rule of St. Benedict December 24

Over the last several months I have felt much like the porter at our parish.  The circumstances of my life have shifted so that I am physically at the church for most of the working hours of the week.  I keep the front gate and door open, and when I hear the clicking of the latch, the squeaking of the hinges, and the banging of the heavy wood against the frame down the hall, I rise from my work and stand to greet whomever will appear momentarily at the entrance to the church office.

The disposition of the porter towards the visitor that our Father Benedict describes in this chapter is a tall order to fulfill.  It can be contrasted with the Nativity story's "no room in the inn" motif.  The porter is to genuinely celebrate and make accommodation for the presence of Christ in the person of the uninvited traveller, no matter the hour of her arrival.

The role of the porter offers a view of an inner posture that St. Benedict desires for us all to assume.  It is a posture that receives whatever may come with an eye for where God is in it.  It is a posture that remains free from entanglement within deadlines and agendas to the extent that there is no room for the Christ to be born into our awareness.

Let us, therefore, like the carol beckons, prepare room within our hearts for the Lord who comes to bring joy to the world.  Let us seek to recognize the Christ who searches for a place to be born this night, and may we rise with welcome to receive his blessing.

Br. Chad 2012