Borrowed Space

Jesus ate his last meal in a borrowed space. The upper room where Jesus and disciples had their supper was a guest room – in Greek, a kataluma. This word is used in only two places in the bible – in the story of his last night on earth and in the story of his first night on earth.

In Bethlehem, his parents sought shelter for him in a kataluma, and he had his first supper there in the stable where he was born. In Jerusalem, he had his last supper in the same kind of borrowed space. He sent his disciples to find a guest room for their Passover, and they did as he instructed, talking to the owner of the house, making sure the room was set up, and then getting the supper ready.

They must have done this hundreds of times, negotiating for places to eat and spend the night. After all, as far as we know, Jesus had no home of his own, at least not during his time of ministry. Instead he traveled around, making himself at home wherever he could find a welcome.

And he still does that; he still seeks a place where he will be welcomed. Only now, our church has become the kataluma, the guest room, and we are the disciples who are invited to share a meal with him.

He is still borrowing space, only now that space is in our lives. Open your hearts and make room for him. Open your hearts and welcome the Christ. Open your hearts, so he will be at home in you and then you will be at home in him.

And as we invite him into our midst, so he invites us -- knowing as he does so, that we have betrayed him, denied him, and failed him – knowing all that, and still loving us, calling us, forgiving us.

Prepare your heart to welcome Jesus. Lots of things crowd out the God space in our lives. Let those things go. Make room for Christ so your life becomes Christ’s borrowed space.