Will We Make Room This Christmas?
- tonytangebirah
- Dec 18, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
Every Christmas, we return to a familiar story. A young couple. A long journey. Closed doors. A Child laid not in comfort, but in a manger—because there was no room.
In many cultures, this story is not merely read; it is reenacted.
One such tradition is Las Posadas, a nine-night journey rooted in Mexican Catholic life, where communities walk from door to door singing the plea of Mary and Joseph:
“In the name of Heaven, I beg you for lodging, for she cannot walk, my beloved wife.”
From inside, the response comes—refusal after refusal. “This is not an inn. Keep going. I cannot open.”
Only after many closed doors does one finally open, welcoming them into warmth, food, and light.
Las Posadas is not sentimental nostalgia. It is the Gospel embodied. It forces us to feel, in our own bodies and voices, the weight of that knock—the ache of being turned away.
And in a world marked by displacement, poverty, persecution, and disaster, that knock has never sounded louder.
Remember—So That We Do Not Forget
Scripture repeatedly commands us to remember. Remember the Lord (Deut 8:18). Remember the poor (Gal 2:10). Remember that you were once strangers (Ex 22:21).
These are not gentle reminders. They are safeguards against spiritual amnesia.
The Christmas story itself is a holy interruption of forgetfulness. It places us not before a polished nativity scene, but into a raw and unsettling reality: a pregnant teenager, exhausted and vulnerable, denied shelter. Soon after, a frightened family fleeing violence, becoming refugees to protect their Child.
From the very beginning, as the Prelate of Opus Dei, Don Fernando, reminds us, the mission of Jesus is marked by the sign of the Cross—by suffering, flight, and the blood of the Holy Innocents.
The joy of Bethlehem stands in stark contrast to hardship and fear. This tension is not accidental. It is revelatory.
Jesus chose to enter the world from the margins.
Bethlehem Is Not Far Away
Las Posadas collapses the distance between past and present. Between Bethlehem and Singapore. Between Scripture and now. Between them and us.
Today, families knocking on doors seeking safety, mothers carrying children without shelter, refugees and asylum seekers searching for dignity, are often met with suspicion, inconvenience, or indifference. Over 117 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide—yet it is dangerously easy to live as if they do not exist.
This is why Christmas is not merely a celebration. It is a question.
Who are we in the story?
Are we the innkeepers, closing the door for fear of inconvenience? Are we the silent crowd, watching but indifferent? Or are we the ones who finally open the door?
Jesus leaves no ambiguity. In Matthew 25, He identifies Himself with the hungry, the stranger, the imprisoned. To welcome them is to welcome Him. To reject them is to reject Him.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
A Merciful Heart, Shown in Deeds
In his recent Christmas reflection, the Prelate of Opus Dei calls us to contemplate the humility of the Child Jesus and to respond not with abstractions, but with specific deeds—acts of mercy that become signs of hope and peace in the world.
“There must be no barriers between us and those around us.”
As we gaze upon the Holy Family in the stable, we are reminded of countless families today who lack what is needed to care for their children. Pope Leo XIV expresses it simply:
“No sign of affection, even the smallest, will ever be forgotten, especially if it is shown to those who are suffering, lonely or in need.”
The incarnation is God’s radical act of proximity. Our response cannot stop at sentimentality. It must become solidarity.
From Reenactment to Real Life
Las Posadas teaches us that remembrance is not passive. The reenactment is only a rehearsal.
The real question is what happens after the carols fade.
This is where Gebirah’s humanitarian missions come in—not as extraordinary acts reserved for a few, but as concrete ways to live Christmas all year round. Through accompaniment of refugees, disaster-affected communities, the poor, the forgotten, and the displaced, Gebirah seeks to open doors where the world has closed them—offering friendship, dignity, and hope.
To support or join these missions is not “going the extra mile.” It is simply to refuse to be the innkeeper.
The Child Is Still Knocking
This Christmas, as lights fill our homes and tables overflow, let us pause and listen.
The knock has not stopped.
The Christ Child still comes disguised as the vulnerable, the migrant, the suffering family, the forgotten neighbour. The question remains as urgent now as it was in Bethlehem:
Will we make room? Or will we close the door?
May the Child Jesus renew in us a hope that does not disappoint. May the Holy Family teach us trust and courage. And may this Christmas find us not merely celebrating His birth—but recognising Him when He knocks, and opening the door. If you feel inclined, pls like, share or comment and connect and follow me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-tan-c-g/
Stay tuned to find out about our next mission or humanitarian project. 🔔
Forthcoming Missions:
Fang, Thailand – 19 to 23 Mar 26
Pamplona, Philippines – 19 to 23 Jun 26
Timor Leste – 7 to 11 Aug 26
Ashiya, Japan – 25 to 30 Sep 26
Tamil Nadu, India – 9 to 13 Oct 26
Hong Kong – 18 to 22 Nov 26
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