Quick Summary:

During the nine day Christmas festival of Las Posadas, travelers reenact the story of Joseph seeking lodging with his pregnant young wife, Mary. For eight nights they are turned away, until finally, on the ninth night, their request for shelter moves the heart of an innkeeper who offers them all that he has--a stable. In this way, the community enters anew the story of God's hospitality to them in Christ and hear Christ's call to offer the same hospitality to the stranger, the traveler, the refugee, and all who are in need of posada - shelter.

The words of Isaiah open up a view toward the world that God is bringing to birth, and it is a world marked by reversals: a world where doors open for strangers; where there’s good news for broken hearts; a world where the captive are freed, fortunes are reversed and past devastations are cleared away to make room for new possibilities. This world of renewal and hope often seems to be a good ways off. Yet our texts this morning tell us that this world is coming into being, and he is coming—Emmanuel; coming in the flesh.