No Room!

In her ‘Adventures in Wonderland’, Alice comes across the March Hare and the Mad Hatter at a table having tea, with the Dormouse between them, fast asleep:

‘The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it. ‘No room! No room!’ they cried out when they saw Alice coming.

‘There’s plenty of room! said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large armchair at one end of the table.’

I recall one nativity play. The teacher, giving a part to every child, cast three innkeepers. It went something like this:

Joseph accompanies pregnant-looking Mary to door1: Have you somewhere we can stay? My wife’s expecting a baby.

Innkeeper1 (loudly): No room! No room!  

Joseph moves to door2: Have you somewhere we can stay? My wife’s expecting a baby.

Innkeeper2 (angrily): No room! No room!

Of course at door3 the kindly innkeeper3 offers his stable. The rest, as they say, is history.

‘No room!’ speaks of exclusion… Our friendship group/organisation/church/country… has no room for your religion/colour/politics/sexuality/reputation…

Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tale of exclusion. Juliet, a Capulets was excluded from marrying Romeo, a Montague.

West Side Story tells of the doomed couple. Determined to change the demands of exclusion they sing:

There’s a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us, somewhere…

Yesterday was our friend Gillian’s funeral. We celebrated her life, heard familiar words:

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?’

Gillian’s last words to Danny, the hospital chaplain were, ‘It’s time. I’m going home.’

Jesus speaks of inclusion in many rooms. ‘Somewhere’ says, ‘We’ll find a new way of living, We’ll find a way of forgiving.’ It’s Alice’s ‘There’s plenty of room.’ Gillian’s faith points to her personal inclusion.