hidden image

Bob’s Banter by Robert Clements ‘No Room!’ Shout Mobs and Lawmakers, but..!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
03 Jan 2022

“No room!’ shout mobs as they rampage churches, burn Bibles!”
“No room,” growl same mobs throwing stones on cross, on pulpit!”
“No room for you here,” they whisper as in the silence of night they set a priest afire.
“No room! No room! No room in this nation!” chant mobs in town and village.
But hush, who is this that runs frantically in front of same mobs, “Don’t!” he shouts, “Don’t say there is ‘no room’!”
The mobs they stop and listen. For in his eyes they see sadness, and in his body, fear, “What is it stranger, that you come running to tell us?” they ask, “That makes you unafraid of mob anger and wrath?
“Save your anger and wrath!” whispers the stranger and as the mob gets closer they look at each other and whisper, “What strange clothes he wears! This is not one from our country where kurta and dhoti are our attire! Who is this?”
“Go back!” says the man in strange attire, “Go back and leave these people who follow the Baby born today alone!”
“How dare you say that?” the mobs roar, “We have no room for them in this country! No room!”
“Ssshh!” says the man in strange attire, and in his eyes they see a pleading, “Sssshh!” he whispers, and the mobs become quiet, “I said the same! They came to me, and I told them, ‘no room in my inn’! Oh I wish I hadn’t, I wish I hadn’t! Now for all eternity I am remembered as the one who said, ‘no room!”
The mob was hushed for in his eyes, they saw a pleading!
“Like you I had no room for them! Like you I thought I’d only room for those like me! And I thought that that man and that pregnant woman, ‘Mary, he called her’ was not my type, and I muttered to myself, ‘Outsiders!”
“Yes!” shout the mob, “Outsiders!”
“Oh the mistake I made!” cries the man in strange clothing. “I threw them out but I couldn’t stop Him from coming in!”
“Who?” asks the mob.
“The very God whose words you burn in the Bibles they read, whose churches you stone, whose priests you attack, He walked into this world, even when I shouted ‘no room!’ He did not need my permission!”
“And you want us to put down these stones, put out our fires, and keep away our choppers? You want us to stop passing laws that will keep Him out?’ roar the mob, “Why have you come out today?”
“Because it’s Christmas!” whispers the man in Bethlehem clothes, “And two thousand years ago when I said the same words, you mobsters and your lawmakers shout, He still strode into the world! He changed it! So don’t waste your time screaming, ’No Room! Don’t make laws saying, ‘No Room! Because…..” And the mob stood still as the innkeeper sang,
‘Oh, God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way you’ll see
He will make a way..!

bobsbanter@gmail.com

Recent Posts

Courts speak through evidence, not the religion of judges or the accused. Once judicial decisions are judged by identity instead of reasoning, the blindfold of Lady Justice falls, and with it, public
apicture A. J. Philip
13 Jul 2026
Religion loses its soul when it becomes a vehicle for power and profit. The Ayodhya donation controversy exposes how faith is exploited for political capital and commercial enterprise. Democracy deman
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
13 Jul 2026
The deadliest weapon in modern India is invisible. Armed only with smartphones, artificial intelligence, and psychological manipulation, cybercriminals are stealing fortunes, destroying reputations, a
apicture Jaswant Kaur
13 Jul 2026
The One Nation, One Election Bill might promise slightly more efficiency, but it will damage the constitutional foundations of India's democracy. Administrative convenience cannot justify concentratin
apicture Joseph Maliakan
13 Jul 2026
When every constitutional safeguard appears compromised, the judiciary becomes democracy's last refuge. Though there have been some recent judicial interventions, they are only on the fringes and quic
apicture G Ramachandram
13 Jul 2026
Mumbai is India's financial hub. With an estimated population of 12.5 million, it is home to more billionaires than any other city in Asia. This city is renowned for its Bollywood movies, ambitious sp
apicture Fr. Anil Prakash D'Souza, OP
13 Jul 2026
A night that starts Whenever a non-Dalit Picks up a weapon Because someone Of "his" caste Was insulted By the sight Of a Mlechchha standing tall.
apicture Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
13 Jul 2026
Democracy was never meant to end on polling day. It was meant to continue every day thereafter, with governments being questioned, ministers being challenged, and officials knowing that somebody, some
apicture Robert Clements
13 Jul 2026
Fifty years after the Emergency, the debate has shifted from suspended Democracy to whether democratic institutions can be hollowed out while elections continue and constitutional forms remain outward
apicture Thomas Menamparampil
06 Jul 2026
Is India moving forward or slipping backwards? Growing concerns over democratic institutions, civil liberties, economic inequality, and constitutional values have kept the national debate over whether
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
06 Jul 2026