A Story of an Innkeeper

For most of us, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are filled with nonstop activities. It is run run run. In the busyness we often end up “turning away” all that makes this season so joyous and beautiful. We need to be very intentional about creating time and space to just sit and reflect on those things. Let me get straight to the focus of this writing – throughout your holiday busyness, are you making room for Jesus?

In Luke’s telling of the birth of Jesus he tells us that Joseph and Mary were turned away when they were looking for a place for Jesus to be born. In Luke 2:7 we read, “And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

Older translations use “inn” rather than “guest room.” The Greek word kataluma used for “inn/guest room” has several meanings: a guest room (as in a person’s home) or lodging place (as in a boarding house, hotel, or similar establishment). Have you ever wondered who it was that gave Joseph and Mary the “no vacancy” news? It could have been the proprietor of an ancient day bed-and-breakfast, or it could have been the owner of a personal residence. Let’s just call this person an “innkeeper.”

Look for a writing later this month asking the question, “Was Jesus really born in a barn?”

If you know this story, then you know that Joseph and Mary were returning to Bethlehem to register for a census. It is likely that Bethlehem was bustling with people, all returning to take part in the census, so rooms would likely have been in high demand. A “Sorry No Vacancy” sign probably hung in many lodging place windows. And when Joseph and Mary arrived looking for a place to give birth they were told by the “innkeeper” that there was just no room for them.

What caused this innkeeper to turn Joseph and Mary away? Maybe his “inn” was full, or maybe he was just preoccupied. He might have been busy with fixing meals, cleaning rooms, making beds, caring for animals, and providing for his family. All good and worthwhile activities. But he most likely saw that Mary was ready to give birth so couldn’t he have made some provision? There must have been some place he could have offered them. But the story tells us they were turned away and ended up in some lowly place that housed animals.  

What’s the point of all of this? We are like that at times, especially at Christmas. The rooms in our lives are filled, sometimes to overflow capacity. Our lives are consumed with activity – not necessarily sinful or bad activity, just things that keep us busy and often away from God. And when we are preoccupied, we miss the Christ of Christmas.

So, this Christmas season my challenge is for each of us to make room for Jesus at our own inns. And in doing so, not being like the innkeeper in this story, saying “Sorry, no vacancy!” Don’t miss the Christ of Christmas!

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