Good morning. It Thursday and therefore my thought for the day will be an attempt to share some ideas about a Biblical character, or in this case characters, because I will expand the thoughts for today and tomorrow to two people. One is the inn keeper, a person about whom the scripture shares only a few words. However, he is a central character in the birth narrative. The other character is completely fictitious. I am imagining this person to be a traveler from Jerusalem to the town of Bethlehem some months after the time when Jesus was born. He is seeking information about the child. I am asking that you imagine yourself as this character. The tale is too long for a single day, so I will start it today and finish it tomorrow.
As you walk toward the city of Bethlehem your head is filled with thoughts and ideas. It is your goal to learn more about the birth of the Galilean child they called Jesus. You know some of the details: that his parents were from the community of Nazareth in Galilea, that they had come to Bethlehem to meet their legal obligation of the Roman census, that they stayed in the city for some months and then abruptly left. But you have spent your life waiting for the Messiah, the anointed one of God, and you have heard the rumors about the strange circumstances surrounding this child’s birth. So, you have walked from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, a journey of a little over 6 miles.
Bethlehem is a small city, with a population of about 1,500. There are around 550 homes within the city walls, and all of the usual businesses you might expect to find. One of those businesses is the key to your search. You will first go the inn and speak with the owner. The inn is typical for a community of this size. There is a structure suitable for people to meet. It is a place to sit, share a simple meal, and perhaps a beverage as you chat with other patrons. Over the top of this meeting place there are 4 small rooms. Hospitality to strangers is a requirement of the Law of Moses, so every home in the community would have had visitors enjoying the locals’ hospitality during this busy time. The rooms of the inn are typically for those who would not be able to ask for the hospitality of home. They may be persons who are not accepted by the synagogue for any number of reasons and therefore not able to ask for help in accordance with the Law. Or they may be persons that value their privacy enough to be willing to pay for a place to stay. In the case of the birth of the child, the city was overrun with people from all over the region due to the census. Every house was spoken for, as was every room at the inn. In front of the inn was the place of “outer-lodging.” This was a place with several simple tents and fire pits. For those who couldn’t afford a room, or in this case when there was no longer a room available, they paid a much smaller fee and stayed outside. This area would have room in a more normal situation, but at the time of the child’s birth it would have been completely full of travelers.
As you walk through the dusty streets you come to the inn. It has been some months since the birth and the hectic business of that time has passed. The census was completed, and the number of travelers to Bethlehem is back to normal. You enter the small inn enclosure and are happy to accept a bowl of the stew and a mug of their watered wine. As you slip the owner the appropriate coin you ask if he could sit and talk with you. He seems happy to do so.
You ask if he can remember the night in question, the night when a young man leading a donkey carrying a very pregnant young woman may have stopped and asked for lodging. The innkeeper looks away, seemingly a bit embarrassed by what he has to say. “Yes, I remember them. How could I forget?” he says while shaking his head from side to side. “That young lady, barely more than a girl it seemed, was so heavy with child she could barely fit on the donkey.” “Good!” you say. “So did you give them a room or were they forced to stay in your outer enclosure?” “Ahhhh, that’s just it” he says. “The rooms were full and there wasn’t a bit of space outside either. I had to turn them away.” You shake your head because this is a bit difficult. “So, what I have heard is true, this young couple about to give birth found no room with you?” “That’s right” he says. “At the time I didn’t know what else to do, I was full up. Business had never been so good, and I was running around trying to make every possible coin while it was there to be had.” He shakes his head again, “I felt bad for them, but what was I supposed to do. I mean after all, business is business…right?”
“So that’s it, that is the end of their story as far as you are concerned?” you ask. “Oh no!” he nearly shouts. “That is only the beginning of the story. Settle in my friend and I will tell you what happened that night, and some things that took place in the months between then and now.”
“Wonderful” you tell him, “I look forward to hearing every word.”
“Well,” he tells you, “I didn’t just turn them away into the night. I offered them a place in my stable which is a cave dug into the hill behind us. They looked sad at the thought of it, but the young man simply nodded and headed back to the cave. Now that is when our story gets interesting!” You smile and eagerly await hearing more about the young couple and the extraordinary birth of the child. Could he truly be the One?
Tomorrow’s thought will tell the rest of this story of the traveler seeking truth and the innkeeper who unwittingly played his role perfectly in accordance with the will of God.
Vern