Heck Advent – Night 13

For tonight’s lesson, we read again from Luke 2, this time focusing our attention on the Innkeeper. Of course, no such character is actually mentioned in the biblical narrative; rather, we assume his presence based on the fact that Joseph and Mary were told there was no room for them in the inn. Together, we recalled that Joseph and Mary had journeyed all the way to Bethlehem to take part in the registration Caesar Augustus had ordered. So many people travelling throughout the land of Israel must have meant that all possible options for lodging were exhausted. We imagined that homes throughout Bethlehem might have been filled with guests and that any inns available near Bethlehem would likewise be at or near capacity. We explained to the boys the importance of hospitality in the culture of Jesus’ day, and that the same love of strangers is both expected and commanded of believers today.

But for Mary and Joseph, any available place to sleep in a home or inn was taken, and the only option available was with the animals. We imagined that the innkeeper, often made out to be a cruel and unfeeling sort of figure, may have actually been quite sorry for his guests, longing to extend the same hospitality he’d extended to those who filled his rooms. Perhaps his offer of a place to rest alongside the animals was a tender, though seemingly inadequate offer of love and concern. Perhaps it was all that could be done. Perhaps it was his way of doing something, rather than nothing.

We talked with the boys about how the Bible doesn’t give us every detail of every event that took place in Jesus’ life. And because of that, we can sometimes find it helpful to use our “sanctified imagination.” The things we imagine in order to help us fill out these stories in our minds aren’t inspired and we don’t know them to be true, but they do help us along in remembering that these stories are about real people in real places at a real point in actual history. So, to help us along in our imagination of what this unforgettable night might have been like for the Innkeeper, we listed to this thoughtful and thought-provoking poem by John Piper. Please do listen to it; you’ll be glad you did.