Did you know that there is no innkeeper in the Christmas story? There's not. There is no mention of him anywhere. So why do we talk about him so much? What makes his story important?
Take a look for a moment at where the innkeeper comes into the story.
Luke's biggest concern, when he tells the Christmas story, is getting Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to a manger in Bethlehem. There aren't many details in the middle of it. The inn gets a short mention that explains why the baby is being put in a manger, but there's nothing else there.
But we still tell a story about an innkeeper? Why? What makes his story important when we don't know anything about him? His story is important because we don't know anything about him. We assume that there is an innkeeper involved somewhere. When we tell that story, we're telling a story of how we hope that we would respond in his place.
The innkeeper lets us be both a passive observer and an active participant in the story. In him is wrapped up our hopes for how we would respond and who we want to be. That's how we tell the story. That's a great way to tell the story too. Because the innkeeper is facing some serious issues. Take a look at what gets it all started.
For the innkeeper, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he's going to have a lot of business, but on the other its going to be a lot of hard work for him because of all the people that are coming into Bethlehem for the census. There was a lot that he could prepare for, but there were some things that he couldn't.
The innkeeper didn't know it, but his story was about to collide with another one. All of them brought together because of the census. All of them are brought together because as Luke tells the story, he is telling enough of it to get Mary and Joseph to a stable where they would lay the new baby in a manger.
The innkeeper wasn't expecting the people that showed up at his door, probably late at night, and probably very desperate. He looks at them and sees a couple, who look incredibly tired and the woman looks like she could give birth at any moment. He knows that he doesn't have any more room for them in the inn, but he has that moment. This is the moment that we've been waiting for, that we hope that we would do in the same situation.
He sees them, and has compassion for them, and he can't offer them much, but he can offer them the stable for them to stay in. Mary and Joseph take it, grateful that they have a place to stay. Then the rest of the story takes place, just as we know it. Mary gives birth, and there are shepherds and angels, eventually wise men, and somewhere along the way someone adds a little drummer boy, but we don't hear anything else from the innkeeper.
That's okay, because his part of the story is done. He did what he needed to do. More importantly for us, we got to see him do it. We represents who we hope to be. His world collided with someone else's, and the world was changed because of it.
When we think of the birth of Jesus, it's not all about the Messiah being born so we can all get to heaven now. It's about moments like this. It's about the times when God brings together folks who would have no other reason to meet each other, except that they are brought together because they can help each other.
For the couple, they find someone who gives them a place to stay so they can become a family. The innkeeper finds some respite in the middle of the chaos where he can help someone else who needs it. This is what God does. This is the promise that comes from the child that is going to be born. It's not about where we're going when we die, but about how we can live a better life now, because that same God is still at work.
Go out and find the ways that your world collides with others because God brings you together.
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