Many Don’t Care – The Innkeeper’s Apathy
Purpose: To help every believer and non-believer make Christ a priority in their everyday lives.
Scripture Focus: Luke 2:1-8
Introduction:
Christmas is becoming “Christ-less” in our day because we are losing the focus on what the holiday is all about from the beginning. Santa becomes a substitute for Christ. He’ll give you presents whether you were bad or good. The focus on giving gifts allows the priority of worshipping Jesus to shift toward temporary things. The priority of the Christmas message is that God sent His Son Jesus to this earth on Christmas Day to give His life for the sins of the world. It is probably an unfair depiction, but the Innkeeper’s apathy in the Christmas story mirrors many today. We don’t know enough about the one who told the family of Jesus to, “sleep out in the barn,” to commit him to eternal suffering. Maybe that was the best he could do. Here is an account of his defense. (Spiritual Formation dept. Wesleyan)
"Reflections of the Innkeeper"
How was I to know! How was I to know!
They looked no different than a dozen other families I had already turned away. How was I to know that they were special.
Do you have any idea what I was going through that night? Never in my lifetime have I seen such an upheaval of people. You think your highways are crowded at Christmas time - you should have seen ours. Try to imagine what it would be like if your government announced that within 30 days, the head of every household must return to their place of birth. Think of what that would mean - just for your family. Then multiply that by everyone you know.
That was our situation. A decree went out from Caesar Augustus - and the result was chaos. People were moving in every direction. Roads were chocked with travelers, food supplies ran short, water was at a premium - and so was housing!
Caesar’s decree was, for me, the chance of a lifetime. Many of the families who returned to Bethlehem stayed with relatives or friends. But many families had neither - and they needed lodging.
My inn was completely full, night after night. I raised the rates - and my inn was still full! I upped them again - no matter! There were always those who could afford the price I asked. It seemed as if all the rich were gathered under my roof. I’m not a friend of Caesar’s, but Caesar was certainly a friend to me.
You disapprove? Would you have done any differently? I have a wife to support and five children who never stop eating! The census was my chance to make a killing and I was busy doing that.
And then - they stood at the door. The inn had been filled since the 9th hour - but there they stood - asking for a room. I had already turned the others away, and so, I told them the same thing: "There is no room."
But as I spoke with the husband, I saw the weariness in his face, and I wondered when last they had rested. And when I looked into his eyes, I saw not only fatigue, but a desperate pleading to be listened to.
And then, I saw the woman. Her body was heavy with child, and her face was tightening with the first spasms of labor pain. As the father of five, I had seen that look before. I knew that her time was very near. I told them there was no room in the inn, but if they wanted to, they could bed down with the animals.
I thought I was doing them a favor - especially since I did not charge them the going rate. I let them have it cheap!
I didn’t know they were special. But because of who they were, you think of me as the one who said, "no room," and put the Holy Child out back with the animals.
"No room" are the words I’m known by. "No room" has become my name. "Mr. No Room", the Innkeeper - that’s the only thing you know about me. But perhaps that’s the only thing any of us need to know about each other. Is there "room" or "no room" for the Christ Child?
Perhaps that’s the crux of Christmas - making room.
I missed that child because I was too busy to realize what God was doing. With all due respect to the Almighty, he could have chosen a more convenient time - when my life was not so crowded with responsibilities and opportunities that needed my immediate attention. At a convenient time, I would gladly have made room for him.
Except - when would there really be a convenient time for God to knock on my door? I seem to be always busy, one thing after another - I’m never caught up.
Maybe God knew that. Maybe God got tired of waiting for a convenient time. Maybe what happened to me was God’s way of saying something to you - and to the whole world.
If your life is already filled to capacity and your time already fully scheduled, you may not recognize him when he knocks at your door.
Isn’t it ironic? He came to be with us. His name was Emmanuel, which means "God with us", but instead it was the so-called dumb animals that made room for him. They took him in when I shut him out. We humans paid him no attention until the shepherds came, asking about "a baby lying in a manger." A manger - that’s where I put the Son of God!
If I had just taken the time to listen to Joseph - to let him explain the events that brought him to Bethlehem. If I had known who he was, I would have made room. I would have moved someone out - or given him my room. I would have made room, where there was no room.
Maybe that’s what God is asking each of us to do for this Child - to make room where perhaps there has been no room.
I missed the knock on my door, but for you, there is still time to receive him, still time to look at the clutter in your life, still time to question if the rooms of your life are filled with really important guests. Still time to reserve a place for this most special guest of all, so that when he knocks, you can give him a better reception than I did.
And he will knock. You can be sure of that. It may not be at a convenient time, but it will happen. During his ministry he told us, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." He began with me, even before he was born. He has been doing that ever since. Knocking at the door of the lives of men and women - asking to be born in their hearts - instead of in a manger.
O my friends, your Christmas can still be everything mine should have been. I could have been the first to welcome him! How sad that instead; my door was the one to shut out Mary and her Son. (George Reinke)
What can we learn from this?
Making Jesus a Priority in Today’s World is Almost Unheard Of.
• Self gets in the way of many things. When we place ourselves above others, we are not only breaking the laws of scripture, but we are making many pay a price for our own selfishness. Caesar made a decree that caused a lot of people to suffer
Many Have Careless Attitudes About Christ.
• Perhaps the Innkeeper was only interested in his personal agenda. Picture yourself being the Innkeeper. It is late; You have been fetching towels and water all evening long and you are tired. Careless? Perhaps. But the Innkeeper didn’t know who it was standing on the stoop of his Inn. We do!
• Maybe we who know Him get careless because of our personal comfort zone. The government forced Joseph to make a long trip just to pay his taxes. Mary had to go with him, ready to deliver a baby at any moment. But when they arrived in Bethlehem, they couldn’t even find a place to stay. Doing God’s will often takes people out of their comfort zones. Those who do God’s will are not guaranteed comfortable lives. But they are promised that everything, even their discomfort, has meaning in God’s plan.
Do Not Let Your Living Get Careless for Jesus
• If we knew Jesus was coming, would we make room for Him? Are we only kind and caring for those we know? Do we consider those who are in need as if we were serving Christ? What about the homeless, hungry, thirsty, naked…?
• Does Jesus get the Master Suite of your life, or the barn?
• If Jesus was standing at your door today (and He is), what would you tell Him?
Conclusion
In simple, direct language, Luke presented the Christmas story: no trees or fancy lights. All we get to see is a lowly manger….and animals……and an over-crowded inn.
Application
• How will you respond to this Child who is Jesus, God’s Son?
• Consider giving a specific challenge for the week ahead related to making Jesus a priority in practical, daily living.
