Luke 2:1-20
“Room In the Inn?”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
Both of them were poor, and when they came to the town, no one took notice of them. No one even helped them try and find a place to stay.
The name of the town is Bethlehem which means “the house of bread.”
No doubt the name comes from the fact that the land in Bethlehem was fertile land—unlike most what makes up Palestine—in Bethlehem there were wheat ripened fields, and figs trees and olives grew.
It’s interesting that Jesus Who taught His disciples to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread,”….
…Jesus Who would often later be found going to this house or that house to dine…
…to Simon Peter’s house in Capernaum…
…to the wedding feast in Cana…
…to Matthew the tax collector’s house…
…to the home of Zacchaeus…
…to Mary and Martha’s house at Bethany…
…to the home of Simon the Pharisee…
…to the Upper Room where Jesus ate with the disciples at the very end; and then even after His Resurrection, to the house of the two disciples at Emmaus…
…that this same Jesus would be born in a town whose name means “the house of bread.”
Jesus’ life had a well roundedness that no one has even come close to imitating.
He moved in two worlds at the same time.
He had the power of eternal life, and yet at the same time He gave Himself so intimately and fully to the most simple things that humans need in order to survive this life.
When Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, he used illustrations like a farmer scattering seeds that would ripen for the harvest or of a woman kneading yeast into a batch of dough, or a man knocking at a friend’s house for bread.
When He observed our struggles to make ends meat to survive He didn’t want us to be anxious but instead told us: “your heavenly Father knows that you need” these things.
Jesus Himself had lived and worked in Nazareth, and He knew about the practical necessities of life.
The God of love understands that you need these things, and the God of love cares.
“seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well.”
But Bethlehem represents more than simply the birth of the love of God in Jesus Christ, as a “house of bread” in the physical sense.
It also represents the house of that living bread that feeds person’s souls.
Jesus always saw both aspects of life.
“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” Jesus tells us.
Jesus knows that no amount of accumulated wealth, no amount of food or clothing, no amount of money can ever completely feed our human need.
People can have all the wealth in the world, but if we don’t know how to live, we will turn bitter, disillusioned, and will ultimately fall into despair!
Something inside us will starve unless we are fed by Christ Who said that He has come to be the Bread of Life!
So Mary and Joseph, both of them poor, came to this little town of Bethlehem.
And “while they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and” Mary “gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Why wasn’t there any room for them in the inn?
Well, it was simply because the other guests had gotten there first.
If Mary and Joseph had gotten there earlier, they most likely would have been given a room.
They were turned away, not because the innkeeper had anything against this young couple, but simply because the inn was so busy with so many other people.
Mary and Joseph had come late. The no-vacancy sign was lit up, if you will. They could not get in, and that is all there was to it.
It’s the way things were.
It’s how it turned out.
How often, though, in our own lives, due to busy circumstances…
…due to all the other things which fill our lives…
…and not because of any out right hostility…
…is Jesus not allowed into the inn of our hearts?
How often have we filled all the space we have with other guests?
How often are our hearts and minds so occupied with other worries, other thoughts, other dreams that there is no room for Jesus?
So often, this world, with it’s noise and business…
…with it’s gadgets, with our hectic pace, and our constant need to be entertained takes complete possession of our time and attention.
And then Jesus comes to us in order to come into our hearts and lives…
…in order to make them rich and meaningful…
…in order to change us and make us new…
…in order to give us rest and take on our burdens…
…in order to bring us salvation…
…do we have room for Him in the inn of our souls?
Jesus was born in a feeding trough for animals, probably in a stable in a town called Bethlehem.
Certainly, there was no room in the inn due to the fact that it was already filled with other folks, but there was also no room in the inn due to the fact that no one knew Mary and Joseph and Jesus were coming.
And therefore, they didn’t recognize their importance when they did come.
If the innkeeper had even dreamed of who Mary’s child would be—certainly he would have been able to find room for them in his inn.
But he didn’t know.
And that’s the way it is with us.
We never know when the great possibilities of God are at our door unless we take the extra time to keep ourselves sensitive to what God is doing.
Are we seeking God’s kingdom?
Are we praying for Jesus to find us and take room in our hearts and minds?
In Revelation chapter 3 Jesus tells us: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”
The door of our hearts must be opened from within, and Jesus must enter from without.
Jesus comes in and finds room within the hearts of persons, once we are willing to open the door to Him and make room for Him.
Now this may very well mean that we will need to make some adjustments—in order to make room.
We may need to reprioritize, and get rid of some of our non-essentials.
But once Jesus has really and truly been allowed to enter into our hearts, it becomes less and less difficult to continue to allow Him more and more room.
That is, if this is what we want.
The more we feed our souls with the things that are lovely and good, the more room Jesus has to turn our lives into what is lovely and good.
On the night Jesus was born in a feeding trough in a town name Bethlehem, “there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks…”
And “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…”
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Yes, the message is that not only is there a God, but that God comes very near to us.
To believe that there is a God above us and behind all this stuff we see is one thing, but to believe that this God comes to live with us and can give us strength which is sufficient to face all life’s challenges unafraid is still another thing!!!
And yet this is the message of Jesus Christ, God Who has come to us in the flesh!!!
Now the world would have naturally expected, that if God were indeed to come, God would have come shaking the earth and skies.
But instead, God came, stripping away the world’s pride through the simplicity of a baby born in a feeding trough.
And thus, through Christ, our humblest of human conditions can be lifted up into the immortal!!!
Jesus’ friends were people who made their living by fishing in Capernaum.
The homes He frequented were the little houses of ordinary folks.
He dealt with people in their ordinary occupations, and much of what He did with people was to make them understand how worth while their work could be…how worthwhile their humble lives could be!!!
He always let men and women know that what really matters is not what we possess materially, but rather the potential of our souls.
And once we allow God get a hold of our souls, anything is possible for you and for me.
The potential is endless!
As the shepherds were taking in this message: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:
‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on
whom his favor rests.’”
Salvation through faith in Christ is a gift from God. And it is the ultimate of all gifts!!!
We cannot be saved by anything that comes by way of human creation.
Our salvation must come from God alone!
Many well-meaning churches have put on their marques: “Come to church and find yourself.”
But the real message, the true message should be: “Come to church and find God and be found by God.”
The entire message of the New Testament is built on God’s prevenient grace, that is the grace of God that goes before us, that seeks us out…
…like a lost sheep…a lost coin.
We are to open our hearts and minds in thankfulness for what God has given us in Jesus Christ!!!
We are to open our hearts and minds and allow the living Christ to take room in the inn of our lives.
And in doing this, we will be granted a peace that cannot be destroyed!!!
Is there peace within the inn of your heart of my heart?
Are we able to say this Christmas Eve, “Glory to God in the highest…?”
And in that glory are we able to go on and work and serve the living Christ?
After the shepherds saw Jesus for themselves, “they spread the word.”
They didn’t do this out of some guilt complex.
They weren’t even instructed to do this.
It was just the natural thing to do!
God had come into this dark world!
They were so happy!
What good news!
They couldn’t keep it to themselves!
May the same be said of us.
Praise God and have a very Merry Christmas! Amen.
