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Connections&
December 22, 2002- Fourth Sunday of Advent
The angel said to her, "Hail, full of grace! You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus" Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
Luke 1:26-28
'Let every heart prepare him room& '
He is never mentioned in Luke's Gospel story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem--but he is the lynch pin of the whole Christmas story. Were it not for him, Jesus would not have been born in a poor stable but in the equivalent of the Bethlehem Ramada.
He is the innkeeper who, it is presumed, refused a room to Joseph and Mary, forcing them to find shelter in a barn. All Luke says is that "there was no room for them in the inn." But every movie and Christmas pageant always includes the innkeeper (and usually his wife). Often he is portrayed as a gruff old bird holding court in his profitably filled establishment who cannot be bothered with a poor carpenter from the sticks and his pregnant bride. But sometimes he is the harried host, overcome with the details and demands of running a hotel during the busy season. And once in a while, the innkeeper is a compassionate soul who sympathizes with these two poor travelers and offers the only hospitality he can--the cave he uses to house his animals.
The innkeeper never realizes who he is turning away, never knew who was in his midst. It was a busy time, guests and customers needed to be taken care of, his establishment was filled up. Nothing personal, folks--just business.
The innkeeper is not to be ridiculed or mocked or criticized--especially by us. We're all innkeepers when it comes to this Child: These are busy times, things need to be taken care of, our lives are filled up.
Nothing personal. Just the business of life.
CONNECTION: What the innkeeper will not or cannot do--and what Mary does in today's Gospel--is the challenge of Christmas in every season: to find room for this Child in the midst of the hectic commerce of our lives; to find room for him in the quiet desperation of our pain and anguish; to find room for him at our kitchen tables, on our soccer fields, in our class rooms and conference rooms, in the places where we hang out; to find room for him in our wallets and checkbooks, in our calendars and day planners; to find room for him in our homes and hearts. ¦
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