And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7
The invention of an innkeeper in the Christmas story may not be wrong, but scripture does not tell us of one. However, along the way in those stories come prejudiced innkeepers, snobbish innkeepers, apologetic, greedy, kind, ruthless, rude, and about any other sort of person one might imagine. These are all of course reflections of the storyteller and those all around him or her who make up the culture of the time. Luke reports a fact, and we in later years run with it in all directions. If there must be an innkeeper, I like the kindly grandpa/grandma type who simply has no room in their inn but lots of room in their heart. They send Joseph and Mary to the stable with blankets, swaddling cloths, food and water, and even send a grandkid or two to help them bed down in fresh straw. In my version the usual decorations on the stable floor have already been removed by these kindly but overworked innkeepers as well.
May our version of that innkeeper reflect the work Jesus has done in our hearts!
Bucky
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