12/10- The Innkeeper at Bethlehem

12/10- Luke 2:6, 7- The Innkeeper
6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Thoughts: There have been debates about whether the innkeeper in Bethlehem was a terrible person- kicking a pregnant woman out of the inn, or a merciful person finding a barn for her in crowded circumstances.  This passage does not judge, and we would do well to not judge either.  Yet, we can learn to be merciful to the homeless, the stranger, the lost- for we may be entertaining angels unawares.  Hospitality should be a part of who we are.  In tough times- like floods or terrorism it is even more important.  That shopkeepers opened their shops to strangers escaping the dust of falling buildings on 911 in New York makes them heroes.  That an innkeeper would open his door- even a barn door- to a pregnant woman on a crowded night- makes him also a type of hero. 

Prayer: Help me to be hospitable as you have been hospitable to me.  There is room in my heart for you, and help me to open my life to others.  

Activity: Who is left out this Christmas?  Do something for the homeless or flood victims today or tomorrow.

Song: O little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie? Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.  Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.  The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. 
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray.  Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today! We hear the Christmas angels- the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.