The busy crowd was thick with aggression and uncompromising distraction. Rude and pushy. Everyone was far too busy on their own way to take time to stop. There was certainly no time for charity or to listen to her pleas for help. Her tears were probably fake ones anyway.
Her fiancé held her hand tightly as they ducked down a dark back alleyway only to find the same situation one street removed. He asked for help repeatedly. Begged is more like it, but the looks of disdain and shameful scoffs were unbearable. Still, he pressed forward because he loved her.
Someone finally made eye contact so he pleaded. “Sir, could you please….”
“No, I can’t.” The man hustled away as fast as he could.
The young couple overheard him say to wife, “They should have thought about it before they messed around.” The wife glanced back as the couple walked away with an armful of packages.
Shame. Embarrassment. Poverty was tough but the scorn of judgment might be tougher. Especially when it came from the religious conservative front. However, his love for her came before his pride, so he forged ahead.
The next man he approached was just as cold.
“Do you work? You could afford a better situation if you had a job. It looks like you’ve been busy doing a lot of things other than working.”
She burst into tears. She couldn’t take it anymore. “God! Oh God, help me!”
She was tired. She was dirty. She was afraid. A young unwed mother-to-be. She felt her fiancé’s rough hand brush away her tears.
“Easy, easy now,” he said. He squeezed her hand tighter. Maybe it was anger. Maybe he was afraid, too, but he was relentless in his pursuit of assistance. She loved him all the more for it.
The crowd moved so quickly as they seemed to drag along past the storefronts. Oh, how she wished she had the time and money to look at the clothes, but the pain that pressed into her side was her only thought. Perhaps all the walking was moving things along.
“Please leave us alone.” Ah, she once again heard the blunt sound of rejection. She’d lost count of how many times now.
They could only move forward and hope someone would care enough to help them. Walking was such a chore being that her tummy was full of Life, and the Baby had been on the move for the last two days. The kicks were uncomfortable but each one brought warmth and a smile that no rejection could take away.
Only… how? How will they make it?
“Hey babe, let’s rest here for a minute. I know you must be exhausted. Your feet are swollen.”
She had never been so grateful for her fiancé and a corner bench in her life. The people had been unkind and the extra weight she carried was, too, so she dragged it towards the bench where another outcast man sat. He smiled and nodded as she approached. Just before she sat the pain in her abdomen was intense.
“Joseph!”
Her fiancé turned around to see the water dripping to the ground from underneath her cloak. It was her time. Maybe more appropriately said, it was His time.
Before Joseph could react, the man on the bench sprang to life. He, too, was dirty and his clothes were full of holes. Needless to say he lived a struggle of his own, but he helped Joseph sit his best girl on the bench.
The man acted as if he’d known them for life. “This baby will be here soon. You’ll never find a room around here. My camel and I have been sleeping with a mule and three sheep not far from here. You’re welcome to settle in there.”
“No! We can’t take…”
“Child, you need a place to rest and have this baby. What is your name?”
“Mary.”
“Please. Please…follow me, Mary. And your…uh… husband?”
“Joseph. My name is Joseph. But where will you sleep?”
“I’ll go to the fields. My brother tends sheep for Ehud just north of town. I will find rest when I get there.”
The stable was small. At least it was shelter. According to their new friend, it was home to Benny the mule and three sheep named Naomi, Jacob, and Esau.
“I named them Jacob and Esau because they are always fighting. They head butt each other when things don’t go to suit. Naomi just quietly watches but Benny will sound off every now and then.”
The man disappeared into the night. They wished they had gotten his name, but there was little time for regret. Mary settled into the makeshift hay bedding that Joseph had clumped together and began to pray through raspy breaths.
“Adonai, hear me. My time has come. You provided this place for my time. Now give me strength to deliver this Child that will deliver mankind. My spirit rejoices in You.”
The quiet of the night was split with Mary’s scream. Another scream.
And then Silence.
A Baby’s cry!!
That cry would cut through the night air the same way it would tear through the temple curtain years from this moment. The thrill of Hope. The weary world rejoices! God’s gift reconciling sinners unto Himself.
Benny the mule cried out, too! A bray of Hallelujah, no doubt. With a gush of water and blood, God entered the world in flesh, and years later He would gush blood and water from His side. All this to save man from the darkness he loves.
God’s Gift to all of mankind, yet there was no room for Him in the inn.
What about your inn? What about mine?
I was shopping earlier today when I passed a guy asking for gas money. I hurried to my car. I thought all the things that those in Bethlehem must have thought of Mary and Joseph. “Why no job? There’s help wanted signs everywhere.” Was it a scam? Maybe. But how much room was in my inn if it was legit?
As I headed home, a man on the radio told a story from the Christmas of 2010. A bank in Texas was given a Christmas tree by a local man only to have a customer, who was an atheist, complain to bank management. The bank removed the tree saying they could only use decorations that were distributed internally. No room in the inn.
How full is your inn? We have room for Christmas shopping. We have room for iPhones. We have room for social media. But is there any room to SEE and HELP those in need around us? We have room for school. We have room for sports. We have room for holiday gatherings, but is there any room in our inn for Jesus?
If you’re like me, your inn is not always full of good stuff. It’s time to start praying and find a stable to bring Him into your life! There’s no time like Christmas to make room for Jesus. Won’t you accept His gift? Won’t you ask him into your inn today?
John 3:16 – 17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save the world through Him.
