No Room in the Inn?

One of the places long sought in the Christmas story is the inn at Bethlehem.  Was Bethlehem large enough for an inn?  Did Bethlehem's location provide a sufficient business opportunity for such an establishment?  Scholars have debated these questions for years.

Yes, Bethlehem was small.  No, Bethlehem was not that isolated.  The world passed nearby.  An inn was possible.

The answer really rises and falls on the meaning of "inn."   Rather than the inn we commonly picture, "kataluma" is better interpreted as "guest room."  Homes of the 1st Century often had a large family room for all and another room for storage or "guests."

Joseph was from Bethlehem which certainly meant that he had family there.  Hospitality called for opening the guest room especially for kin.  But the decree of the powers that be called for all natives of Bethlehem to return home.  The guest room was already occupied by other family members from afar.

What remained for Mary and Joseph was an area of the home where the animals were placed for protection from thieves and to provide necessary heat.  In Bethlehem, homes were built to include the natural caves in the vicinity for such use.

While this understanding does not completely answer our questions regarding that holy night long ago, it is somewhat more comforting than a tired and tested "innkeeper" who turns the holy family away with the harsh words, "no room in the inn."  There is profound good news still in the announcement that a Savior has been born and He can be found among extended family albeit in a manger, a feeding trough.  In Bethlehem, "the House of Bread," the hungry of the world can find the Bread of Life.  

Three Christmases in This Land

Merry Christmas from Bethlehem! Today is the Orthodox Christmas which follows the Latin Christmas by twelve days. A third Christmas is yet to be celebrated by the Armenians on January 17.

If you enjoy Christmas, as I do, then this land is the place to be.
Once upon a time, Christmas amounted to a one day celebration for me and my family. Then we discovered the twelve days of Christmas. But now my wife and I are in the land with thirty-six days of Christmas.

So let me invite you to come to the land and Christmas, not year-round, but for an extended duration. So again, Merry Christmas from Bethlehem!

Christmas in Bethlehem

Last evening, I celebrated my first Christmas in Bethlehem with my wife, good friends, and the thousands who came. Manger Square was a feast for the senses: dazzling lights, sounds as at a rock concert, at times the uncomfortable jostling of the crowd, and the smells of coffee, falafel, and cigarettes. "Awesome" is the descriptive word of the young, and youth made up most of the crowd.

As we entered St. Catherine's Church, the contrast was welcomed. The crowds waited there in rather quiet anticipation. At 10:30 p. m. the liturgy celebrated the actions of St. Francis who more than anyone provided the world with its most common image of Christmas, the creche. Then the processional began for the Midnight Mass. I was reminded of what our Roman Catholic friends do best, liturgy and pageantry. Similarly, I felt as in Manger Square the awe of Christmas!

Before departing Bethlehem, we waited outside the church for the arrival of the Palestinian President, Abu Mazen. He was late for the Christmas Mass and his witness of solidarity with the local and worldwide Christian community. Finally, he arrived recognizing the crowd with vigorous waves.

Christmas in Bethlehem! The memory will linger and inform future Christmases in other places and times for me. "Christ the Savior is born!"