No Room In the Inn
During this time, the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, issued a decree that everyone throughout the empire should be taxed. All citizens were ordered to go back to their own hometowns to be counted, even if they lived far away.
It was an uncertain time and people were anxious. Joseph went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
He went to be enrolled for taxes, together with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was pregnant.
When Mary and Joseph finally arrived in Bethlehem, they discovered that there was no room for them anywhere in the town. They felt very lonely and afraid. Joseph pleaded with the innkeeper to help them because Mary was about to have her baby very soon. The innkeeper took pity on them and found Mary and Joseph a place to stay in his stable with the animals to keep them warm.
And there in the stable, Mary gave birth to a baby boy, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger just as the angel had said. But before we find the baby Jesus, let’s find out who else had heard about his coming...
I wonder...
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When have you felt worried? Who helps you, when you’re worried?
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What are ways that we can help others who are in need? In our hometown? Around the world?
Reflection
You’ve been travelling for what feels like forever, only to find when you get to your destination that there is nowhere to go. Far from home, dealing with taxes, the stress of life, and in a vulnerable state, you are left to depend on the actions of others to keep you safe.
Yet in the face of worry and anxiety, you’re met with the kindness of a stranger and in that moment the whole world changes.
