The Innkeeper in his own words

This blog post is a reading from my book The People Who Knew Jesus: Monologues for Advent and Lent. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the book's page on Amazon if you want to purchase the book.

The Innkeeper

There were so many people in Bethlehem that day.  They had come to town because of the census that Caesar Augustus had decreed.  I own the only inn in town, and every room was full because of the census.  There were no more rooms left for me to rent out when Joseph and Mary came to the door.  They didn’t get here in time.

Joseph was very angry when I told him that there were no more rooms available.  “Can’t you see that Mary is in pain?” he asked.  “It is time for her to be delivered.  Are you sure there are no rooms available?”

The only other room available was the room my wife and I slept in, and if I gave that up, where would we sleep?  I thought for a moment.  “I do have a place,” I told Joseph, “if you don’t mind staying in the stable with the animals.”  Joseph nodded. 

I took Mary and Joseph to the stable and made them a bed in the hay.  I made sure that there was plenty of hay for them to stay warm.  Then I went back to the inn.

I had trouble sleeping that night, so I put on my robe and went outside.  Some shepherds ran up to greet me.  They told me that the baby Messiah was lying in the manger of my stable, and that angels had told them about the baby. The Messiah? Here in my stable? I had to go and see. And there was Mary and Joseph, with the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger.

I went back to bed and told my wife. She was very angry with me. “A woman was having a baby and you put her in the stable? Tomorrow we will find a place for them to stay. A stable is no place for a baby,” she said.

Especially when that baby was the Messiah, the Redeemer that the Jews had been praying to see for many centuries. And I was one of the first to see the Messiah, lying in that manger bed. I will never forget that night as long as I live.

Stay tuned - the next post will feature the shepherd in his own words. Thanks for reading! See you next time! 

Diane

Blue Christmas

Christmas is one week from today and the holiday season is in full swing – Christmas movies are on TV, the malls and stores are busy with Christmas shoppers, and Christmas parties and family gatherings are on everyone’s agendas.

But for some folks, Christmas is not a very happy time of year, and it’s because they are separated from loved ones by death, distance, and/or estrangement.  The Christmas season brings back memories of spending the holidays with that loved one or loved ones and the pain of the realization that they will no longer be able to see that loved one may be too much to bear. 

The song “Blue Christmas” was written in 1948, and the most well-known version of “Blue Christmas” was recorded by Elvis Presley on Elvis’ Christmas Album.  In the 1974 Rankin/Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus, the children poignantly sing “Blue Christmas” to Santa after he announces he’s taking a year off from delivering toys.  The lyrics to “Blue Christmas” perfectly express the feelings of those who are missing their loved ones.

Sometimes the blue Christmas feelings hit you when you least expect it.  One night, the husband and I were watching a Hallmark Christmas movie.  The last song played in the movie was “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” and I suddenly had the realization that my estranged loved one was not coming home for this Christmas holiday and would likely never come home for any Christmas holiday ever again.  I had to go to my bedroom and weep for a while.

So what should you do when the blue Christmas feelings hit you?  Go ahead and find somewhere to grieve for a while.  It’s okay to do this; remember, Jesus wept over Lazarus when he died. However, if the sad feelings go on for more than a few days, you may need to obtain professional help.  I have noticed that I get more emotional whenever I’m exhausted.  If this is the case for you too, make sure your schedule is not too busy and that you get enough rest.  If certain items or situations remind you of your missing loved one, try to avoid those if you can. 

Some churches have blue Christmas services on December 21, the longest night of the year. These services recognize the grief and pain that people go through at Christmastime in a religious setting.  Being with others going through blue Christmases too may help you get through it. 

The most important way to help get through a blue Christmas is to focus on the reason for the Christmas season – the birth of Jesus Christ, who came to Earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins.  Read the Christmas story carefully and reflect on everyone involved in the story – Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, the shepherds, and the angels.  If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He will always be with you even when others are not.  He will never leave you. 

Please accept my best wishes for a happy and blessed Christmas! 

Diane

"Joy to the World" - is it really a Christmas song?

"Joy to the World," which was written by Isaac Watts and set to music by George Frideric Handel, is a well-known and well-loved hymn.  But did you know that it really isn't a Christmas hymn?  The lyrics are based on Psalm 98. A look at the lyrics of "Joy to the World" indicates that it is actually about Christ's second coming and the Millennial Kingdom and not about His first coming.

For example, in the first verse, there is a line that reads, "Let earth receive her King."  Jesus did not come as a king at His first coming, but as a baby in a manger.  "And heaven and nature sing" is a general reference to verses 7-9 of Psalm 98, in which the seas, the rivers and the hills rejoice.

The second verse has a line that reads, "Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns," and the fourth verse starts with the line "He rules the world with truth and grace."  The third verse states:  "No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground." These are references to the Millennial Kingdom, when Jesus will reign over the new earth.

So why do we sing "Joy to the World" at Christmas then?  I believe it is to remind us that Jesus is coming back again.  Indeed, in some mainline Christian denominations, Advent is the only time you'll hear about Christ's Second Coming.  Advent is definitely an appropriate time to think about the Second Coming, but I think Jesus' second coming should be talked about more than once a year.  If we have been born again and are taken to heaven in the Rapture, we will be coming back with Christ at His second coming, and how exciting that will be! We should be looking forward to the day when Jesus will return and establish His reign upon the new earth.

Wouldn't it be awesome if that when Jesus returns, the whole world, mankind and nature would sing "Joy to the World"? The second verse reads: "Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy."  How thrilling that would be!

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately.  I've had a lot of stuff going on the last few months and just haven't been in the mood to write. I hope that 2015 will be a better year.  Since today is Christmas Eve, I would like to wish my loyal readers a happy and blessed Christmas!

Diane

Does anyone know what Christmas is all about?

That's Charlie Brown's question to the cast of the Christmas play he's directing.  Linus Van Pelt is the only one who gives the answer to Charlie Brown's question, which you will see later.  Let's start by taking a look at what Christmas is not.

Christmas is not about Christmas trees covered in ornaments and lights.  Christmas is not about expensive presents and gifts.  Christmas is not about Santa Claus and all his reindeer.  Christmas is not about eating lots of food and drinking oneself silly.  Christmas is not about lights and decorations.

So what is Christmas about, you ask?  Christmas is about the greatest miracle of all - God Himself coming to Earth in human form, to live among the humans He created.  The greatest gift of all is God giving Jesus to us.  Jesus came to Earth as a baby - the tiniest, most fragile type of human.  He was born in the humblest of circumstances, sharing living quarters with common animals.  His bed was a feeding trough lined with hay.  He was not born in the big city of Jerusalem, but in the small town of Bethlehem, as was prophesied.  There was no big announcement celebrating His birth, just a visitation by the angels to some shepherds keeping watch over their sheep at night.  One of the many names of Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and how appropriate that the first people to visit Him in the manger were shepherds themselves.

Speaking of the angels and the shepherds, let's watch Linus's answer to Charlie Brown:



Friend, if you are reading this and you have not yet repented of your sins and turned your heart and your life over to Jesus Christ, I implore you to do so as soon as possible.  Tomorrow is not promised to us; indeed, your next breath may very well be your last.  I pray you make the most important decision of your life for Jesus Christ.  If you do, this may be the most happy Christmas you ever have!

Thanks for reading!  Have a blessed Christmas!

Diane