Bethlehem's Godly Innkeeper

Being Ready to Take Care of Angels, Strangers, and Others Who Come Around

Good Morning,

Hospitality is definitely one of those subjects that is seemingly pretty straightforward, yet in some ways kind of complex. Being nice to strangers is an ethic that goes hand-in-hand with the Christian faith. It’s kind of non-negotiable. All human beings are made in the image of God and deserve our care and love. However, the way we go about showing hospitality needs some kind of clarity. One of the fellows that gets kind of a bad wrap this time of year is the poor innkeeper who didn’t have any room in his motel for Joseph and Mary. I hate to break it to you, but just like the wise men who didn’t get to Jesus for a couple of years after His birth and so don’t really belong in the Christmas play, the much maligned innkeeper is a figment of bad storytelling. What’s happening there is that the place where they had planned to stay, some person’s house, likely a relative of Joseph’s, was full. His guest room (which is translated as “inn” in our English bibles) not being available the uncle or cousin of Mary’s betrothed cleaned up and made ready a space for them so that the mother of God would have somewhere warm and comfy to rest until the day of Jesus’s great appearing. The “innkeeper” actually went out of his way to show hospitality to the couple who would raise the consolation of Israel.

It's an interesting thing to consider precisely because as we will get into today in our prayer and worship help the way we help one another in Christ doesn’t always follow clear lines. A text worth starting with is a passage you’ve probably heard before, yet it is a great help to get us on the right track this morning. Paul in Hebrews 12:1-3 says:

Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

There are three types mentioned here. Strangers, angels, and prisoners. When it comes to the second kind our minds are drawn to Genesis 19 when Lot protected God’s messengers from those who would do them harm. Before it got to that point though Lot seems to recognize who they are. God’s word says, “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.”. How is that? Well, in the previous chapter we are told that there were three created beings who appeared to Abraham in the form of men, and whom he recognized were connected to the appearance of the LORD in the plains of Mamre. It is these open eyes which tie themselves into what we are thinking about when it comes to how believers should approach hospitality in Hebrews 12. Abraham gave a heads up to his cousin.

Notice how Lot and the angels interact in verses 2 and 3:

“And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way. “And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.”

We’ve all been there. It’s the sort of dance people do when help is offered, and it’s kind of funny in some ways to see nothing has changed. Lot offers, the angels politely decline, Lot insists, and the angels accept. There is a mutual love happening in that exchange, a common respect, showing itself in humility and grace.

One can imagine almost the exact conversation taking place in Bethlehem as Joseph and Mary arrived. The unnamed “innkeeper” took great care that his guests were provided for even though he didn’t have room for them. As Lot makes this great feast he probably also had other uses in mind for that food. In thinking about a practical way you might show the kind of hospitality for the stranger, or the angel, that Lot witnesses for us and Paul commends it might be a good idea to keep a ready-made meal that can be tossed in the oven or microwave in a rush. We have even less excuse not to be expecting to show hospitality than when food had to made from scratch. Keeping clean sheets and a house available is really not a major inconvenience, unless it is. Paul’s encouragement to let our brotherly love continue means that when a stranger does come by the reason why it is not a hassle is because we have already been practicing hospitality to those who are not unknown to us. Loving neighbors as ourselves has a habit of being useful at the most opportune times, including taking care of angels unknown.

In closing, another aspect of this to meditate on is that Lot’s care of the men who appeared at the gate came because Abraham had pleaded for the life of his cousin with the Lord of glory. They came to warn Lot of the wrath to come, and shared that truth with all in his household. We rightly are reminded of the wickedness of the Sodomites, and what they tried to do, however, for our purpose this morning let’s think about the Sodomites in Lot’s own home. Evidently there was a little pushback from his son’s-in-law about the hospitality he was showing and what the angels had to say about their home town. Not everyone is going to be happy about sacrifices we may take for strangers within our gates. Yet that should be no reason to not be the kind of people who Christ taught us to be. Remember there was another innkeeper, just as righteous as the one who took in the holy family. He had a man dropped off by a Samaritan at his door, one who had been sorely treated by many others. Having received his commission he duly did his duty, taking care of this alien whom he did not know, in light of the marvelous grace of a poor, wayfaring stranger.

Last word:

https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2019/03/boldness-clarity-light-world/

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church