Prepare Him Room - by Laura Duke

Our Christmas celebrations this year are centred around the theme of "Make Room". How many references can you think of in our favourite Christmas Carols to ‘making room’?

In the story of the birth of Jesus, we can see how different people ‘made room’ for His coming. In a very literal and corporal sense, Mary made room for Jesus to grow in her body. Joseph made room in his life to be a father to a child which wasn’t biologically his own. 

In Luke 2:7, we encounter the familiar phrase, "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

I don’t know about you, but when I read that familiar passage, I imagine Joseph knocking on the door of every hotel in town only for him and the heavily pregnant Mary to be cruelly turned away to a cold and dirty stable because there was ‘no room in the inn’. But I wonder if this is the most accurate interpretation of the scripture.

I encourage you to read the accounts of the birth of Jesus and take note of how much you might be assuming based on the lyrics of your favourite carol or nativity movie.

There are two Greek words we often translate to ‘inn’. ‘Pandocheion’ is the word Luke uses to describe a commercial hotel in the story of the Good Samaritan, but that is not the word he uses in the story of the birth of Christ. Here he uses 'katalyma' and refers to the guest room attached to a typical peasant family home. These homes consisted of a single room where the family cooked, ate, and slept. Half of the room had a sunken floor, and the family would bring their animals into this area at night for protection and warmth.

A small hollow would be cut into the edge of the raised level which would be filled with straw for the animals to eat from. The manger. There was often a separate room upstairs for guests to use, like the room Jesus and his friends would later share their Passover meal in.

Could it be that Mary and Joseph were not cruelly turned away from a commercial inn, but welcomed by a family into a home where the guest room was already occupied?

Why does Luke highlight the fact that Joseph was of the line of David and returning to Bethlehem, the town of David? Does the narrative of Joseph being turned away fit with what was likely a prevailing culture of hospitality and respect for heritage?

I invite you to consider the warmth and humility displayed in that small Bethlehem dwelling. As we reflect on the Christmas story, may our understanding be deepened.

As we prepare for this season, let us also remember the words of John the Baptist as he ‘prepared the way’ for the Lord. He was the one foretold of in Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Matt 3:3 from Isaiah 40:3)

May we discover ways in which we can ‘make room’ for the Saviour and prepare the way for Him in our lives, whether they be busy and crowded, or quiet and lonely.