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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Breaking the Rules

 

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[January 12, 2011]   --"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."-Luke 2: 7
 

It is funny to me that, although never mentioned in the Bible, the innkeeper has managed to work his way into every Christmas pageant ever.  Often portrayed as the villain of the piece, the mythical innkeeper examines the wayward Mary and Joseph, and boldly proclaims that there is no room for them inside; that they will have to sleep in the stable.  With that, the innkeeper often exits stage left as the more faithful figures of Magi and shepherds enter the scene.  But I think the innkeeper is actually the most important character for us today. And why, you ask?  Well, because of all the characters in the advent pageant, he is the closest to us.  Few of us have had divine revelations, so that separates us from the shepherds and wisemen, and none of us are Jesus' parents, so no go for Mary and Joseph either.  But the innkeeper, here is a man going about his business, simply reporting the news that the inn is full, and relegating his weary travelers to the barn, which would have been a reasonable place for them, historically.

And yet we heap scorn upon him.  Didn't he know who they were?  Couldn't he see what he was doing?  And the answer to both questions is an emphatic, "no!"  He was merely doing what he had been taught.  Rules are rules, we are taught, and they exist for the proper ordering of society.  Sometimes those rules, regrettably, leave people on the outside looking in, and that is what happened to the Holy Family.  And this is where we must be careful.  If the innkeeper is the villain of the piece, and if we really think he missed the boat, yet he is the most identifiable, then that means one thing.  As Christians, we need to be ready to break the rules.  We need to know when to make an exception, when to offer a pass, when to toss out the guidebook. God forbid that history judge us as the innkeeper has been judged, and yet it likely shall.  This week, as you are considering the coming of Christmas, consider for a moment the innkeeper, and ask yourself, wouldn't it have been a better story if he'd broken the rules?  Wouldn't it have been better if he'd let them in to the inn?  Sometimes the rules need to be broken.

Prayer:  Holy God, help me to see those moments in my life where I need to break the rules, where I need to make an exception to serve someone in need.  I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 

[Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church]
 

 

 

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