At tonight's ADVENTure display in Ellenbridge Road, we were taken again to the Little Town of Bethlehem. The display beautifully modelled the narrow streets and eastern-style buildings of the town, complete with a "Census Office" and a sign to "Register Here". Opposite the office was the "Bethlehem Inn" over which a sign had been hung: "No Room". Adjacent to that was a stable, in which the manger scene was laid out.
Simple, yet profound. Of course, we cannot know with certainty about the place where Jesus was born. Was it an inn as we know it? Quite possibly not. The original Greek word used by Luke suggests that the reference was to a guest-room, a place of rest. It could be that the place where Joseph and Mary sought a night's lodging was some kind of guest chamber provided by the community. Either way, what is clear is that: "...there was no room" and that was the message of tonight's display.
The Jewish culture of offering hospitality to strangers makes it all the more difficult to comprehend why this descendant of King David could not be accommodated with some decency and respect in David's home town! Yet there was apparently "no room". And the child was pretty quickly rejected by King Herod, to boot.
But the shepherds tending their flocks welcomed him (and, yes, the Sanderstead sheep have now crossed into Ellenbridge Road!). They "made haste" to greet him and give him the honour that no-one else would give.
In today's upwardly mobile society, most people have little - if any - room for Jesus Christ. Yet the real message of Christmas, which we are seeking to share through these displays, is that the Christ for which the world had "no room" has ample room himself for those who believe and put their trust in him by faith. That's a bit different from the commercial, tinsel-and-glitter festival that surrounds us this Christmas-time, isn't it?
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