No room for whom?

We all know the story: the Son of God was born, not in an environment suited for a king, but instead in a stable. He lay, not in a golden crib, but in a manger full of hay. The simplicity of the situation has only increased the romanticism of the story, and has made its way into countless Christmas songs and every church's nativity program. Have you ever noticed, though, that Luke doesn't say, "There was no room in the inn"? Rather, Luke 2:7 reads (with emphasis added):

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

I don't know much about Mary and Joseph, but I do know from Luke 2:24 that they sacrificed two turtledoves at Jesus' purification, where most families were asked to sacrifice a lamb. Leviticus 12:8 specifically allows this only for mothers who cannot afford a lamb.

Perhaps, had Mary and Joseph been in the "right crowd," with a little thicker pocket books, there would have been plenty of room in the inn. At the very least, surely an inn keeper could have arranged to make room for them.

As we get ever-nearer to the Christmas season, underemployment is near 18%. While the economy is improving, many people simply do not have the money they wish they had for this holiday season.

It is worth noting that the Wise Men from the East came to Jesus in Matthew 2:11, it is described,

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child."

It is safe to say that if Jesus was a baby, he would have been described as a baby, not a child. It is also safe to say that if the Wise Men had arrived at a stable, Matthew would have said "stable," not "the house."

The bottom line is that the story of the first Christmas took place in a very joyous, although very modest situation. Yes, grand gifts did come, and I would be lying to say that gift giving (and yes, receiving) doesn't bring me much joy. But the gifts from the East came years after the night where Mary and Joseph were rejected from the inn, likely on the basis of their meager means.