"The Advent season is a time of expectation, a time of hope and a time of anticipating what is to come. As we move through the season we get ever close to the time when we collectively celebrate the birth of a king; the saviour who came to bring life. Somewhere around 2000 years ago, a very pregnant Mary was being led from Galilee through meandering hilltops and olive groves on her way to Bethlehem. It was probably cold; a desert cold that drips into your bones and makes you long for relief, for shelter, for some warmth- any warmth. If we think back to the Christmas story, there are obvious heroes, villains and a heroine but there are also the ‘extras’, the oft forgotten cast members who hold the story together, such as the anonymous innkeeper.
At the time of a Roman census, you would think that the busiest person in town might be the hotel manager; making sure the guests of the packed accommodations are having their needs met. You would also think that at this incredibly busy time the innkeeper would have been inclined to turn away any unfamiliar faces that approached the front desk. After all, he was busy. He was doing his job. What more could he be expected to do? However, this was no ordinary innkeeper; this innkeeper saw something in the eyes of the strangers that stirred compassion inside him. It turns out that he didn’t have a room, but he had a space - albeit space in a barn. He couldn’t do everything but he did do something.
As we sit in the tension of Advent and wait with expectation for Christmas this year, may we remember the anonymous nativity characters, such as the innkeeper - or modern day innkeepers. May we be led by their example by showing compassion to help strangers and understand that while we can’t do everything, we can do something."
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