Three thoughts of Christmas, part 1: No Room

[Kevin H]

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas. While I hate the thought of driving in the snow and paying the heating bill that's coming, I love this season as it focuses on our loved ones and to look forward to what is coming in the future after the bad times.

Those who are routine readers here know what's coming next, but this may be new for new readers, but it is good to remind ourselves of durring this season. That is of course the relation of this holiday to the story of Lazarus, that there was no Inn or Innkeeper in Luke's story, and the update of information on how we ended up cellebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25.

Anyway, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you on Club Adventist and to your loved ones.

[zeta1]

Happy Holidays to you also Kevin.

[Kevin H]

One tradition of the season is the Bethlehem Inn and Innkeeper. We will see it in plays and films, and it has become as much of the story as the shepherds and manger. Now I recently read that despite being a small town, Bethlehem did have a fairly famous and important inn. However the the inn does not show up in the story of Jesus. In our Christmas stories and sermons we need to remove the inn and innkeeper. There was no in and no innkeeper in the story of the birth of Jesus.

Ok, your thinking "Kevin, you are really off your rocker this time, Luke 2:7 says that Jesus was laid in the manger because there was no room in the inn, so how canyou say that there was no inn and no innkeeper?"

The Greek word that Luke uses is "Kataluma." Translaters know that this is not the word for inn. The word for inn is found in the story of the good samaratan. Translaters knew the word for inn, but they did not unfamiliar with the word "Kataluma." While knew it indicated the idea of "guest chamber" they did not know how to translate it. Since Mary and Joseph were traveling and was unable to stay someplace, the translaters reasoned "Maybe this is another word for Inn" just as in English we have "Inn" "Hotel" "Motel" etc. and they translated it as Inn and as we read "Inn" the story of the inn and innkeeper entered our tradition.

While continuing to study the ancient languages, finding ancient manuscripts, their knowlege of words grow, and sometime during the past 20 years scholars have come across the word "Kataluma" enough to understand what it means.

In Jesus' day most people in that part of the world lived in multi room buildings, usually 20 something to 40something rooms called an insula. Often one family would live in one room and in the other rooms were your cousins and other extended families, and maybe another family with their extended family would live in the other rooms. Some rooms were where the family slept, others for different purposes such as court yards and storage rooms. (the parable of the fool, who wanted to tear down his barn and build bigger ones was talking about his insula, he wanted to kick out his family and turn his insula into all storage rooms. This is even worst than wanting to keep his good fortune for himself, he wanted his good fortune to be his family's bad fortune as he kicked them out of their home).

One of these rooms was called, you guessed it, the Kalaluma. The Kataluma was the room in the insula set asside for family from out of town to stay in when they were in town.

The place that did not have room for Jesus was not the public Inn, but Joseph's family. It was like a family reunion and going to the garage instead of the guestroom. Luke contransts how even in Jesus' own family, his own parents, how there were differences. Mary welcomed the message and Elizabeth sang the prases of Mary's baby, while Joseph thought of putting her away and Joseph's family had no room for him.

Now while one mystery is solved we have new mysteries. Why was there no room in the kataluma? Why were they in the manger? Were they not welcome by the family and thus pushed into the stable? Did they come home for the family reunion only to be pushed in the garage? Or were they were welcome with open arms but with all the relatives and little Sarah saying every 2 minutes "Did Mary have the baby yet" and her brother Moshe keep saying "I'm want some water" it might have been so many relatives and so busy that they went to the stable just to get some privacy. Maybe there was a little of both.

Anyway, which ever reason for there to be no room for Jesus, most of us consider ourselves Jesus' family. While we expect the non related public to not have room like a sold out public inn, However is there something in us that does not have room for Jesus. Either part of us that we do not welcome Jesus with, or are our lives just so busy that there is no room for Jesus? You are Jesus' family but this Christmas season we can ask ourselves if there is room for Jesus in our kataluma.

[Kevin H]

Happy Holidays to you also Kevin.

Thank you and you too Zetal

[phkrause]

Happy Holidays to you to Kevin.

pk

[Kevin H]

Thank you

[Kevin H]

It's Chrstismas eve, Merry Christmas and I hope you have room for Jesus in your Kataluma!

[phkrause]

Yes Merry Christmas all.

pk