Home for Christmas? The Hospitality of God & the Hospitality of His People
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Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Saying in the house I grew up - on coffee mug among other places: East West, Home is best. Think of holidays and that song “I’ll be home for Christmas” immediately comes to mind. Better than all the stuff in the world, is to have family and friends to gather with feast with too to play games, share memories and joys and sorrows. And perhaps for many of us our ache for home is greatest in this holiday, both our desire for home and often the emptiness that home is not all that we want it. This evening though I would like you to reconsider what home for Christmas means but first of all for God and then for you and me.
Key Truth: The Son of God made a home in our lowliness and poverty, to fill us there with His majesty and fullness. We should not despise despise lowliness and poverty, but seek to find Christ there and copy Him in offering hospitality!
Consider then the idea of home for Christmas from the eternal infinite yet personal God’s perspective:
A. You may think that God’s home is in the heaven’s. But even heaven is a created realm for spiritual beings, can the ghiest heaven can’t contian him there. The infinite God inhabits all of time and space, and is beyond them all. But there is an interesting verse in Isaiah that tells us God create the earth as a dwelling place, to be inhabitated. That first dwelling place was the Garden of Eden, wrod literally means paradise - and God and humanity dwelt together. That was severed heaven and earth God andman dwelling together in the Fall, but actual word dwelling place, name given, tent , tabernacle = manifestation of God’s presence - speak and tinimately live by grace! And as you might expect all sorts of palms and water - symbols of paradise past and the one to come in the very end. Home for God always a place overflowing - F,S, HS, but even with His creation.
But now imagine you lave home for 30 years oversees, walk down same old street and there is the same old house, and you peak in the window - and its like Kevin in the movie Home Alone, dreamily watching strangers at Christma scelebration. When the Son of God comes this close back to this Home - things have changed so much - never the same.
And look at where our text begins before it settles on the guest-room and the manger in Bethlehem. What has become of this earth,
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
The Manger:
Now there is no doubt that for the fulness of time to come, all the preparations God’s bring to fruition - using Roman Empire, Rome’ home - unite peoples, degtee of peace, travel - and even this census to cororidante it all. But what we might miss in how Lyke begins the HOmecoming of God to earth with Casar for another reason. A really sad one. The reign of Caesar Augustus was infaous from a religus perspective - because these years were the years that religious worship of teh Emperor really took root. This Ceasar took the Title: Dominus et Deus, Lord and God! And wihtout swearing allegiance bring more death. That was Rome’s home. But it is instersting that as Luke Records God’s honmecoming it is in contrast to the pomp and power of Caesar and Herod’s of this world. Luke in Mary’s song makes it clear that God’s home coming is not to those who are proud in Spirit, who make themseelves God’s and rely on human strength and wisdom opposed to the living God’s:
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
And so if you want to be part of God’s homecoming can’t go toAugustus’ home in Rome, or Quinius in Syria, nor the captial of Judea - Herod in Jerusalem. Go all the way to a small town of only a few hundred souls in the hill country outside of Jersuaelm, One the prophet acknowellge is so small and insiginifanct and yet it was the home town of David. Come to lowly Bethlehem.
But there is another contrast that Luke is poainting that tells us about God’s home coming and who it is with. We celebrate Christmas and think of our nice cozy homes and there is nothing wrong with that. But listen, God celebrate s this first Christams and who is goign to be with and where?
And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
We are to think of trauma of mass exodus, a mini refugee crisis. God’s going to celebrate his first Christmas - with those forced to move, to be numbersed, those who are homeless. And He is going to come into the world in a sense homeless - And though he had a wonderful home in his childhood and teenage and young adult years, and he sanctifies that life for us, nonetheless his first years, from Bethlehem then to Egypt - are refugee years, and his minsitry years do you remember what he says:
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Someone once sang - the hope of the whole world rested on the shoulder of a homeless man! But even more to the point, God is actually changing what home means. Just like Jesus would say who are my mother and brothers, looking at all who follow him and say - Here they are those who do the will of God - Jesu redefined family. So too home. That same person Rich Mullins later wrote: “I am home anywhere if you are where I am.” Isn’t it remarkable that everywhere Jesus goes where meek souls receive him, what is the image he gives - but table fellowship, eating togerh, the home feast, hosptilarity! And he comes to th pnch line of his life - God come to earth why? And he delivers it saying:
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Here are Mary and Joseph, homeless and in real need, and the living God is dwelling with them in the biggest time way - you know that sense of belonging and happiness we have with home - these peope are my people. Do you know that you are to have that with God - a cosmic sense of belonging. The veil that separates heaven and earth grew thin, as if with the coming of Christ, just step throw it to the otherside. As if you comiong to Bethlehem there’s a dor way to a new home for you and me! Augustine said: God you have made us from Thyself, and our hearts are restless, homeless until they rest in Thee.
We can feel it with Mary the Mother of our Lord. The God of creation, enacased and dweels in her, she gives brith to God in this world, shepherds and then kings will show up to worship - and frightenened young Mary is it at home with God and a whole bunch of other stragners drawn into the light.
Buthtihnk of it from Joseph’s perspective. - he was going to put Mary away quietly save her scandal - but the nagel appeared, and now he think of it - some can relate - going to raise a child that is not biological ly his.. - THink of the new home he is called to be part of - He chooses to to be the adoptive father of our Lord, and I am sure he felt a sense of home and serving love and belonging like we seldom do , He is home with the Sviour, and teaches us what it means to find a new family and a new home in the Lord.
In a simoiarl way to Mary and Joseph - acknoweldgeing we are exiles and homeles sin this world - in terms of real home, we are poor and powerless to build a kingdom a home taht God intends, - So we sing “where meeks souls will receive him still the dear Christ enters in” We sings ‘Good Christian friends rejoice - and gain his everlasting hall!”
Do you get what is going on with place of Christmas God’s not chosing to come and dwell in this world in Rome or Jerusalem, in the hgih places, with people who are content to build theriown homes as if that the end all and be all without God. No in the lowe places, where people konw their need, spirituall need of God’s home: He comes down there and is searching us out and saying, I have become poor and enterned your world, in order to draw you in to my home, my riches:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
As J.C. RYle, who last evenagical in the Victooran Church of England, but in Liverppol pooest industrial - start churches where miles of hell - dspair. All through his life Jesus was poor for our sake. From the hour of his birth to tthe hour of his death. Understand Jesus coing to nmake his home with the poor, that we are not to despise the poor or take stock of peope accorsing to their money. Jesus Chose to sanctify and honour them , God is no repecter of persons . He lookks at people’s hearts not their incomes. We are to remember the manger… love of money corrupts and creeps over us, and welath ruins more souls than poverty. Lord Jesus willing y accept average dweeling, coasrse food . The mesage is that Christianty began in poverty, in sense of need and it is where our Christianty must begin too - a graced sense of our insufficieintcy and a turning to God’s new home in the middle of it. THis is the first part of the where - God comes home to us not in paradise this time, but in the places of our real need! And Christmas is really about finding Jesus Christ in our need and the need of others.
In 1988 a woman named Beverly Hill ran a personal ad in the LA TIMes Newspaper for 12 days in OCtober. It said: Russel L Love, frin Houston or anyone knowing where he lives please call his mother collect 713 447 5968. Russell your mother will never forget you. She loves you.” A man named Ralph Campbell, 25 years on the streets, had given extrasandwiches to a afirend. That friend said yes, and then turned to next guyy and said Russ, you cwant a sandwich, Campbell phoned the newspaper. He led a reporter from the newspaper to a shipping container in a parking lot where a unch of bedorlls. Next morning dound sleeping, said “Your mother wants you to call her and gave him the ad in the paper. He called a day later, the mom sent a cheque and then later some id so he culd cash the cheuq and so he could get a jbog. She said: “I am going to try to make it possible for him to rehink his decision and come back into the world he came from and to make a better decision.”
Do you see that is what the Son of God was doing - He is our contact from another life another home, and he comes down into our lives so lowly - and comes withthe gospel invitation -ays I’ve got anew home, and I relaly want you to be able to come home. Russell Love did come home. Follow up article with a picture of his mom and him together. It told about all the catching up with the fmaily, and how they hugged and hugged. He said “It feels great to be home, It’s nice to be a family again, after being a traveler.” Do you get that God’s calling us home in Christ coming down to us in our need?
But thtat brings us to the the second half and just as surprising part of our text.
B. GOd’s Hospitality to us in the Lowest is a Paradigm for Christ’s Work in our Livesa
Here it is quite possible that we’ve misinterpretted the Christmas story. What do you think of the people of Bethlehem. So often they are chastised as being so greedy and busy and clueless about Mary and JOseph and God’s home cmoing that they turned out a pregant mother and missed their opportunity for God’s comiong to them.
But here some careful attention will not only keep us from mistintrepting the gsopel text to us, but will positively direct us into a fitting response that we ought to offer to Jesus even this Christmas. There is no question that there is great irony that Christ comes so lowly. But where the people of Bethlehem heartlessly ignorant? Are you and I like these peole of Bethlehem? Actually I think maybe we shoud be more like them with our Christmas’.
Let me explain.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Start with that last word. There are actually two words for a guest room, or inn in the Gk New Tesatament. There is a hotel like one with more than one room often common on the many tradign routes. An example of this would be the Good Samaritan brinign that beaten man to an inn. But that’s not the word that Luke uses here. And here you need to know the Bethlehem was only a couple hundred inhabitants and even if a larger house had one guest room it wouldn’t have been a hotel. No, larger homes where basically two or three room affairs. The doors would open into a lower level room - animals brought in at night and would often inlcude a stone manger like this soemtimes built rightinto a creche in the wall. Sometimes this part of the home , actually in little cave like stable. Then the upper lvel would have living room, and often a third guest room which would be used for hopsitality and hnored guests - often an upper room. This is the word used here and also for the upper room where the last supper was served. Now why was this room full in this partuclar house in Bethelehm? Well, the scensus of course, over crowded, and so people fill the guest room, spill over now into the lower room.
Why did Joseph and Mary come to this partiucar place, where he was born, relatives in Bethlehem, given to Esatern hopstiallity that kind of hnour - especially a pregenant woan not turned out. Where was Mary just months before no more than 8 miiles in the hill contunrty of Judea were her relatives were. There seem sto be kno way taht they did not receive real hosptiality that night, even if Savir coming into theis world lowly. Came in surrounded with jlove of famiy, extended family ,a town that did receive him.
Swaddling cloths common care, and a manger not dirty stinkky box, humbleyes,, but sheltered, protected, recieved.
Do you know what the people of Behtleehm taking inthe Christ child ought to remeind us of? That God comes so llwlly to meet us ihn our need and we ought to come lowly with Christ into the need of thers around us.
Someone compared it to the Son of God in his majestici divinity being like a full fledged maginiceint symphony - majestic power oveer gtrand expanse. But he becomes human, he was becomoing a shortened simple folk tuen, and in this he loosing nothing of His Godhead, and eternal character. Still symphony, but as a folk tune he entered aour human situation in a way we could understand. That’s what , teach us
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Used the example before of sympathetic resonance: 2 paino’s strike ones key - note on the other piano starts vibrating. X’s inttrument is his humanity like ours in every way tempation, weakness, but wihtout sin, But when chord struck in our weakness, it resonantes and his he feels and is able to realte to us . That kind of empathy symapthy is the surpme glory of our Saviour
Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
The people in this home in Bethlehem are examples like Christ - touched by need of those around them, and open up there lives, home to them and practically helped! And they lieterally saw God work in their hospitality!
So interesting that the other place this word for inn here, actually gusest room, comes u pin the Bible is when there was a drought in Israel, reall need - a woman from Shunem. This Shunemite takes Elijah in every tme he’s that way and builds a guest room:
One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”
that’s what the peple of Bethlehem did for a pregeannt teen and her fiance, what they did for The Saviour of the world. Not a paid inn, a guest room. And you bet thaey ate and they rejoiced with the shpehrds. I wonder if they wisemen don’t show up for about two years, if these people who received Christ that night, didn’t help Joseph find work, and didn’t set Mary up as new mother, so different yet so the same as other mothers in town. And this becomes a Christmas challenge for us, that extends into our every day life - in family - in neighbour hood, in refugee crissis and desperate need for foster and adoptive parents. WIth whom do we open our homes, with whom do we walk beside in their need or poverty, with whom do we with hopsitality say I will welcome the Christ with you!?
The INN: But the best known inn in the Bible may not actually have been an inn. When Luke tells us that the newborn infant Jesus was placed in manger “because there was no room in the inn” ( NIV), the term used is katalyma, which may refer to the small guest quarters of a private residence. In this case the infant is placed in a makeshift crib in the part of the home where the animals were sheltered. But this meaning is not certain, and a specific inn at Bethlehem may be indicated. Whether we are to visualize the familiy turned out of an inn or a guest room, the irony of the Messiah being born in such poor circumstances is striking. And the manger and its setting take on some of the qualities of an inn-a place of retirement for the night, a place of protection from the elements, a scene of domestic activity.
Leland Ryken et al., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 423.
Manger In light of the emphasis on the Davidic dynasty in , it is tempting to follow J. W. Olley (1992) in seeing an allusion to LXX, “I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a lodge [katalyma] and a tent” (cf. ), in the use of the word katalyma (“inn”). This would fit quite well in this Lukan context where one finds references to “the city of David” and “the house and family of David” ().
David W. Pao and Eckhard J. Schnabel, “Luke,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 266.