No Room at the Inn

Journey of the Magi

According to Luke 2:3, “Everyone went to register in their own town” which meant Joseph and his pregnant betrothed, Mary, needed to travel to Bethlehem in Judea, the town of David. The reason Luke 2:7 gives for Mary forced to give birth in a stable was that there was “no room for them at the inn.” This may be true, but it is just as likely that the couple was too poor to pay an exorbitant fee. It also indicates that even though Joseph had been born in Bethlehem, he no longer had family there with whom he and Mary might stay.

And the lack of shelters, and the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly

and the villages dirty, charging high prices.

It is likely that the Magi, traveling after the birth of Jesus, did not encounter the hordes of people on the roads because of the Roman census and would have been able to find room. They were rich men who had the means to procure the finest of rooms! Why were they not welcome in an inn? Let’s remember that the Magi were not Hebrews, but foreigners who looked different and spoke a different language. No doubt the villagers looked at them with suspicion.

That may have been the case with TS Eliot once his conversion to Christianity became known. Once known for his proclivities, he now lived a moral life. To a lesser extent, I found the first years of widowhood to be an uncharted land. My friends who still had husbands did their best to understand, but only a widow can truly know what it is like to be a widow.

REFLECTION: In the first stanza of his poem, Eliot describes to readers the difficulties of the journey; weather, camels, unfriendly strangers, and lack of shelter all add to the plight as they continue their search. What are some challenges you found in your own conversion experience or continued faith walk?