Was the innkeeper really mean to Joseph, Mary?
G. Jeffrey MacDonald/Religion News Service
Issue date: 12/28/08 Section: Cover
"The message is not: 'Bethlehem did not open its hearts. Are we willing to?' The message is: 'Bethlehem opened its hearts. Are we willing to?'" Bailey said.
Scholars are taking steps to set the record straight. Bailey, for instance, published in 2005 "Open Hearts in Bethlehem," a musical now performed by church groups to underscore the hospitality that baby Jesus received. Marcus Borg, co-author of "The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Birth," said the elusive innkeeper figure could be understood as a low-status employee who welcomed what Jesus represented.
Not everyone is ready, however, to see the innkeeper as open-hearted from the get-go. Mac McConnell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has, for years, used his one-man drama ministry to portray the innkeeper as a respectable businessman who was just too busy to put up with a crying child and offered a spot among animals just to get the family out of his way. Last month, he published his tale in a book he describes as historical fiction: "Hadad, The Innkeeper's Journey."
McConnell's innkeeper "is not generous at all," he said, in offering a manger to the holy family. The portrayal of a guy too busy for the Lord "is a dramatic foil to a degree, but it's also there because those in Bethlehem missed (the signs of a savior's birth) even though it was obvious."
Scholars meanwhile continue to press for a new image of a redeemed innkeeper (or host) who never hesitated to show respect - and who now deserves a little reciprocity.
"Luke is highlighting the hospitality of the anonymous householder (friend or relative) and not condemning the inhospitality of an insensitive innkeeper," Parsons said. "His point seems to be ... that Jesus came to his own and his own received him!"
Scholars are taking steps to set the record straight. Bailey, for instance, published in 2005 "Open Hearts in Bethlehem," a musical now performed by church groups to underscore the hospitality that baby Jesus received. Marcus Borg, co-author of "The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Birth," said the elusive innkeeper figure could be understood as a low-status employee who welcomed what Jesus represented.
Not everyone is ready, however, to see the innkeeper as open-hearted from the get-go. Mac McConnell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has, for years, used his one-man drama ministry to portray the innkeeper as a respectable businessman who was just too busy to put up with a crying child and offered a spot among animals just to get the family out of his way. Last month, he published his tale in a book he describes as historical fiction: "Hadad, The Innkeeper's Journey."
McConnell's innkeeper "is not generous at all," he said, in offering a manger to the holy family. The portrayal of a guy too busy for the Lord "is a dramatic foil to a degree, but it's also there because those in Bethlehem missed (the signs of a savior's birth) even though it was obvious."
Scholars meanwhile continue to press for a new image of a redeemed innkeeper (or host) who never hesitated to show respect - and who now deserves a little reciprocity.
"Luke is highlighting the hospitality of the anonymous householder (friend or relative) and not condemning the inhospitality of an insensitive innkeeper," Parsons said. "His point seems to be ... that Jesus came to his own and his own received him!"
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