MANY of us who are parents have no doubt rustled up an emergency innkeeper costume for our children the night before a school nativity.
Regardless of whether you are a Christian or not, the innkeeper and stable are images with which you are probably very familiar.
Jesus’s tired and expectant parents, back in Bethlehem for the census, find themselves with nowhere to stay and dependent on the generosity of the locals for shelter.
And while we are all too familiar with the story, the enormity of that act of hospitality cannot be overstated. Bethlehem was a town which had already absorbed countless people arriving for the census.
And yet this host does not baulk at the discomfort of yet more overcrowding, the inconvenience and mess of an imminent labour, or the presence of an anxious couple pitching up in a home already full of people and animals.
Among many other things, this is a story of kind and selfless hospitality towards total strangers.
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It is a costly offer of welcome in that it demands the host family’s time, patience and the willingness to be deeply inconvenienced as they put up with becoming a labour ward — and all the rural and regal visitors that show up afterwards.
Two thousand years on, and this Christmas I see similar acts of welcome and hospitality in the city I live and work in — and elsewhere around the UK.
Among many other things, this is a story of kind and selfless hospitality towards total strangers
Sarah Mullally
I see it with people helping those who are struggling this winter.
People taking time out of their own hectic schedules and drawing on their already-stretched finances to reach out to those living on the margins.
I see it in homes, among faith communities and in charity initiatives, where strangers sit down to share food, stories and human connection.
Places where, regardless of relationship, belief, place of origin, social class or financial means, all are welcome.
And where the inconvenience of laying an extra place at the table at the last minute is trumped by people’s openness to sharing the joy and generosity of Christmas.
How we respond to one another’s needs and predicaments defines what sort of people we are, what sort of community we are building and what sort of society we want to be.
As I prepare to become Archbishop of Canterbury in the new year, I want to channel the generosity of that Bethlehem household, who were not too busy or stressed to go out of their way to help others.
I urge you to join me in this endeavour.
Whoever you share it with, may your Christmas be blessed and peaceful.
- Sarah Mullally, the former Bishop of London, will be installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury in March.