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^ It used to be brought as an objection against the trust- worthiness of St. Luke's Gospel that there was no evidence other than his that such an enrolment was known at that time or in that region. Why the evidence of this ancient document should be regarded as less valuable than that of another on such a point did not appear; but at any rate it no longer matters. Within the last few years records have been discovered, on fragments of papyrus found in the rubbish-heaps of old Egyptian towns, which prove conclusively that such enrolments did take place in that time and region ; and of this objection we shall doubtless hear no more.^
No Room in the Inn.
1. The story of the Nativity is not only very beautiful, as surely all will be willing to confess ; it is historically true, a thing that some, even quite recently, have shown themselves eager to deny. Of course, to the faithful soul the whole story is convincing. The man who has seen the heavens opening in mercy and hope above his dark and sin-bound life finds no difficulty in believing that the glory of the Lord broke forth before men's very eyes what time the Saviour of the world began His earthly life. The man who year after year has been led by the Light of the World across the wastes and through the dark places of life does not ask the astronomers to give him permission to believe in the Star of Bethlehem. But apart from such a gracious predisposition to receive this lovely story, we find touches in it that a master of fiction, much less a simple, plain-minded man, could surely never have given to it. There are points in the story that would never have occurred to the weaver of a tale. And notable amongst them is St. Luke's simple statement that Mary in the hour of her need was shut out from such comfort and shelter as the inn at Bethlehem might have afforded. The Gospels were written by those who believed in Jesus as the Son of God. St. Luke was writing of the Nativity of his Lord, the birthday of the King of kings. And he pictures Him in that hour at the mercy of un- toward circumstance. He is born in a stable and cradled in a manger. He could not have had a lowlier, a less kingly entrance 1 Bishop W. E. Collins, H<mr3 of Insight, 112.
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into the world than that. There seems to be but one explanation of these apparently unpropitious details of the story, and that is that they are true.
If One of the most absent-minded people I ever knew was a more or less distinguished ecclesiastic at whose house I used to visit as a child. He had won some fame in his youth as a poet, and he was, when I remember him, a preacher of some force ; but he could not be depended upon in that capacity. Whatever he was interested in at the moment he preached about, and he had the power of being interested in very dreary things. His sermons were like reveries ; indeed, his whole rendering of the service was that of a man who was reading a book to himself and often finding it unexpectedly beautiful and interesting. The result was some- times startling, because one felt as if one had never heard the familiar words before. I remember his reading the account of the Nativity in a wonderfully feeling manner, "because there^was no room for them in the inn." I do not know how the effect was communicated ; it was delivered with a half-mournful, half- incredulous smile. If _those who refused them admittance had only known what they were doing.^
2. To us, the first thought that would be suggested by being relegated to the stable would be that of humiliation : it would be degrading to be sent out amongst the beasts ; and the^ second thought would be that of privation : it would be hard to be condemned to no better accommodation than that. But that idea would scarcely have occurred to travellers in those lands. In those lands, the inn or guest-chamber will be a large room or shed built of rough stones and mud, or a cave partly dug out of the earth, with an earthen floor, more like an English cow-house than anything else ; and the stable may either be actually a part of the same cave or building, or a similar one close at hand. Any- how, the accommodation is much the same, and you camp on the cleanest spot you can find of the earthen or stony floor, and make yourself comfortable as best you can; so that — and this is the important point to keep in mind — the real difference between the inn and the stable was rather in the company than in the ac- commodation. In some ways the stable had its advantages. It was perhaps quieter, it was certainly more secluded ; possibly it was not less comfortable with the oxen and the asses than it
^ A. C. Benson, Along the Road, 286.
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would have been in the inn ; certainly the manger — a mere recess about half-way up the wall, \N*here the fodder was stored — made a safer crib for the Holy Babe than the crowded floor of the guest-chamber, with hardly an inch to spare anywhere. Yes, nature did its best for Him, and He found a shelter amongst the beasts when men cast Him out ; but that does not alter the fact that when the Lord of Glory came to be born on this earth, not even a common guest-chamber could find room for Him. He was born in the stable and cradled in a manger, " because there was no room for him in the inn."