Why was Jesus born in a stable? Before you leap up and scream "No room at the inn," think for a bit. Let me spin it for you in a slightly different way than you may usually think.

Let's start with a simple question: Why did Joseph go to an inn? "Because he was travelling, Duh!" But the answer isn't so simple. Yes he was travelling, but his destination was Bethlehem, so he had actually arrived. And wasn't Joseph, like everyone else clogging the roads up at the time, returning to his familial home to be registered for the census? Surely Joseph had relatives nearby. He was required to come to Bethlehem because that was the land of his ancestors. It's natural for some of the kids to move, but surely some, perhaps even many, of his relatives still lived in the area. Yet he didn't make for their houses, didn't seek shelter with them. He went instead to an inn. Why?

We don't know exactly why, but we can guess. What was special about them? Mary was pregnant, and they weren't married. Perhaps Joseph had even shared with his family the fact the child wasn't his. It's possible that polite society wouldn't countenance such a scandal. Joseph's family may have closed their doors to him, rather than admit him, because of the unwed future mother travelling with him.

"They couldn't wait, and now he has the gall to lie about it, to accuse God of responsibility for it? I won't stand for it in my house!" Can't you just hear the uproar? Listen to the doors slam. How much of that would you take before you gave up and looked to strangers for help?

So, Joseph and Mary had to make for the inn because his family wouldn't have them. Now put yourself in the place of the innkeeper. A young couple, obviously pregnant, is standing at the door. Your heart won't let you turn them away, but you've been "blessed" by the census to the point where the place is crowded. Maybe if you worked really hard at it, you could squeeze a couple more beds into the common sleeping areas (you didn't think the inns there all had private rooms, did you?) for him and the girl.

But maybe there's another option. You look again at the man, so obviously in love with the young girl, and she so obviously pregnant, probably with her first. Wouldn't it be nice to get them a little privacy? You think of the stable and realize they'll be undisturbed there. The animals will keep to themselves, and none of the patrons are going to venture out during the night. They can have time together. They can have peace.

That's the ticket, you think. With a smile you lead them around to the stable, where there's fresh straw for a bed, and walls and a roof for privacy and shelter.

Makes a little more sense, now, doesn't it? But it still doesn't seem quite right. That's OK, because there's one more often-forgotten person involved in this, one more point of view to consider.

Imagine that you are God. You are the creator of the universe, reaching down into your creation to interact with these creatures, these humans. You are able to arrange this birth in any place you want. You can have Jesus born anywhere, from a stable on the hillside to Ceasar's own bedroom. Where do you choose?

Think. If you choose a palace, or any of the houses of the powerful, how do you reach to the poor and the powerless? You certainly would affect the world of the rich and powerful, no question. But that world is strictly limited. The poor, the untouchable, aren't allowed in. You'll find no carpenters, no laborers, no shepherds hanging around the courts of Ceasar or Herod. The Gospel becomes Good News for the rich and powerful, and means nothing to the poor and downtrodden.

So you set your sights a little lower on the scale, and select a mid-level (or even lower) inn for the birth. But here you'll find the gates are still in place. Mobility in human society is strictly downward. The rich and powerful may walk among the poor and powerless at will. The reverse cannot happen.

No. Only if you choose the stable can you be sure that anyone who wishes may come to you. And they do. Rich men from the east come. And shepherds from the surrounding hills. The baby in the manger is accessible to all who come to see Him. The stable is easily found, easily approached. There are no barriers to the stable door. Anyone may drop in. All may come to bow before the newborn King.

And isn't that the point?

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7