Just a Room, Please!

Last night was Christmas Eve at First Presbyterian Church. We had our sanctuary mostly full with friend and family from out of town who were here to visit. We also had some people who I had never seen, including one person who seemed to be looking for a warm dry place on a cold and rainy Christmas Eve. The lady came in the back of the church shortly after the service began. I watched from my point in the front as one of our ushers took the orange tarp she was carrying to shield herself from the rain and a little of the cold.

She sat through the service, on the back row. She raised her candle on the last verse of Silent Night, just like everyone else in the congregation. She lined up to wish me a Merry Christmas with all the other folks scurrying out to join family and friends for some other Christmas celebration, but I knew before she spoke that she had nowhere else to go and no one waiting for her.


She tried to have a conversation with me while others were still waiting to shake the preacher's hand and move on. I asked her to give me a minute to finish wishing the other worshippers Merry Christmas, and she did.

When everyone else had finally exited and it was down to myself, an elder, and this other child of God, she proceeded to unpack her story.

She poured out a confusing story about a family member stealing an apartment from her that she thought she had rented, about not wanting to be a burden to other family members or involve them in the conflict, and feeling a strong responsibility to have a place of her own.

I told her that I could only offer her one room for one night, and I tried to steer her back towards the family members she said she had spent the previous evening with. It was Christmas Eve and I was ready to get home to my own family, to finish some of our own preparations, but God wouldn't let me alone.

The Holy Spirit has a way of being down-right annoying from time to time. He kept throwing at me the sermon I had just preached and the Scriptures I had just read, the whole no room at the inn thing! Really, how dare He!

I knew I would have to call the local hotel, make the reservation for her, drive her there, sign her in, and make the payment before I could make a dash for the grocery store and finally head home. I wish I could tell you that the Christmas spirit overwhelmed me and the love of Jesus Christ poured over me and motivated me to empty myself, even as I had already told the congregation that Jesus Christ did when He was born in the stable. Sorry, it wouldn't be true. The influence to move me to do the right thing was to avoid the guilt I knew I would feel later for turning away someone in need even as the innkeeper had done so long ago.

I did pat myself on the back for offering to throw in a meal as well. "Have you had anything to eat?" I asked.

"Yes, I am fine," was the reply. "I just need a place to rest. Just a room, please."

There was that Holy Spirit again reminding me of the same words Joseph may have used on his desperate search. My mind said, "Hey, I'm doing the right thing here! Cut me some slack! Don't convict me about my attitude as well!"

Thirty minutes later I watched her head out of the cold and rain and into her motel room for the night. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was warm and dry, and they would feed her in the morning.

By the time I got to the grocery store, it was closing for the rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There would be some elements missing to the Christmas Day feast because of this side trip.

I wish I could tell you a story about some divine encounter or some evidence of the person of Christ Himself being ministered to on that raw night. The only comfort I had came the next morning reading the verse about "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2).

The Holy Spirit was still working from the previous night. My heart tried to listen, to discern some great spiritual truth. This time the Spirit had only one thing to say, "

I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, (even) these least, ye did it unto me. (Matt 25:35-40)

And to think I was just wondering if I might have seen an angel when in fact I realized it just might have been someone far more grand!

Merry Christmas!
Pastor Craig