We survived another snow storm. We received about 8-9" and with the wind had a four foot drift in the middle of our driveway. With that drift and the one made by the street by the plows, there was a part of me wondering if I would not have to get out until the next thaw. All I have is a snow shovel and a small electric snow blower that certainly is a help but with those drifts nearly impossible to use. As I was using the small snow blower having to lift and use it like a shovel someone drove by with a plow on their pickup. He and his wife turned around and plowed out the driveway. I did not know them and when I asked if I could do anything for them all they said was "that is what neighbors are for." Indeed that is what it means to be a neighbor to do something for someone that you don't know and not expect anything in return. I guess that is why it is important to thank those who help you and to pass it forward to someone else.
What made this more meaningful for me, was that I was reading for our Advent study about there was no room for them at the inn Luke 2:7b. The author was talking about that the very first villain in the New Testament was the inn keeper. Where I don't necessarily agree with that, I do think about how important it is to be willing to receive others in our lives. Also it is important to be open to those who are often alone, rejected, depressed, anxious, hungry, and seeking something to make sense of their lives. We can be like this neighbor who is unknown but like the good Samaritan or we can be like the inn keeper keeping people out. I certainly saw the work of God in this neighbor's act. I pray that I can do the same for someone else.
2 comments:
I am not sure that the inn keeper was a villain. He did not have room because so many people had come to Bethleham for the census. He could have sent them away, but instead he made a space for them in the manger. He went above and beyond what others might have done.
You are right Bette and that is what I said that I did not believe he was a villian. Yet it is interesting to look at Mary and Joseph as being homeless and not having a place to stay. The family probably was not the only family who had to find a place in the caves or stables. What we can look at today is opening ourselves up to those who find themselves in similar circumstances and what we do to reach out to them.
Post a Comment