“Joseph had to do his best, and it may well be that he asked some maid to fetch water or something else, but we do not read that anyone came to help. They heard that a young wife was lying in a cow stall and no one gave heed. Shame on you, wretched Bethlehem! The inn ought to have been burned with brimstone, for even though Mary had been a beggar maid or unwed, anybody at such a time should have been glad to give her a hand.
There are many of you in this congregation who think to yourselves: “If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the Baby! I would have washed His linen. How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!” Yes, you would! You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem. Childish and silly thoughts are these! Why don’t you do it now! You have Christ in your neighbor. You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ Himself.”
December 21, 2011 at 5:32 pm
It would have been very shameful to turn Mary away. Further, if Joseph were a descendent of David, it would have been shameful to turn him away. I don’t think this is what happened though, and its unfortunate that such ideas continue to be the primary understanding.
Joseph and Mary weren’t turned away from a motel and sent to a stable. The houses at that time were basically a single room, with potentially a guest room on one side/end, and a place for the few domestic animals at the lowest side/end. The guest room was full, but they were offered the place where the animals spent the night (a cow, a couple sheep or goats, with an indention in the floor as the feeding trough – the manger).
In a society that was extremely cognizant of honor/shame, they would not have been turned away – that would have been great shame. The reason to go where the animals were generally kept overnight – was for privacy (as it would be shameful to have nakedness exposed). This area of the home would have been cleaned every morning after the animals were led out of the house.
Read “Jesus through Middle Easter Eyes” by Kenneth E. Bailey for more on this. I doubt Luther had access to the scholarship and sources we have today.