No Room in the Inn

From Luke 1:5-7 - He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

From Luke 1:37 - "For nothing will be impossible with God.” (NRSV)

Sometimes I imagine myself as the inn keeper. Late one cold dark night, a laborer and his pregnant wife come knocking at my door asking for a room. The discomfort on the face of the young lady clues me in that she is likely in labor. I know what my first thought would be: what if she delivers in their room and something happens to the baby? Would my business liability insurance cover me? Unsure of the answer and not finding my agent in the office at midnight, I usher them out the door with directions to the nearest hospital, unaware that I have just refused accommodations to the Christ Child.

Christmas is a season where we embrace potential – the potential found in a small boy, born over 2,000 years ago, whose first nap was in an animal feed trough. God chose to place hope for the world in this child.

I live in Memphis, Tennessee which recently received distinction as being the major city in the United States with the highest infant death rate. Over 200 babies die in Memphis each year before reaching their first birthday. This is one baby every 43 hours! As we celebrate God’s miracle in Jesus, I hope we can consider the 200 children in Memphis and the hundreds across this country whose God-given potential won’t be realized in 2009 because of their premature death. As we celebrate God’s ability to work through anyone, even the most unlikely, I hope we will challenge our own faith communities to embrace some program that attempts to give every child a chance to make it to his or her first birthday.

A few simple efforts come to my mind:

   1) As a congregation, commit to a “100% Prenatal Visits” program. 

        a) Provide material to all in the congregation on the importance of prenatal care. 

        b) Create an on-call list of volunteers committed to driving women and girls
            without reliable transportation to all of their prenatal doctor visits.

   2) Make your congregation a place where expectant mothers scared or ashamed of their
   pregnancies feel safe and welcomed through efforts such as “no questions asked” policies
   or “Every Child is a Child of God” campaigns.

   3) Provide nursery services for all members and visitors during scheduled programming
   using volunteers from your congregation to hold costs down. Use the nursery as a place to
   offer approved health information on well baby care, immunizations and nutrition.

   4) Recruit several volunteers in your congregation to become resource specialists on
   Medicaid and other programs such as Food Stamps.

   5) If one is not available through your local health department, create a resource guide
   with important phone numbers and addresses needed by new and expectant mothers.

This is the season of a miracle child born to unlikely parents in an unlikely place. Embrace the potential for that miracle again this season by ensuring a place in the inn for all the children in your church home.


To comment further on the issue of infant mortality, please visit my post on the subject at Panoramic Views of Faith and Health.

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