The Innkeeper

Much like the larger department stores, around this time of year (October) I begin to think about Christmas. While my wife starts the process of collating her holiday recipes, I contemplate various resources for family worship that will enrich our meditation on Christ’s incarnation. The desire is to continue deepening our celebration of God coming to earth in the form of man, for man, for His glory. But one small tradition has not changed. English teacher that I am, some poetry reading is always incorporated into every Christmas day by means of John Piper’s poem “The Innkeeper,” published in small hardcover by Crossway and featuring illustrations by Englishman John Lawrence.

“Poetry stands at the center of Christian living,” declares Christian poet Suzanne U. Clark. This probably comes as no surprise to those who have stopped to think about how much of Scripture uses poetry as the delivery method. And it probably causes some chagrin for those who have never enjoyed poetry, neither in school nor in Scripture. While Piper, like C.S. Lewis, will likely not prove an enduring poet – and he would almost certainly be the first to admit it - they will both be borne out as Christian philosophers for the ages, both possessing a flair for the dramatic. They both understand the value in narrative means of delivering theological truth.

Accompanied by subtle illustrations resembling woodcuts, Piper’s poem traces an ostensible visit by Jesus to his birthplace just two weeks before his crucifixion. Christ has traveled to Bethlehem for the express purpose of visiting the innkeeper who housed the holy family in his stable the night of Christ’s birth. In Piper’s own words, The Innkeeper “seeks to reveal the Light that shines behind this brutal moment in history and our own path of suffering.”

One additional item bears mentioning: a speculative twist in the plot, which may concern theological purists, even though the twist derives from Matthew 2:16. Admittedly, I have the same concern when reading Spurgeon. Piper therefore has solid Calvinistic Baptist precedence for his plot deviance. But the license is forgivable since the poetic genre naturally allows such plot-based alterations as long as the modification does not interfere with the objective facts of the original event. A warning to parents: an Amazon review of The Innkeeper rightly warns parents of young children to vet the book before reading it to them.

Using The Innkeeper during your advent meditations will help you keep the sacrifice of Christ in proper perspective during the Christmas season.