2006 - The Census

An excerpt from “The Inkeeper’s Tale” by Michael J. MacArthur

The following is an excerpt of a much longer story of Asa, the innkeeper in Bethlehem who witnessed the birth of Jesus Christ. In this tale, the young Asa is a shepherd boy living with his extended family in the hills above Bethlehem. When his father dies, Asa is adopted by Salah, who owns many businesses in Bethlehem, including an inn. Salah teaches the boy about the sacred Hebrew scriptures, and about the unwritten code of navigating the political waters of the the Temple and of a city occupied by the Roman Empire. Asa grows up to become a promenent business leader and a teacher in the local temple. After the events in this chapter, Asa and his wife move to Jerusalem and become a part of the life, death and rising of their Messiah, Jesus Christ.


* * * * *

I am Asa, son of Levis, a shepherd of the hills above Bethlehem. I am also Asa, adopted son of Salah, innkeeper of Bethlehem, synagogue elder and teacher. I am also Asa, innkeeper, businessman, former member of the Sanhedrin of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and a witness to some of the most wonderous events in the history of our people.

* * * * *

One afternoon, an assistant to the local Roman governor visited me at the inn. After finishing many cups of wine, (“No charge for the aide to the governor,” I had foolishly said.), he told me about an upcoming census of all of the lands controlled by Rome. Caesar wanted an accounting of all of his subjects. Our people, like the members of all other conquered nations, would be required to return to our birthplaces to be counted. The governor wanted to reserve a number of our rooms for the Roman accountants and the representatives from the court of Herod who would be on hand. He offered to pay a premium rate to insure that his Roman guests were treated in a proper manner. I assured him that Asa’s Inn would be at his disposal.

He had given us about three months to prepare. The census workers would fill almost all of our guest rooms. I moved my servants from their quarters to tents on the back of my property. I arranged to rent rooms and entire houses from families who would be traveling to their own birthplaces. I knew that I could re-rent the rooms at a generous profit. My wife, Relana, turned her seamstresses to work making bed linens and I hired tent makers from as far away as Jerusalem. We overfilled our food stores and bought extra cattle and fowl for slaughter.
Soon Bethlehem was filled with pilgrims and many of them found their way to our front door. We operated at full capacity for weeks. Every room and every tent was in use. We even opened up our winemaking rooms for cots and bedrolls. A number of the visitors to Bethlehem stayed with their own family members, and I was able to capitalize on them also. My kitchen prepared many entire feasts that we delivered to wives overwhelmed by houses full of hungry relatives. I visited the synagogue every day to thank God for our good fortune.

Late one evening, my servant found me and told me of a young couple from Nazareth who needed a place to stay. The woman was pregnant, about to give birth, he reported. At the door, I met a stranger dressed in a shabby cloak. I had enough problems keeping all of my patrons content. Now I had to deal with a Nazarene, probably with an empty purse, who was looking for alms.

“My man told you that there is no room at the inn,
I trust?” I asked him.

“Yes, sir, but there is no other place to go and my wife will soon deliver her child.”

“It is not my fault that you are traveling at this time.”

“Please, sire. Caesar chose the time of the census and God chose the time for the child to be born. We have food and provisions, we only need a place to rest.”

By this time, Relana had joined me at the door and had overheard our conversation. Her delicate fingers became iron spikes in my forearm as she pulled me aside.

“We must let them stay here. God would want us to do so,” she whispered.

“That might be true,” I replied,“ But the Romans do not want the cries of childbirth to disturb their dinner or their sleep. The Romans are paying good money.”

“We must do something,” she insisted.

Relana was correct, of course. We must do something. I saw the woman, heavy with child, wrapped in an old blanket for shelter from the night wind. She was beautiful with a serene countenance that denied her situation. Had I come so far from my days as a shepherd boy sleeping in Salah’s stable and . . .

“The stable. You can stay in the stable,” I cried. Relana jabbed me in the back with her knuckles, but I continued. “I spent many night there as a boy. It is warm and dry and sheltered from the weather. I am sorry, but that is the best that I can do.” I gestured for my servant and instructed him to make them comfortable in the stable.

Relana glared at me for what seemed like an eternity. Finally she said, “They will need blankets and something warm to eat. Do not worry, my most benevolent innkeeper. I will gather some rags from under the wash basin and some table scraps and bread crusts. I will not disturb your precious Romans.” She hurried off to the kitchen, ignoring my attempts to explain my position.

With Relana attending to the Nazarene couple, I dealt with the demands of the dining room, the kitchen and the guest rooms. It was not until several hours later when the last guests were served and the dining room had emptied that I again thought about the young couple. I looked for Relana and was told that she had never returned from the stable. She obviously was still angry with me. I found her there with the man and his wife, who was nursing a plump baby. The infant was wrapped in the robes and blankets that my mother had made for the child we never had. The young man immediately rose and clasped my hand.

“Sire, thank you for your kindness,” he said. “The stable is indeed quite warm and dry, as you said. My wife, Mary, has borne a son. It was not a difficult birth, thanks to the assistance of your wife.” He embraced me and pulled me closer to see the child. I looked about and felt great shame. How could I have allowed this to happen? Had I known the child would be born this night, I could have done something better than this. The young woman looked up at me and smiled. Relana sat at her side, stroking the hair of the infant and ignoring me.

“I . . . I . . . must find you better lodgings,” I stammered. “I will evict someone from a room . . . make room for the two . . . er, three of you.”

Mary shook her head and said softly, “Joseph and I can not force someone out into the night. God will provide for us. He brought us here to you, did he not?”

I repeated my intention to move them indoors, but my words trailed off as I looked upon the child. He was oddly serene. He did not kick or cry like other newborns. His face was round with a few tufts of dark brown hair. His dark eyes were bright and did not wander about the stable. They focused on me.

A stray dog crept in slowly without being seen or heard until it was next to Mary and the baby. When the dog sniffed at the boy, Joseph and I both jumped forward to grab it. But the child giggled and touched the nose of the dog. With that, the dog sat back on its hind legs as if it had always been his pet and protector.

My demonstration of contrition must have softened the ill feelings that Relana had harbored toward me. She rose and took my arm to lead me from the stable. I lingered at the entrance long enough to see Joseph take the child and lay him in a bed that he had made from one of the feed troughs.

“His name is Jesus,” Relana said, putting her head on my shoulder as we walked. “Your inn has been the site of a miracle from God.”

Before I could ask her meaning, we heard a voice calling from the darkness, a voice strangely familiar to me. “Hail, sir. Is this where the child has been born?”

At once, I knew the speaker. “Uncle? Are you Sota, the shepherd? This is Asa, the son of your brother,” I shouted.

Footsteps quickened in the dark. A cloud passed from overhead and the stable and fields were bathed in moonlight. I looked up. It was not moonlight. All I saw in the black sky was a single star, shining directly overhead.

Suddenly, my eldest uncle lifted me off of my feet. He whirled me around in his strong arms and I saw my other two uncles leading a small army of women and children. I embraced each in turn while tears rolled down my face with memories of my childhood. I turned to Sota and began a rambling apology for not visiting my family.

“Nonsense, we know that you are a busy man with many responsibilities,” Sota said. He looked around at the yard and the buildings and asked, “All of this is yours?”

I nodded with a little bit too much pride.

He clapped me on my shoulders and said, “Then this is a blessed inn. Angels, glorious creatures have appeared to us this very night. With voices full of song, they told us that a child would be born here. Born in a stable. They said that the child will grow up to lead our people to greatness. We were told to find the child in Bethlehem, lying in a manger. We were at least three days away from Bethlehem, but we immediately set out. But after we crested the first hill, we found ourselves less than an hour from your town. It is hard to believe, but here we are. We have found our new king at the inn of our brother.”

His eyes widened as he looked past me into the stable. He motioned for quiet from his family and gathered them around the stable doorway. Joseph rose to greet them and let each in turn to view the sleeping infant.

I pondered his story. Angels saying that this child is the future leader of our people? It was a story that could only be told by a drunkard or a lunatic. But Sota was neither, or was he? I had not seen him for many years. Perhaps he had dragged his family out from the hills because of a vision seen while drunk. But how could he have known about the birth of the child. He had only been born a few hours ago. He said that they had been traveling for three days.

While Sota led his family in prayer, I noticed another commotion. I heard foreign voices and the hooves of camels and horses on the hard ground. Three men, regally dressed, came out of the darkness, followed by a large caravan. I ran inside to awaken my servants and then I returned to greet my visitors.

“Hail, Sir,” said the first man as he dismounted from his camel. His skin was a black as the night and I saw black curled hair under a colorful headpiece. He wore a fine woven cloak and a robe colored green and yellow with golden trim. “I am Caspar. My companions are Balthasar and Melchior,” he said. The second man nodded to me. He had much lighter skin than I had ever seen and his hair was yellow. He wore a robe made from animal hides with fur trim along the collar and cuffs. The third man wore robes of lustrous red silk. His long black hair was gathered in the back and braided like a rope. His face was round with what appeared to be two small slits for eyes.

Caspar continued, “We are scientists from the East of your land. A number of years ago, we separately began our study of the stars. After we united our research we discovered signs that a great king would be born in this town this night. Since we have found in our travels that an innkeeper usually knows much about the happenings in his town, we are seeking out the owner of this establishment. We were told his name is Salah. Is that you, good sir?”

I was having trouble coping with the events of the evening. I stood numbly and simply nodded. Relana came to my rescue.

With a bow, she said, “My lords, you have made
your way to the proper location. My husband is Asa, the only son of Salah. The child that you seek is here, born this evening.” She pointed toward the stable.

Caspar laughed. “Balthasar, you are indeed wise,” he said. “You told us that the great king would be born in a poor station.” The second man smiled and dismounted along with his other companion. Servants approached and gave the three men three golden chests. We all watched in awe as the three strangers approached the sleeping child, falling to their knees, and murmuring prayers in three foreign tongues. Then they laid the chests at the foot of the manger where the child slept. We watched from the doorway and each man whispered a blessing over Mary and Joseph. The couple seemed to be attempting the return the three gifts, but Caspar would not allow it. He put his finger to his lips as if to not wake the child, and with his companions, he backed out of the stable to join the rest of us.

Caspar looked about the yard and saw the numerous horses and other pack animals tied up. “Herod warned us that accommodations would be dear in his land. You must have people sleeping on your floor, innkeeper,” he said with a laugh. He called to his servants and instructed them to erect their tents in the nearby field. “Put up additional tents for our fellow pilgrims,” he said, indicating my uncles and their families. “They look to be far from home.” My uncles knelt before the man, but the one dressed in red silk said, “Gentlemen, do not bow to us. We are all brothers at the end of a quest. Save your worship for the child.”

Since I was still in a daze, it took Relana to invite our visitors and my family inside for some refreshment. Caspar and his companions settled at our longest table and they asked my uncles to join them. At their request, Relana and I retold the story of how the child had come to be born in our stable. Balthasar took a small vial of ink and a pointed piece of bone and made notations on some dried animal hides. Then Caspar turned to Sota and asked how he learned about the child. Sota stiffened. He looked terrified at the prospect of addressing these learned men. But Caspar was insistent. He rose and pulled Sota to his feet and asked him to leave nothing out.

After a few false starts, Sota began, “Lords, I am a shepherd, not a man of words or learning. But, three nights ago, my brothers and I witnessed a grand miracle, an act of wonder.”

“We were moving our flock home as night approached. A man, bathed in light, appeared before us. He was a man of perfect beauty. It almost hurt our eyes to look upon him. We fell to our knees, shaking with fear. But he told us not to fear, that he was an angel of our God with great news for all of his people. The man said that soon the Messiah would be born in the city of David, which we took to be Bethlehem.” Melchior nodded in agreement.

“We were told to go to the town and to look for a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and sleeping in a manger. Suddenly the sky was filled with uncountable numbers of angels. With the most beautiful of voices they sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on Earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Sota looked to his brothers, who all nodded.

Caspar and Melchior asked many questions about the experience. Then Caspar poured a large cup of wine and presented it to Sota, escorting him to his seat and thanking him for his story.

Then Caspar rose and began to speak. He explained that he and his companions had traveled from the far shore of the Caspian Sea. As young men, they independently began the study of the movements of the stars while in their homelands. Their studies brought them to Persia to consult some ancient writings. It was there that they met and discovered the similarities in their studies.

Working together, they combined this information with the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah and other of our prophets and they determined that a mighty king would one day take dominion over the world. A single bright star, blazing alone in an ebony sky would mark the birthplace of this king. Each man experienced an intense desire to find this king and to pledge his loyalty to him. -When their calculations predicted that this star would soon appear over Judea, they traveled together until they arrived at the palace of King Herod.

“Your king welcomed us warmly,” said Caspar. “He showed immense interest in our studies. We spent many evenings dining with him as we showed him our charts and maps. He gave us strict orders to report back to him after we found the new-born king, for he also wished to offer homage to the child.”

Our discussion continued until dawn. Relana and I escorted everyone back to the caravan site. Outside of the tent belonging to Caspar, she stopped me and said, “You must not let these men return to Herod. Is it reasonable to you that Herod would want to honor a rival to his throne, even a newborn baby? How many of his perceived rivals have been killed? Surely you see that this young child is the Messiah?”

“You are being ridiculous,” I said. “We all know that the Messiah will be a warrior king from the line of David. He will not be a Nazarene son of a carpenter. This child will not lead our people over our enemies.”

“You are the one being the fool. Was not even Caesar once a babe? All that has happened was foretold by the prophets ages ago. Or has the teacher forgotten his studies?”

Had I not been exhausted from my busy day and my most extraordinary night, I would have had a proper response. Instead, I threw up my hands and said, “Let us try to get an hour of sleep before our guests awaken. The sight of this caravan and of all of these shepherds will not go unnoticed. We can consult with our visitors in the morning.”

She kissed me and headed back to the stable. “I will sit with Mary for a bit,” she said. “Our servants can go one morning without their mistress to oversee them.”

She was right; her staff was capable to handle the morning meal so I was allowed to sleep until mid-morning. My man woke me with the message that the king wanted to see me.

I sprang from bed. “Herod? Herod is here?”

“No, master. One of the great kings camped outside has called for you.”

I dressed hurriedly and ran to the tent of Caspar. I saw that their servants were taking down their tents and were packing their belongings. Caspar rose to greet me and said, “Innkeeper, you must be truly blessed by your God, for the most amazing events happen on your estate. This morning, before I fell off to sleep, an angel of your God spoke to me, though I saw no one, man or spirit. The angel told me that Herod would mean harm to the child. That I cannot allow. My brothers and I will break our camp and leave this town today. We will avoid Herod and return to our homelands where we will tell everyone who will listen about what has happened here.” He pressed into my hand a rather large bag of gold coins.

“Take this, innkeeper, for our caravan has damaged your yard and property,” he said. He then offered a delicate golden necklace. “Give this to your lovely and charming wife. For if spirits do indeed walk the earth, she is truly an angel.” He then left to supervise his servants.

I walked out to the field where my family had camped. I was filled with such shame for abandoning them. I stood before Sota, unable to speak. He embraced me and laughed. “I know, I know,” he said, “It took a miracle from God to bring us down from the hills to visit our brother.” He stopped to wipe a tear from his eye. “Asa, thanks to you, our family has been favored by God. We must make sure that this day is always remembered by all of our people.” He then took my arm and led me around his camp. We spent most of the day exchanging memories of my parents and of my childhood days. I visited with my cousins and played with their children.

Before leaving, Caspar called all of us to the stable. He led us in a prayer, demonstrating an amazing knowledge of our scriptures. It ended with these words, “Hail to the King of the Jews, he who will bring peace to all peoples.”

That evening, Sota invited Relana and I to share in a lamb that they had roasted. When Relana and my aunts left to take some food to Mary and Joseph. I remembered the bag of gold coins. While the men dug a pit to extinguish the fire, I slipped equal amounts of coins in the saddlebag of each man. Let them think that another miracle had occurred.


As stated above, this is an excerpt of a larger work, the fictional memoirs of the Innkeeper of Bethlehem, who plays an important role in the life and death of Jesus Christ. I wrote this story at a time when my life lack direction and purpose. It remains unpublished, but it may soon find its wat to the internet

This edition surprised many of it recipients. They didn’t think I could write anything that wasn’t at least trying to be funny. But it is the only card of which additional copies were requested.