We Christians are celebrating Advent, the season of hope. A few more days and we shall be rejoicing at Christ’s Birth! Are we ready to receive him in our hearts?
Advent means “coming,†“arriving.†Who is coming? Our Lord Jesus Christ! Historically, He came the first time when He was born at Bethlehem. Hopefully, we long for his Coming at the end of time – and of our individual time. And prayerfully, we hope in his daily coming to our lives. Through the season of Advent, we prepare for a very special coming: for the Birth of Jesus at Christmas, for his birth in our hearts and in our communities.
Indeed, the Lord is coming to each one of us this Christmas. Do we really, really believe it? Let us remember that when Jesus came the first time, when he was born of the Virgin Mary at Bethlehem, there was no room for him in the inn. Is there a room for him in our hearts? “If there is no room for him in our hearts, there is no possibility of celebrating Christmas†(Schillebeeckx). This Christmas too, “there will be no room for Jesus in the hearts of the selfish and proud persons†(Fulton Sheen).
There is a lovely story of a children’s Nativity play (from Margaret Silf). After many rehearsals the great day of presenting the play before the proud parents of the children and parishioners came. On stage: angels, shepherds, and Mary, Joseph and the innkeeper. Mary and Joseph knock at the door of the inn and ask: “Please, can we have a room for the night?†The innkeeper answers: “Sorry, there is no room in the inn.†After saying that, however, the little innkeeper had second thoughts of his own and added something else: “Don’t go away, you can have my room.â€
My dear friends, I ask myself: “Can Jesus have my room? Can He have yours? Can he have our rooms?†Perhaps our rooms are a bit messy; He will not mind, but let us clean them and prepare to be innkeepers who give his or her room to Jesus. I just received a Christmas card through the email of a friend with this message: “Each one of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus†(Max A. Maxwell). “Only when Jesus is formed in us will the Mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us†(CCC 526).
May the Lord continue growing in our hearts, in our families, in our communities!
And may those around us notice that we believe in Christmas by the way we treat them with kindness and compassion.
Mother Mary, Our Lady, and St. Joseph bless for us.
 (FG, OP)