First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2007
"Put on the armor of light"
- Romans 13:12

As we begin this sacred season preparing for the Advent (coming) of the one and only Savior of all people for all times, let us remember his birth. There was no room for him at the inn. No possibility of being born there. No space. All full of something except him.

2,000 years later, how much have things changed for us? Is there any room at the inn? You are the inn. Jesus wants to be born and come to fullness of stature in you.

Maybe you have had this thought or seen it played out in your life, "He's so full of himself that nothing outside of him can get through." I know I can get so self-sufficient, prideful, and convinced I know it all that my inn is full, making it impossible for anything else to come in (2 the inn!). Our pride and thinking we can do it on our own and save ourselves is just one of the many ways in which we can be so full and shut out Jesus from our inns. Thankfully, Jesus is relentlessly knocking on the door of our inn and asking for a permanent relationship.

As an inn, imagine yourself as a box. What do you fill your box with? The remote control represents the TV (a lot of which the devil has his fingers in). Computers, game boys, work, things, appointments, sports, noise, busyness, and the list goes on. The box is full and nothing else can get in especially the baby Jesus who alone is our hope and salvation.

What is the antidote to our inns that have no room because our boxes are so full? Mary, the Mother of God, shows us the way. Her box was empty. By perfectly receiving the news from the Angel Gabriel that she was to give birth to the Savior, she showed that the totality of her inn was for the Lord Jesus. With her whole being she shouts to all generations, "I am yours, Lord. All that I am belongs to you. Whatever you want Lord is what I want. Have it your way. I trust in you for you are the Keeper of the inn. I am your servant and may it be, whatever it will be, done according to your Word."

Empty your box and pray with Mary, "I am yours, Lord. All that I am belongs to you. Whatever you want Lord is what I want. Have it your way. I trust in you for you are the Keeper of the inn. I am your servant and may it be, whatever it will be, done according to your Word."

We are infinitely blessed!

+ Fr. John