I’m going on an Advental hiatus (yes, I just made Advent
into an adjective). I’m trying to make more room for the Lord in these weeks
leading up to Christmas… For the season of Advent, I’m giving up Facebook (the
only exception being to post blog links, of course). Most people think that
giving something up for a season is something we really only do during Lent…
but we forget that Advent is also a penitential season. Like Lent, Advent is a
season of preparation. In both seasons, we are anticipating the Lord either in
His birth or in His Resurrection.
The word Advent
means ‘arrival’ or ‘coming’. What do we do when we are expecting the arrival of
a guest? When we know that someone special is coming over? We clean house. We make
room for them to stay. In the season of Advent, we are anticipating a coming,
the celebration of the arrival of Christ the Savior. He seeks to dwell in us;
but we need to make room in the inn of our heart so that we don’t turn Him
away. We have to make the space, or we won’t have the space to welcome Him in
and give Him room. I humbly admit that I spend too much time on Facebook! It’s
easy to scroll and scroll, anticipating the next funny meme, or inspirational
post, or that next announcement about an important event in a friend’s life. I’m
sure if I kept track, I spend more time on Facebook than I do in prayer. That
doesn’t seem like a very Jesus centered life. And I want my life to be Jesus
centered. Which means I need to put HIM first and spend more time with Him than
I do scrolling mindlessly through a media stream.
So this Advent, I’m choosing to be an innkeeper; to take on
the role of one of those innkeepers of Bethlehem, transporting my heart back
about two thousand years. Except, when the Holy Family knocks on my door, I
want to have room prepared for them. I want to have a place for Jesus to be
born in me. So these next 24 days, I’m cleaning my inn. I’m cleaning out those
things that crowd Jesus out. How many times I think I’m just going to check Facebook
for a few minutes and then pray, and
before I know it, I have 5 minutes left before I have to hit the ground running
to make breakfast, or get out the door for work, and prayer gets crowded out. I
didn’t make room in my inn for Jesus. It's time for that to change.
And so I challenge you too: what can you do this Advent to
make the inn of your heart ready to welcome Jesus in? It might be giving
something up, or doing something more concrete. Whatever it is, be intentional
about it! Be a true innkeeper this Christmas. And whistle while you work :)
