Well, I’m already having to “practice what I preached” last night.  I began last night with this quote from Fr. David May:

“We usually picture a stable around that manger, but in the Byzantine liturgy, they sing of a cave where the splendor of Jesus shines forth.
“’O little Child lying in a manger, by means of a star, heaven has called and led to you the Magi, the first-fruits of the Gentiles, who were astounded to behold, not scepters and thrones, but extreme poverty.  What, indeed is lower than a cave?  What is more humble than swaddling clothes?  And yet the splendor of your divinity shone forth in them resplendently.  O Lord, glory to you!’ (Prayer from the Divine Liturgy for Christmas).
“The Child teaches us not to be afraid of the barren winter of our wounded hearts, of our human emptiness.  For, by grace, these have become an Advent for us—a time of waiting for the Desired One.
“He encourages us during this season with a Child’s guileless smile.  He awaits us there where we are most in need and most afraid: in the dark cave of our poverty.”

The main point I was trying to make was about Christ’s desire to enter into the “dark cave of our poverty.”  That is where He decided–and still decides–to be born.  If the inn would have not been full, would He have been born there in the inn?  I think not.  He came–and still comes–to the lowliest and the poorest, to the smelly, messy stables.  That is Good News, isn’t it?  But we can, just like the innkeeper, say that there’s no room.  Or we can say: “Just wait a minute until I get everything fixed up first”–as though we could fix up anything in our souls without Him. We can make so many excuses for His not coming in–at least at this moment.

Anyway, this morning I found myself slipping again into the “Just wait a minute” mode and had to remind myself of what I was talking about last night: the most important thing we can do is be humble and open our hearts to the Christ Child at every moment, not just when we think everything is spic and span and perfect to receive Him.