Dear Editor,
For me, the Advent season seems to highlight, more than some, the potential for a coming together among people who have, for some time, been experiencing emptiness, torment, and resentment. This awareness comes on the heels of our country's election, which, for many, portends a hopeful promise of a return to optimism and a world that harbors less strife.
On the afternoon of December 7, in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals during a consistory. He told them that “to walk in the path of Jesus means, in the end, to be builders of communion and unity.” The Pope indicated that Jesus, through dying on the cross, wanted all people to “see themselves as children of the same father and as brothers and sisters of one another.”
What happens when a person finds Christ? And how does that happen? Occasionally, during television interludes, the Reverend Franklin Graham suggests that we can discover Christ by prayerfully joining him. Indeed, for some, discovering Christ often follows internalizing scripture, participation in church sacraments, or is realized through a mystical experience.
As we might expect, we, too, find Christ among those whom we should serve — the poor and the vulnerable. For example, the local community food pantries are comprised of volunteers representing churches and businesses, and the more excellent community offers provisions to food-insecure families in need. In circumstances like this, he makes his way among us.
Again, for me, I sense a change for the better coming. I see more people realizing a sense of service and transforming into servants of those most in need to be attentive to the weak and marginalized. We will recognize true happiness by serving the least of our brothers and sisters.
Peter Wibell, Rutledge