During Advent, we await the arrival of Jesus – His arrival on earth and His arrival at the Second Coming. This Advent, there are people who are waiting our arrival, too.
One Christmas, my pastor asked everyone to call the one person they haven’t been speaking to. He said, “And don’t tell me you don’t have anyone – I know you all do! Just call them and wish them a Merry Christmas. If they start yelling about what you two are fighting about, simply say, ‘I don’t want to get into that today. I am just calling to wish you a Merry Christmas.’ Then say ‘God bless you,’ and hang up the phone.”
That really gave me pause because there was one friend I hadn’t spoken to in months. I could have pretended that nothing was wrong, but something was, and we both knew it. At my pastor’s urging, I took a deep breath and called her. When I wished her a Merry Christmas, she said, “I’ve been thinking about you all day! I wanted to call you, but I know we haven’t really been talking so I was afraid.”
She was afraid of me?
That Christmas, I learned something. People might care about my presence and miss my absence more than I thought – and it is important to be courageous enough to take the first step.
I once was at a dinner in a parish social hall. A middle-aged man several tables away started coughing uncontrollably. I immediately surmised that he swallowed his drink wrong and that he was just coughing it out. When that happens to me, I get a little overwhelmed when people keep asking me if I am OK. I assumed he felt the same and did nothing.
There was a teenage boy sitting nearby. He was a nice kid but had a penchant for getting into trouble; he had recently been expelled from school and allegedly had a police record. That boy turned around, looked at the man and saw that no one had gone over to assist. So, the teen got up and walked over to the man, put his hand on his shoulder, and asked if he was OK or if he needed anything. The man settled down and thanked the teen, saying he would be fine.
Suddenly, it occurred to me. Here was a man sitting all alone in the middle of a church social hall – of all places – and no one showed him compassion except for a boy some may call a “juvenile delinquent.” That man could have attended that entire parish dinner without being spoken to by anyone – including me. That boy put us all to shame that day.
This Advent and Christmas, let us seek to notice Jesus in every person we meet. Let us be the face of Christ to others. Is there someone awaiting our phone call as an olive branch? Is someone alone and yearning to be noticed? Has someone returned to church for the first time in years wondering if they’ll be judged, ignored or welcomed?
Be the one to take that first step and reach out. As we await Jesus’ arrival, He’s awaiting our love and action.
Sister M. Emily Vincent Rebalsky, IHM, is the program director at Villa Maria by the Sea Retreat Center, Stone Harbor.
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