October 18, 2024

I used to perform in a dramatic prayer service called Journey Cross and Crucifixion.  It was a presentation of the Stations of the Cross using song, dramatic narration and dance.  We traveled with this service all over Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens.  One night, I was asked to go to Brooklyn.  I printed out the directions from Mapquest, left work early and off I went.  I don’t know where we were exactly, but I do remember the church hired security to watch our cars!  It is one thing to drive to an unfamiliar place in the daylight, but trying to get out to the main highway in the dark, well that was an adventure.  I knew that once I got to the highway, as long as I was headed east, I would get home, the only problem, no compass in my car.  After a few wrong turns, I must have found something familiar or maybe a non-graffiti covered road sign that pointed me in the right direction, I don’t really know, but I trusted my instinct, and made it to the Belt Parkway.  Once I saw JFK airport, I knew I headed in the right direction. 

Getting lost is not a novel experience.  I am sure there are times each of us has been physically lost.  It’s frightening to feel alone and lost; whether it is physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  The most wonderful truth is that we are never alone. We are never truly lost.  

Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, promised he would not leave us.  We are not forgotten.  We are not orphans.  This promise is a reminder that even when we feel alone or adrift, there is a guiding presence accompanying us on our journey.  Christ is before us, behind us and beside us.  

This truth is almost more than words can describe, and as per Hans Christian Anderson: “Where words fail, music speaks. “Christ Before Us,” is a beautiful piece with text by Janet Sullivan Whitaker, to the tune Suo Gan, a Welsh lullaby.  The melody is often sung at Christmas depicting Mary singing to baby Jesus.  What more safe place is there than an infant in its mother’s arms?  As Christians, we can be assured of the same safety, knowing that Christ is with us.  

Cecilia Carroll
Advent Square Director

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