We Are Here.

My six-year-old son does not like the loud sound of thunder. It startles him; it makes him feel powerless. Yet, mysteriously, his fear subsides when my wife or I hug him and tell him, “It is all right. We are here.” Then he smiles.

It is very simple. Whoever has experienced fear or uncertainty knows that to regain peace it often takes only the reassurance of companionship and a few words. Maybe this is why we exist with one another. Maybe this is the ultimate goal of living in community.

There are more humans on this earth than ever before. Yet, many feel lonely. We have never had more means to be “connected” than we do today. Yet, many among us feel isolated, anxious, broken by our fears.

One can only imagine the dread of being one of the Greek widows in today’s reading from Acts. They had lost all forms of material support. They were destitute in a patriarchal society. They were strangers because of their culture. One could not be much more vulnerable.

It is in this context that the Christian community does what it knows best: accompany and serve. This is how we make God present. The widows had less to fear because Christ’s disciples were with them. These are the same disciples who one day heard Jesus say: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

As long as there are Christian disciples in our midst, no one should be alone or afraid. We are driven by the hope of the resurrection. That is precisely the hope that inspires us to tell our world, “It is all right. We are here.”

Hosffman Ospino. Taken from Give Us This Day.

Hosffman Ospino is associate professor of theology and education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry.