I went 0-for-3 this past week in answering the bell on consequential phone calls.
Okay, it’s not a “bell,” exactly – more like a ringtone.
But the point is, when each of the trio of “desired calls” came through, nothing audible happened on my mobile. Nada. Zip. Zilch. All three call-backs went straight to voicemail, rather than producing a sound that would have allowed me to speak to a person I’d been trying to reach.
In all three cases, it was just the tip of the technological iceberg, too. Prior to that point, I’d been wrestling with various Customer Contact apps for hours (if not days) as I worked to resolve a diverse set of thorny issues.
At the heart of each encounter was a matter of trust. Companies and service providers, both large and small, had erected and installed systems to verify that I am who I claimed to be – and that therefore, I merited some measure of their attention and engagement.
It’s an efficient way to run the business, I suppose. At the same time, it’s often maddening. Depersonalizing. Depressing.
Sorting through the jagged emotions that roiled my spirit following each of these technological disconnects, I came to see how they pointed me back to Christmas: Christ with us.
How very different is the Holy One’s promise to me. The Holy One’s presence to me. If I remember to make the effort, I never have to wonder whether my call will be mysteriously diverted to voicemail. Emmanuel will answer, 24X7, 365¼ days a year.
It’s a wonderful grace we are offered, but so subtle that it can be easy to miss. The blare of media, the shriek of sports, the boom of consumerism – these and many other marvels of modern culture are much more vocal in insisting they can soothe our restless hearts. But far better in the end is to cultivate a patient and expectant spirit like the two holy people we meet in this week’s gospel, Anna and Simeon.
We can learn from them, Anna and Simeon. We can learn from St. Paul, too, who offers great advice as we consider making a resolution for the New Year:
…let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.
Pursue a child-like spirit, perhaps, in the New Year.
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 