RUTTER: Christ’s Presence Revisited

At the 1.75-mile point of our walk we reach “The Cross” and turn around to head home. You might picture the cross sitting atop the steeple of your church; a visible symbol that welcomes you into the house of the Lord. Or the mention of the cross may instinctively have you touch the one you wear around your neck. But this cross is nothing so obvious or man-made.

The Cross my neighbor and I walk to is a tree out on the gravel road we call home. Its trunk is covered with ivy and from it extends two branches that form a perfect cross. Bare of leaves in the winter, every year we wonder if it will survive to spring, always elated when its foliage brings it back to life at frost’s end. It marks the seasons from Jesus’ walk to death at Golgotha, to his resurrection and appearance to Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).

Christ is present in all. The great philosophers and saints of every age recognize this truth. It shines in Origen’s writings on the Trinity; St. Paul’s testimony that “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), and St. Patrick’s prayer “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me... .”

It is no surprise that accepting Christ’s presence infuses all, separates us from the world at large. However, if we’re honest, we also admit it’s an ongoing challenge to place ourselves in Christ’s presence. Believing in his presence is one thing, resting in his peace to hear and be led by his Word, another.

As I lace up my shoes and call the dog to set out on our path, I ask Christ for both. Yet, by the time I make it down the driveway my thoughts have wandered to the immediate tasks in front of me: work; kids; dinner, etc.

In one moment I am beseeching God to mold me as his servant, and in the next, I am focused on self.

And that’s only half the challenge! Not only is this walk not about me; to claim discipleship, Christ expects my life to be centered on my neighbor’s needs. Yes, I claim discipleship. Yes, I believe Christ is as present as my neighbor whom I can physically see and touch. Humbled by my imperfection, I desperately need his daily bread to bend my will to his.

I am awash with gratitude to God for bringing his perfect Son into the world. Teacher, brother, leader, guide, role model, lover - Christ’s perfect presence infuses our every turn on this journey to holiness. Step by step throughout our lives he moves us from self to other, failure to success, hate to love, envy to gratitude, sadness to joy, and temporal to eternal. We are meant for heaven!

We continue our walk to The Cross together, simply praying for the strength to love. As St. Paul explains. “If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1 John 4:12).

And so I pray: Dear Lord, align my thoughts, priorities and actions to serve others. Walk beside me, lead me in your way. “Here I am, Lord, send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Jane Rutter is a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Columbia. 

(c) 2021, 2026 E. Jane Rutter