Jesus hasn\u2019t just gone away. He has gone deeper into the heart of reality \u201d\u201c our reality and God\u2019s. He has become far more than a visible friend and companion; he has shown himself to be the very centre of our life, the source of our loving energy in the world and the source of our prayerful, trustful waiting on God. He has made us able to be a new kind of human being, silently and patiently trusting God as a loving parent, actively and hopefully at work to make a difference in the world, to make the kind of difference love makes.<\/p>\n
So if the world looks and feels like a world without God, the Christian doesn\u2019t try to say, \u201d\u02dcIt\u2019s not as bad as all that\u2019, or seek to point to clear signs of God\u2019s presence that make everything all right. The Christian will acknowledge that the situation is harsh, even apparently unhopeful \u201d\u201c but will dare to say that they are willing to bring hope by what they offer in terms of compassion and service. And their own willingness and capacity for this is nourished by the prayer that the Spirit of Jesus has made possible for them.<\/p>\n
The friends of Jesus are called, in other words, to offer themselves as signs of God in the world \u201d\u201c to live in such a way that the underlying all-pervading energy of God begins to come through them and make a difference.<\/p>\n