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Excerpts from a message by Ed Greenan, Regional Coordinator for Rhode Island

Joseph Campbell, in this book, "The Power of Myth", describes the role of the hero's journey not as a courageous act, but rather as a life lived in self-discovery. The last two years of VOTF's journey to help renew the Catholic Church seems to be teaching (me, at least) that our role in reshaping the church and its role in bringing Christ to all will not be several swift acts. Rather we are going to have to courageously discover ourselves and Christ in an on-going dedication to the Gospel's message.

Today's Gospel speaks of John the Baptist and his call to repent in the face of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Jesus, too, preached the coming of the Kingdom. He even said that it had already arrived. At that time many Jews were expecting a Kingdom which would turn the Roman oppression on its ear. Even the early Church had a similar expectation. They expected a change of rule that would benefit them without having to stick their necks out or stand up and be counted. They looked for a leader who would handle all the hard stuff when they each should have been leaders.

It is Christ's message that the Kingdom has already arrived and that it needs those who believed in it to share love and possessions to bring it to fulfillment. As Christian heros we must discover in ourselves the movement of Christ and his Spirit, and not give in to power bases which subvert the message of the Kingdom. Let's renew our dedication to changing this church we seem to care so much about. Advent is a good time to reflect on our role in the Kingdom here with us and to come. Come, Lord Jesus, come.