Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we discover that our old selves are crucified and our new selves are raised up. Our aloneness is banished as we live in communion with God and others. Our emptiness is filled with hope, our wandering given a purpose, and our lives woven into the significant and colorful tapestry of God's plan. To the prodigal son, being saved began when he confessed in humility his emptiness and turned toward home. It was made complete when he finally fell into the embrace of the one who never stopped waiting and watching for him.
Salvation senses a whole universe yearning for hope.
Our lives, our politics, our marriages, our neighborhoods, our economy, our environment, as well as our souls, long for the harmony of the one who created us and calls us to a new age. St. Augustine long ago confessed that we cannot finally rest until we rest in God. Salvation brings rest to weary souls and a weary world and hope in this life and in the life to come. It promises us that there is nothing that can keep us away from God's embrace. I wish there was a way to earn such a gift, for I suspect many of us would work our spirits to the bone to acquire it.