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The movie Home Alone, written by John Hughes, has become something of a contemporary Christmas classic, one many families watch during the holiday season. Many of us have laughed at the adventures of 8–year–old Kevin McAllister, accidentally left home alone while the rest of the family embarks on a transatlantic vacation. Kevin’s heroic defense of his house against a pair of bumbling burglars is absurd and implausible but a lot of fun.
This well–written comedy also introduces us to a more poignant, serious theme: the loneliness that can come from being estranged, out of relationship with family. Kevin recognizes that his elderly neighbor is also home alone during the holidays, but his “aloneness” is due to unresolved conflict with his daughter. It is in the reconciliation of this relationship and the restoration of community that the elderly man is no longer alone.
Jesus understands the experience of loneliness. He wrestled with the Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane, and fully experienced the emotional pain of loneliness on the cross. We can bring our present experience to Jesus because He sympathizes with our suffering. (Hebrews 4:14–16)
The Scripture is clear that God’s intention for us is to find health, healing, and wholeness in the context of community. Psalm 68:6 states: “God sets the lonely in families.” God’s very nature is one of community, and in Scripture, we are introduced to this profound mystery. The loving interaction between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the divine “persons” that comprise God—models how we are to live with one another. Our “three–in–one” God demonstrates how our relationship with one another can be marked by love, compassion, commitment, faithfulness, and even self–sacrifice.
Our prayer this holiday season is that all would find their way to loving communities of health, healing, and wholeness. The Salvation Army is one community in which all are welcome and in which the Good News of the Gospel is proclaimed. This Good News is Jesus, the reason for joy
during this holiday season. Because of Him, we can be reconciled to God and to one another, and no one need ever be “home alone.”
Mark Tillsley,
Lt. Colonel
Secretary for Personnel
USA Eastern Territory
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