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Father Anthony De Mello, Jesuit priest and psychotherapist, tells the following story:

There was a shipwreck and people were floating on a raft somewhere off the coast of Brazil.  As time passed for those poor souls their fear mounted.  They reminded one another that the ocean waters that surrounded them was, of course, undrinkable. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.  They anticipated perishing soon.

What the desperate shipwreck survivors did not know was that the water on which they floated was actually fresh water.  It seems a vast strong river emptied into the sea, and  clean, safe, refreshing, drinkable, and life-sustaining water was right there and readily available to the shipwreck survivors, but they had no idea.

Father De Mello says, “If you feel a little like a stranded soul afloat on a raft without a drop to drink, maybe this story can be a gentle reminder that you are not alone. Long ago and across the years, many have felt desperate, frantic, and hopeless.  But the Advent story says that to just such people, waiting for rescue, help was sent:  someone capable of showing them where life-sustaining resources could be found.

Retold by Rev, Drs. Casey and Bob Baggott