Pope Benedict XVI has visited the United States and has now gone home. It was not so much a neighborly visit as an ecclesiastical campaign. His six days in Washington, DC and New York, NY were full of celebrations of the Mass, speeches to diverse audiences, and other public engagements. All the while, in various ways and with various words, Benedict served the stated theme of his visit: "Christ Our Hope."

About mid-way through the papal visit, I talked by telephone with a friend, a pastor who lives and ministers in Washington, DC. Rob was quick to note how the pope's presence in our nation's capital had elevated the social-spiritual atmosphere of the town that is usually politics-all-the-time. Rob's comment might say as much about the state of his own soul as the state of Washington's metropolitan soul. Even so, Benedict's visit did seem to inspire many of us out of our routines of living.

Perhaps it was by God's providence that the pope's visit occurred just days before The United Methodist Church gathers for the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, TX. The pope's words and deeds just might fortify many who will be participating, in one way or another, in General Conference.

Addressing seminary students and youth in suburban New York, Benedict spoke words that General Conference participants, and all of us, might well ponder: "The manipulation of truth distorts our perception of reality, and tarnishes our imagination and aspirations. I have already mentioned the many liberties, which you are fortunate enough to enjoy. The fundamental importance of freedom must be rigorously safeguarded. It is no surprise, then, that numerous individuals and groups vociferously claim their freedom in the public forum. Yet freedom is a delicate value. It can be misunderstood or misused so as to lead, not to the happiness which we all expect it to yield, but to a dark arena of manipulation in which our understanding of self and the world becomes confused, or even distorted by those who have an ulterior agenda.

"Have you noticed how often the call for freedom is made without ever referring to the truth of the human person? Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere. And in truth's place -- or better said, its absence -- an idea has spread which, in giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to liberate conscience. This we call relativism. But what purpose has a 'freedom' which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong?...Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth, we come to live by belief [that is, faith] because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ's very being for others." (emphasis added)

Christ Our Hope. It is a glorious theme for a papal visit. It is also an inspiring claim for United Methodists. But as Benedict XVI makes clear, this lofty phrase is not just about sweetness and light; it also involves challenges. Just as the One on whom this phrase centers, Jesus Christ, has His commandments.

Christ is our hope. And because Christ is our hope, He is the truth, the way, and the life here and now.