We're Not Alone
Posted on May 25, 2014 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
Have you ever felt lonely? I’m talking about that feeling of having no one to turn to and that feeling of thinking the only way you can do something is to do it yourself, or that feeling that no one else can understand your situation. Have you ever experienced that? Loneliness can be experienced when we're alone or when we are constantly surrounded by people. It is a feeling, not necessarily a physical reality.
There was a dark time in my life that I experienced loneliness. It was during that time when I was beginning to hear something, or someone, calling me into a different life, but I did not understand it. Oh, I was physically never alone during this time. Jill was by my side every step of the way. She encouraged me and offered me support, but nothing made sense to me. I had awesome kids who kept me busy and active in their lives. I worked for a man who trusted me to run his whole business. I was traveling all over the world, working with different people every day. I had people around me 24/7, but I still felt lonely. I was confused about what I was doing and what I should be doing. I wanted answers and so I sought people out who I thought could give me the answers, but I never got the answers I wanted, so I kept looking and the more I looked, the darker my life seemed to get. I had everything going for me and, yet, I never felt lonelier. I felt like no one understood my life, or the inner struggles I was experiencing. Even though I was surrounded by people who loved me, and cared for me, I turned inward and began to believe that I could deal with my problem myself. I looked and I looked for help, but it seemed no one could help me!
Loneliness is a dangerous experience. It often causes us to think of ourselves first and it can cause us to believe that the only way to satisfy our need to escape this loneliness is to follow selfish needs. But, turning inward is never a cure for loneliness and today Jesus reminds us of what a healthy response to loneliness should be.
When our Gospel story ended last week, Jesus had just told the disciples that because they believed in him that they would be able to do even greater things than he did. In my sermon last week, I said that because of our faith in Jesus we are all destined for greatness. Now this is true, but there is more to this story. You see, even though we stopped reading last Sunday at verse 14, as we heard today, Jesus kept talking. Yes, we are destined for greatness, but not because of anything we will do, but because through our faith, we will receive this Advocate, that Jesus calls the spirit of truth. Remember what Jesus said last week? “I am the way, the truth and the life…Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 15:6-10) Jesus, will ask the Father to send the Advocate to be with his followers and this advocate is the very spirit of Jesus, the spirit of truth. As confusing and unbelievable as it is, Jesus says, even though he will physically leave, God; Father, Son and Spirit will come to abide, that is, live in us.
Just because Jesus physically leaves he promised his disciples, and you and I today, that they were not being abandoned. They would not be orphaned. They would never have to worry about being alone, because God, all of God, would abide in them. We’ll talk more about this incredible mystery of the Trinity in two weeks, but today, all who believe in Christ are assured that God abides in them. And knowing this, Jesus, who fully understands that there will be times in our lives when we will feel lonely, reminds us that the response to loneliness is not to turn inward, but to turn to the God who abides in us.
You know, loneliness is not a modern feeling. Humans have been experiencing loneliness since creation. In fact in the very story of creation we are told that God knew it was not good for humans to be alone and so God created all living beings to be with humanity.
King David, yes, the mighty King of Israel, knew loneliness. At the height of his power, his own son sought to kill him and in his time of loneliness he cried out, as we read in the Psalms, "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted… (Psalm 25: 16). Jesus, too, felt loneliness at times, especially when he was on the cross. Remember, his words from the cross? He felt God had abandoned him. His most faithful followers abandoned him in his hour of need. The people who followed him and loved him before he was crucified were no longer there for him. And so, as he hung on that cross feeling abandoned and lonely, he cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?’ that is 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Matthew 27:46).
In both of these examples from scripture we learn the proper response for loneliness. It’s not an inward cry, but a cry to God, the very God that Paul told the Athenians was not some “unknown god.” No, in those words we heard from Paul today, and in the words we hear from Jesus today, we are reminded and challenged to turn to the God that has revealed himself to us as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit. We are challenged today to always turn to the God, who is the Spirit of truth. This spirit is the very reason you and I have the power and ability to do great things and the very reason we are never alone. In our loneliness we are called to turn to God.
This is exactly what changed my life, 16 years ago. I stopped looking to myself, and others, for answers and I trusted that God would provide me the answers and that is exactly what happened. Slowly, it became clear that my future was here in the church and not in the business community. The love that I knew was there from Jill and my kids was not based on my ability to make lots of money, but instead was based on my love of life and my love for God.
I came to understand that the great promise of that first Easter morning was far more than the Resurrection, no the real promise of Easter is that because of the Resurrection, we now are filled with the Spirit and empowered to go forth and do the will of God. The real promise of Easter is that the future, our future, is not dependent on us, but on the God who abides in each of us and who promises to go forth with us, even to the end of the ages.
Brothers and sisters, in your loneliness, in your times of despair, in your times of feeling abandoned, do as king David did, do as our Lord and Savior did, turn to God, the very spirit of truth that abides in each of you. Amen.