Something More than Loneliness: Ps. 23; I John 3:16-24
When I left for college, my grandmother (not Nanna) had mixed emotions. She was happy for me, worried about me, and fearful of anything and everything. I will never forget the little pep talk which included a dire warning. Because I would be alone so much, I needed to prop a chair under the doorknob so no one would break in and kidnap me. I gently and jokingly replied that it would take 6 of them to carry me off, but she was undaunted. There was this grave fear of me, her, or anyone being alone, and the dangers and anguish found in loneliness.
As we continue our series on “Something More…” we confront this fear head on. Many of us have struggled through the past year. We were isolated at home. For some of us that’s not a problem because we have being alone down to a perfect art form. Yet the vast majority of us are social creatures, and this whole thing was hard—the death, the loneliness, the normality turned to daily struggle. But today we look at this idea of something more. God has something more for us than suffering in loneliness. We are reminded, over and over, that God is with us as shepherd, in the interconnectedness of love, and in Christian fellowship.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23 gives us so many beautiful references of God as our shepherd, who is close to us when we struggle. We read that there is nothing we need, we rest in the meadows, and are led by peaceful streams. We hear how God renews our strength, guides us in right paths, and keeps us from fear in the dark valley. Psalm 23 is often used at funerals because it serves primarily as a psalm of comfort and hope.
The imagery of God as the Good Shepherd is something more than just comforting. It is something more than a reminder of God’s provision. It is something more than a statement of God leading us. It tells us of the presence of the shepherd in all situations, in all troubles, and in all times of life. Much of the work of a shepherd is geared towards keeping the sheep safe. Lost and lonely sheep get in to trouble. Sheep without leading and guidance will always, always find danger just as often in a herd as if they are alone. The shepherd provides a presence to protect, provide, and maintain the flock of sheep. For us it is the same. There is something more than loneliness for the Good Shepherd is with us, and we are reminded that even as goodness and mercy shall follow us, that we will live in God’s house forever. That promise is something more that the nothingness of being left alone.
But just as we are connected to the shepherd, we have an interconnectedness with one another through love. I John speaks to this telling us that real love is sacrificial, for Jesus gave up his life for us…so, too, we ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. There is even an example: from those who are well off, there is a responsibility to care for and show compassion to a brother or sister in need. I John goes so far to ask of those who refuse to show compassion, “How can God’s love be in that person?” We see this cold-heartedness creep up in small ways: opposition to a sheltering place for those without heat or homes, an expectation that those who are less wealthy should not mix with those who are wealthy, race and income blaming, and the list goes on.
I John reminds us that we should not merely say we love one another, we should show the truth of our love by our actions. I will never forget being at a statewide event in high school. We had to introduce ourselves and talk about a project we were working on. The girl in front of me, who was from the big city and was clearly wealthy, talked about her school’s outreach into this nasty little town of rednecks where all the kids didn’t have shoes, full of inbreeding, uneducated hillbillies, and poverty. The town was Harlan, Kentucky. My hometown. And suddenly, it was my turn to pick my jaw up off the floor from being so stunned and introduce myself. I politely and warmly told them I had shoes, a good education, and planned to work on the evils of prejudice just like this, and even pointed to her in the process. The room was silent.
We are all interconnected with one another through God’s love for us, and our call to be ambassadors and representatives of that love, no matter who we are or what our station is in life. Sometimes we may feel alone and need a reminder of God’s presence. But sometimes we fight that connection with one another and with God, choosing to stubbornly go along our own pathways of life. I John warns us against this saying in verse 24 that “those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them.” Following and obeying God preserves the fellowship we have both with God and with one another.
Being connected with one another and having fellowship are both very important to us as God’s family. Fellowship is defined as “an association of people with a common interest.” (Google Dictionary). For us, that common theme or interest is our faith in Christ. For that reason, we cannot forsake the assembling of ourselves, as Hebrews 10:25 says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.” Just as we cannot forget the love and presence of the Good Shepherd in our lives, neither can we isolate ourselves and neglect our common connectedness to one another in God as well as our fellowship with God and with one another.
There is an old story that often finds its way into sermons, and it’s going to do so again starting in the next sentence. A preacher went to visit a man from his flock. The man had been very faithful in coming to church, serving, and participating in activities. Yet for a couple of months, he had not been coming. The preacher went to the man’s house for a visit. As it was a cold night, the man and the preacher went over and sat down by the fire. As the fire crackled and popped, the preacher suddenly took the fireplace poker and dug around in the fire for a particular piece of coal.
He then pulled that coal out of the fire to the edge of the hearth and left it there. At first the coal burned bright orange, but after a minute or so, it became dark and cool to the touch. The preacher took the poker and moved the dark, isolated, and lonely piece of coal back into the fire, and immediately it began glowing brightly with the flames. At this point, the preacher stood up, and put on his hat and coat to leave. The man looked up and spoke the first words of the evening, “Nice sermon, Preacher, I’ll see you on Sunday.”
Friends, our faith gives us a powerful connection to God where we can say, “What a friend we have in Jesus!” But our faith also makes us connected to and accountable to and for one another. Our faith is meant to comfort us when we feel alone, but also to challenge our rugged individualism and remind us that the power of God’s early church was their togetherness as told in Acts 2. So, in the presence of the God, Our Shepherd, and in fellowship together, we can say, “What a friend we have in Jesus, and what a family of faith we have with one another. Thanks be to God.”
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2783519238566593