Last
night while I was talking with one of my best friends, he interrupted me to say
that there had been an explosion at a concert in Manchester, England. Sorrow
filled my heart. While 4,137 miles stand between Decatur and that town in
Northwest England, I could not help but feel immediately close to the victims
of this latest terrorist attack and their families who grieve at this very
moment. Maybe feeling such a connection to strangers stands out as odd, but the
immortal words of John Donne ring in my ears nonetheless: “Any man’s death
diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to
know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”[1]
We are not isolated individuals, for we are united as a whole and when one is
lost sorrow fills the collective heart.
In
John’s telling of the story there were moments when from the disciples’ point
of view everything appeared lost, disconnected, and sorrowful. On that last
night before their teacher would die, Jesus told his followers he was leaving.
The disciples got stuck in sadness. Jesus responded with bewilderment, as they
were focused solely on the loss and not on where he was going; however, they
were stuck. Sorrow had filled their hearts.
We
too may feel this as we look out upon the death and destructions that human
beings enact upon each other. Just like the disciples we are focused on what is
not here, as we believe that we are alone and without God. All signs appear to
point to this answer that as the world burns with terror God exists outside of
this existence waiting and watching our fearful flailing.
In
just two days we will remember the Ascension, the story in Luke’s Gospel
account when Jesus left his disciples to reign eternally with the Father. For a
few days the Spirit does not descend. The disciples do not feel the impact of
the Spirit until that day of Pentecost. We during that time may recall a
feeling of loneliness thinking of life without God. For some people this moment
does not pass like a morning fog, but instead engulfs them for much longer.
Fear, anger, violence, war, and other malicious forces cloud out the
realization that the Advocate comes. These terrible powers may even cause one
to believe that one stands alone, as an island unto oneself. And yet, this is
not the truth!
Jesus
leaves so that he Advocate will come to be
with us, uniting us forever. We struggle to catch glimpses of this presence,
especially in tragic moments; however, I know that when I am at my worst that
is the very moment when I can most easily feel this Advocate stirring within
me, between others and me, and linking me to that which lies beyond my
understanding.
Psalm
138, which we recited together today, calls to mind those moments when we may
have moved through a terribly difficult time, and as we look back we see the
connections to each other and to God. “When I called, you answered me” the
Psalmist cries, and elsewhere, “Though the Lord be high, he cares for the
lowly… Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe.” When terror
seems to close in all around we may struggle to feel this safety, but even then
God draws us near through the power of the Advocate.
God
loves us more immensely than we will ever know. God shields us as we walk with
God. This shield does not prevent us from the pains of this world, and in fact,
God may very well call us into dangerous positions to care for the vulnerable and
share the Good News with the outcasts and the unloved. Still those whom God
loves—that is ALL OF US—can never exist outside the eternal embrace of God’s
love! Though God is transcendent, he cares for the lowly. Though we walk
through trouble, God keeps us eternally safe. Though our hearts may be filled
with sorrow, God sends to us the Advocate who draws us ever nearer to one
another and to Godself!
[1] John
Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions,
Meditation XVII: Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris: Public domain.
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