In christ…. Never alone!
We had two great verses last week. So this week, I want reach back to last Sunday’s Gospel lesson. It is a familiar one, Matthew 28. But what a power packed verse it is. It speaks to the enduring purpose of being God’s people in this world for the sake of the world (“Go and make disciples of all nations.”) And, it makes an incredible promise to believers as we go about being Christ’s people for others (for our families, our friends, and literally to anyone whom God brings into our lives). It’s that incredible promise that Jesus makes when He says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Wow! Believers in Christ are NEVER ALONE! In a world dying for real friendships, yearning for meaningful, enduring relationships, but more often drowning in heartbreaking loneliness, Jesus himself enters into the mix as our enduring friend, our ever-present Lord and Savior. We are never alone, even we when feel that kind of loneliness too.
Home alone. Do you remember those movies? I really liked them, especially Home alone 1 and Home alone 2 – Lost in New York. The movie was about this little boy who always seems to get left behind when the family goes on a vacation. The family always makes it to the destination and he somehow gets left behind, left to fend for himself on his own. But when you get right down to it, the point of the movies is that he’s never really alone. In the midst of his ordeal, he still has the love of his family, even the family resources at his disposal. He puts all that to work to deal with whatever seems to come against him. Home alone….even then, when he was totally by himself, he wasn’t really “home alone.”
Sometimes I think that we Christians forget that, IN CHRIST, we are never, ultimately alone. Sometimes we get this feeling that just because things aren’t going the way we’d hope they would at the moment, that somehow God has left us to our own devices. That feeling might come because we’ve wandered from Him, gone our own way as if we could make it by ourselves. Today’s lesson calls us to dismiss that erroneous notion, to repent of that notion completely. Even as human beings, in general, the Bible teaches that, we live, move, and have our very being because we are created in the image of God. Our rebellion, our sin, our willingness to go our own way would be like our Home Alone character trying to buy food without His dad’s credit cards, with only the money in his pocket (not much), OR to sleep in a house which he had to provide ON HIS OWN TERM AS IF HE COULD, can you say, “Homeless alone,”…OR to protect himself with only the wits and strength of a 10 year old in New York City or Chicago, yikes. If that were the case, the movies would have had a very different ending than they do. Thank God, in the movie, the young lad realized that through it all, in spite of his foolishness and childishness, he knew and was thankful for the love of his parents, their protection, their blessing.
Jesus gets even more personal with us today. No matter how things might be going in our lives at the moment, maybe you are without the resources of loving parents like our “Home Alone” star, or maybe you do feel “all by yourself” and truly, “on your own” yearning for more….Especially then, Jesus calls you to the exciting adventure of living life with Him, living it as His people for others. When you open His word, you commune with Him. You receive His love, His forgiveness, His life and salvation. Faith in Him brings joy even amidst sadness, peace in the middle of trials. He locates Himself, through His Word and Sacraments, so that you and I can always find Him with His blessings to be received and His resources to be shared. Wow!
In view of all of that, Jesus, then makes this incredible promise to those who believe in Him….He himself will be with us always. You are never, ever alone when you are His people. Get it! This isn’t the mushy ending of holiday movie, this is so much more….it is the reality that through it all, there is one who will never let you down, who will never leave you to your own devices, who will be there for you with His wisdom through the Bible, with His presence through the Word and Sacraments, with an empowering Holy Spirit that will encourage, comfort, and strengthen you to live boldly now and forever. Home alone….no, Never alone, and always at Home with Jesus Christ who lived for me, lives with me, and even lives in me until He brings me Home with Him face to face.
PRAYER – Dear Lord Jesus, there are times when I do feel overwhelmed by the loneliness that seems to be plaguing our world at the moment. Give me courage to look especially then to you, through the gifts of your Word and Sacraments, so that I can not only deal with such things, but be empowered to live my life boldly through them. Help me realize that when you are with me, I’m never ever on my own. With your constant care, your loving presence, open me up, even then, to see the possibilities of friendships and caring camaraderie that you want for my life until I see you face to face in eternity. AMEN.
