First Lutheran Church
May 28, 2023 + The Day of Pentecost A
“Loneliness”
Pastor Greg Ronning
I’d like to begin this morning with a song.
“Lonely Eyes”
By Greg Ronning
Lonely eyes,
Even when you smile you've got those lonely eyes
Oh, deep inside no one understands
And sometimes late at night you cry
When all the world's a lullabye
All you hear is a lonely cry
Lonely eyes,
Frightened by the life of love that's passed you by
Life is a day dream world
Of paper clowns and painted smiles
And sometimes late at night you cry
Awakened from another lie
Another dream that can never fly
Lonely eyes,
Looking for a dream come true that will let you fly
Fly far away beyond the scars of the soul
And then at night you won't have to cry
You can spread your wings and touch the sky
And awake to find, It wasn't a lie
Lonely eyes,
It's time to wake up and finally realize
The wings are right by your side
They've been there all the time
Surrendered for you with a lonely cry
Alone in the night someone died
At the crossroads of your lonely life
And now at night you don't have to cry,
You can spread your wings and touch the sky,
And awake to find it wasn't a lie.
Loneliness is all around us, loneliness isn’t very far away, - loneliness is most likely even deep within each one of us. There have been times when we wonder, “If I disappear would anyone notice?” There are times when we lament, “Why must I carry all of life’s burdens by myself?” There are times when we feel hopelessly isolated, invisible, and insignificant. There are times when we cry out and no one seems to hear us. There are times when we get desperately lost in the silence of our loneliness.
The Surgeon General of the United States begins his 2023 report, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation;”“In recent years, about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems, exacerbating loneliness and isolation.”
Harvard University’s study report, “Loneliness in America,”reports that Thirty Six percent of American Adults report “serious loneliness” “frequently” or almost “all of the time.” And sixty three percent of young adults suffer high rates of both loneliness, and anxiety and depression. They also noted that young adults rarely report having conversations with someone who they felt like - “genuinely cared.”
The Surgeon General continues, unpacking the serious repercussions of this epidemic, “Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling—it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.”… “And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity, and engagement are diminished.”
I imagine we all know, and have seen, the effects of such severe loneliness. We have experienced it, and we continue to experience it, in our own beings. And we all lament the various ways our society seems to be unraveling before us without any meaningful ways to establish deep and profound connections with each other. Stuck in the downward spirals of our loneliness we have stopped trusting in each other, we have ceased to be able to empathize with each other, we are quick to demonize each other with harshcaustic vitriol;- all to the point that our fear and our bitterness, the unwanted deadly fruit of our loneliness,has led us into our own individual and collective self-destruction.
The Surgeon General’s report warns us, if we fail to build more connected lives and a more connected society, “We will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being. And we will continue to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country. Instead of coming together to take on the great challenges before us, we will further retreat to our corners—angry, sick, and alone.”
The Harvard project concludes, “We need to return to an idea that was central to our founding and is at the heart of many great religious traditions: We have commitments to ourselves, but we also have vital commitments to each other, including to those who are vulnerable.”
Or as Jesus put it when asked what the greatest commandment was, “The most important one” … “is this: … Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
Last Sunday we began worship commemorating - “The Ascension of Christ.” “Then [Jesus] led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.” (Acts 1) After hearing these words from the Book Acts, as has become our custom over the past five or six years, we extinguished the flame of the Paschal Candle, symbolizing the departure of the Risen Christ from earth. And we quietly sat there in that moment, our eyes following the whisps of smoke as they rose-up into the air. And we remembered, and perhaps experienced, the loneliness of the disciples as they were suddenly left alone without Jesus on that day.
They were alone for the next ten days, waiting on the promise of the Holy Spirit, a promise that would once again connect and unite them in a new and powerful way. Today marks the end of those ten days, the day of Pentecost. And on that day, “When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” And they became the church, united in grace and love and a new hope, they were “re-membered” into the “Body of Christ,” once again fully present in the world, here in this place, the places we call home.
So it is that we too, after ten days, ten long and lonely days, await the coming of the Holy Spirit. What will that look like this morning? I suppose we might all be tempted to look back at the Paschal Candle, look back up into the heavens, expecting it to once again- burst into flame.
But that’s not how it works, that’s not going to happen. If we look back and up for the Holy Spirit, we will be looking in the wrong place. I actually have the best venue to see the coming of the Holy Spirit today. You may not have noticed it, but the flames have already appeared, - they are alive and dancing right above each of your heads!
Today we are reminded that we are the church,that we are the “re-membered” Body of Christ, that “we” are God’s presence - fleshed out for each other and for the world around us! And so it is, - we are not alone. I am not alone! You are not alone! And so, when “loneliness” creeps into our life, and it will try, “re-member” to lean into each other, to lean into “God’s loving embrace,” into the “caring hands” of Jesus.“We though many, are one in the Lord.”
And just as was the case on that first Day of Pentecost, let us now be led from this place out into the world around us, called and empower to make a difference in a lonely world! Those first followers of Jesus changed the world!
Let us do the same, let us take the time to ask our neighbors, “How are you doing?” And then, take the time to really listen, to make eye contact, so that they might feel “genuinely” heard and received. “Call a friend. Answer a phone call from an estranged friend. Make time to share a meal. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically.”Let us walk away from our personal devices, our streaming services, our addictions to social platforms, and choose to engage with each other, with those in need, - face to face. “The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful.”
And let us boldly act on the command of Jesus,“to forgive as we have been forgiven,” to show the lonely and fearful world around us a new and better way to live. Let us go out and help to open the doors in our society to meaningful connections, to the empathy of grace, to the hope of trust, to the sacrificial love of “the other,” to the “peace that surpasses all understanding,”to a faith that overcomes fear, - to the incredible power of living together in community. Let the flames of the Spirit, the flames “arresting” above you right now; let them carry you out dancing into the world with the good news of the Gospel, the love of God in Christ Jesus, the love we share in our life together!
Loneliness is real, and it is among us as an epidemic. Hear the Good News today. You are not alone, together in - with - and through Jesus - we are not alone. Trust this truth and lean into it, lean into each other’s arms - for they are indeed the arms of God! And be empowered by this life we share, bear witness to it in the world around us, let us rise-up to the challenges we face, “by taking a small step every day to strengthen relationships, and by supporting community efforts to rebuild social connections.” (Surgeon General’s Report)
Don’t look up for God. Instead, Look all around you - and find Christ. “See” and experience the Holy Spirit. Together in the love of God, in - with - and through Jesus, in the unity of the Holy Spirit - we are not alone. Amen.