Surrounded by Love
Psalm 8; Matthew 28:20[1]
One of the blessings of information technology is that the world has
become a much smaller place. We can learn about what is going on in around the
country and even around the world almost as soon as it happens. That can be a very good thing. It means that
we get to see up close and personal how much of a resemblance we bear to our
sisters and brothers in the human family.
One of the curses of information technology is that the world has become
a much smaller place. That means that we
also get to see—up close and personal—all the cruelty and violence and hatred
and injustice afflicting the human family.
In the face of overwhelming cruelty and violence and injustice, it can
seem incredibly naïve to believe that God surrounds us continually with love!
On the surface of things, it would seem that the reality of our world
contradicts the message of our Scripture lessons for today. In our reading from
the Psalms, we find ourselves confronted with the majesty of the God who
created all the heavens and the earth. And the more we understand about just
how vast this cosmos really is, the more God’s majesty and power in creation is
magnified. Even in the Psalmist’s day, a simple glance at the night sky led him
to wonder, “what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that
you care for them?” (Psalm 8:4). And yet, despite the fact that the Psalmist
frames his faith in the form of a question, we shouldn’t overlook the
affirmation that lies behind it: God is
mindful of us all; God does care for
us, both deeply and continually.
The Psalmist had good reason to believe this. It was the heart of the
essential affirmation of the Hebrew Bible: “I am the Lord God. I am merciful
and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted”
(Exodus 34:6, CEV). It is the
revelation God gave to Moses when he asked to see God’s glory. And it echoes
like a refrain throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, because it is the truth that
serves as the foundation for the faith that God loves us with a love that will
never let us go. It may be difficult for us to grasp, but the truth of our
Scripture lesson is that we are constantly surrounded by the love of the God
who created all things.
In our lesson from Matthew’s Gospel, we see this truth reflected in a
little different light. The risen Christ is giving his final instructions to
his disciples. And in the midst of it
all, he gives them the promise “surely I am with you always, to the very end of
the age.” (Mt. 28:20, Today’s NIV).
Jesus promised his disciples that he would always be with them, no matter what.
If you look at what happens to them in the course of their lives of service to
Christ and his kingdom, we might wonder about that: imprisonments, beatings,
shipwrecks, and even martyrdom. But Jesus didn’t promise them that his presence
would spare them from opposition in this world. He promised them that he would
always be with them.
I guess I would have to say that I would expect the world to look a lot
different if we’re to believe that we are always surrounded by God’s love, and
that Jesus is always with us. We might think that a world in which we are all
constantly and continually surrounded by God’s loving presence should bear a
whole lot more evidence of peace and compassion and love! This question has vexed the minds and hearts
of believers throughout the centuries.
If God is so good and loving, why is there so much evil in the
world? And some of the best minds
through the ages have diligently sought answers.
But I’m not so sure that the answer is all that complicated. It seems to
me that God’s presence in this world is no more complicated than giving and
receiving compassion. I would think it
stands to reason that the way we experience God’s loving presence is in the
small acts by which we share kindness and love with our fellow human beings.
And I would say that when we open ourselves to our sisters and brothers all
around us, we find that there is actually a great deal of love in the
world—even in the midst of suffering and injustice. Precisely in the midst of suffering and
injustice.
I heard an interview several years ago with Sarah Shourd, one of a group
of American hikers who were arrested and imprisoned in Iran, accused of spying
for the U. S.[2]
At first, she was alone, and she didn’t have any contact with anyone outside
her cell. During that time she said that
all she did was cry and beat at the walls. What sustained her through her
ordeal was the compassion of Iranian women who were her fellow prisoners. When they heard Sarah crying, they would sing
songs to her in English to comfort her. In the depths of Sarah’s despair, they
would cry out to her in English, “We love you Sarah!” There she was, surrounded by some of the
worst human injustice and cruelty, and in the midst of all that suffering, the
voice of compassion came to her, “we love you Sarah!”
I think for most of us, the reality of our world makes us tend to
isolate ourselves from those around us.
We stay safely detached from everything and everyone in our world,
walking around with earbuds, comfortable in our cars, withdrawing to our homes
to engage with virtual reality over one kind of screen or another. And it’s no wonder we look at our world and
wonder, “Where is God?” On the other hand, when we open ourselves to those who
are around us and allow ourselves to experience their suffering and share
compassion and kindness with them, then we experience God’s loving presence in
our own lives. That’s when we discover
the truth of the promise that, no matter what may come, we are always
surrounded by God’s love.
[1]
©2017 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 6/11/2017 at
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] Sarah Montague, Interview with Sarah Shourd, “Hardtalk,” June
10, 2011; accessed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9508967.stm
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