Our Eyes Look to the Lord our God
A Sermon by the Reverend Shearon Sykes Williams on the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), July 4, 2021.
Ezekiel 2:1-5; Psalm 123; Mark 6:1-13
“Our eyes look to the Lord our God, pleading for his mercy.”
Where do we go when we have nowhere else to go? When the bottom falls out, when all is lost. When a relationship suddenly dissolves. When we get a scary diagnosis. When a building crumbles. Where do we turn?
That is the question at the very heart of our faith.
There are many things in this life that we have absolutely no control over. And when the unexpected happens, we need God and we need each other. The New York Times reported on Friday that the Mayor of Surfside, Florida was walking around the collapse site of Champlain Towers South and came upon a girl who is about 11 or 12 years old. She was sitting alone, looking at her phone, reading a Jewish prayer. He had seen her before and knew that one of her parents had been in the building.
Where do we go when our whole world changes in an instant? In the words of the psalmist, “Our eyes look to the Lord our God, pleading for his mercy.” What a blessing that this young girl knows where to turn. But how does she know? Perhaps it is because her parents take her to synagogue every week. Maybe it is in the air she breathes. Surfside has a very strong Jewish community, so she may be affected by the witness of the people around her and the spiritual practices she sees them keeping. Perhaps she is instinctively tapping into that place deep within her that all human beings have, that place where God dwells. And maybe it is all of these things.
When unexpected things happen in our lives, having a reservoir of strength from all three sources really helps. God, community and our own prayer life. God is with us at all times and in all places, whether we are aware of it or not. God is constantly searching us out. Looking and looking, calling and calling. God wants to be in relationship with us. It is just a fact of human existence. God created us and we are the apple of God’s eye. Think about that. God loves each of you and God loves me, all of the great and wonderful things about us and all of the things that really need work. If we could all get in touch with that, God’s persistent searching and yearning to be with us, the world would be a different place. And we all need each other. God made us to be in relationship with other people, in all of our diversity.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu often talks about ubuntu. Ubuntu is a South African concept that describes the essence of being human. When someone is described as having ubuntu, it is a great compliment. It means they are generous, hospitable, friendly, caring and compassionate. It is to say, “My humanity is inextricably bound up in yours. We belong in a bundle of life. There is no you without me and no me without you.” We are bound together with all of humankind./ If we have learned anything this past year and a half it is that. What affects one affects all.
And being part of a faith community helps us to recognize that and to nurture our spiritual core, and to get in touch with our potential to become the people God longs for us to be, people who are looking for God’s guidance and trying to live in harmony with others.
This past year, we haven’t been able to gather physically as a church community and that has been very hard on us. So much has happened and continues to happen on-line at Saint George’s and we give great thanks for that. It is also true that there is nothing like being able to be together in person. What a joy! It is such balm for our parched souls. Every week, more and more of us return and every time I see one of you for the first time it is like Christmas, Easter and Pentecost all rolled into one! Each of you is so very precious. And Saint George’s is Saint George’s because of you, because of each of us. There is no you without me and no me without you. A lot of people say that they feel overwhelmed when they come back into the nave, that they didn’t even realize how much they missed being here, in this sacred place, and seeing each other in person.
We are so aware of God’s love for us and our love for one another when we are here. It is also true that there are very good health and family reasons that some of us need to stay on-line for a while yet. And please know that we all support you in that. If we don’t have those concerns, it is good to think about whether we need to nudge ourselves to return in person. We all got really comfy and cozy on our couches drinking coffee and watching church on-line. It’s really hard to get dressed and get out the door and get here. I’m the same way. It takes me at least 3 times longer to get out of the house in the morning than it did pre-Covid. We all totally get it. But it is so worth the effort. As we return in person each week, some people are meeting each other for the very first time in person after meeting in on-line small groups, like house church, 20s 30s, choir, Sunday school classes, youth group, Sacred Ground or men’s group. These on-line connections are important and absolutely real and wonderful and life-giving. AND it is also important for all of us to come together as one worshipping community whenever possible.
Worship of God is our highest purpose in this life and being together in our bodies gets us in touch with that in a very particular way. As Christians, we believe that Jesus came into the flesh to be with us and being together in the flesh as the Body of Christ gives us a lived experience of that. We know that life has many joys and many challenges. And we need God and we need each another, we need that firm foundation when the unexpected happens. Coming to church is such a gift to give ourselves and to give our children. And it is a gift to give the world. Coming together each week to pray for people on our prayer list is a powerful thing. There have been studies done that show that when people know that they are being prayed for, they heal more quickly. And even when people don’t know they are being prayed for, it is powerful. What people of faith have known intuitively thoughout the ages is now scientifically verifiable. Ancient wisdom that we are relearning today.
Prayer creates a current of spiritual connection between us and God and us and other people, and that has an effect on the world and on us. It gives us strength to continue to work for justice and peace in Jesus’ name. On this 4th of July, we are mindful of the ideals that our country was founded upon AND how very fair we have to go in attaining the dream of justice, peace and equality for all people. Faith communities provide the spiritual infrastructure of our country. And as Christians we gather today to pray for ourselves, to pray for those we love, to pray for our nation, the people of Surfside, and for the world that Jesus came to be apart of.
“Our eyes look to the Lord our God, pleading for his mercy.”