Solidarity
Last week my beloved dog, Charlie Brown, was sick. He shivered all night and seemed in pain. The next morning I showered quickly and loaded him in the car to go to the emergency vet. As we drove he sat in my lap pushing himself against my chest. He was uncomfortable. The whole way I whispered to him, “I’ve got you buddy. I’m right here with you.” When I said it I could feel him relax a little and then he went right back to shivering. The good news is that he’s ok . The problem was his back which I certainly can identify with. But he knows I love him. He knows I’ll always be there for him. He knows I will protect and care for him.
I think this is what God wanted us to know when He sent Jesus to this planet. His very name, “Emmanuel”, means “God with us”. I love thinking about that, because God was choosing to live in solidarity with us always. Having someone be WITH us in our sorrows, anxiety, and fear can be , perhaps, one of the most powerful experiences in our lives.
I attended a conference years ago about attachment. Leading psychologists, neurologists, and sociologists were speaking about how we were made for and gravitate to connection and attachment.
They conducted a study to see how much we react to connection or the lack of it. They studied the brain of a patient going through a painful medical test. The first time as they prepared the patient for the test the patient was alone. The patient’s anxiety and stress were very high. The second time, their loved one was in the room with them, and the third time their loved one held their hand. In each case the measurable anxiety decreased significantly. We were made to be “with”. We were made to be attached.
Sadly, our world has made this kind of attachment very difficult.
We have retreated to our computers and phones. We live solitary lives having almost no contact with our neighbors. In recent studies we find that over 33% of adults feel lonely. And, 40% of young people feel lonely. We have never had so much (material things) and sadly, so little (real connection).
I would suggest that the coming of Jesus was to tell us that we are not and would never be alone.
Jesus came and joined the ranks of the marginalized. He was an immigrant. He was poor. He lived in a country under foreign domination. He had no distinguished family or pedigree. From that lowly position he identified with and loved us all. Jesus got right down in the muck WITH us.
After Jesus’ resurrection his message over and over was that he would ALWAYS be WITH us. He appeared and disappeared and then appeared again. It is almost as if he was saying to us, “You might not see me but I’m right here”.
I particularly love the story how after his death and resurrection his disciples were heart sick and ridden with fear, and decided to go fishing. They fished all night and did not catch one single fish. At dawn they looked and saw a solitary figure on the beach. The man told them to lower their nets to the other side of the boat. They’d been casting their nets ALL night long on both sides of the boat with no luck. But they did it. As the men began to pull the nets up they were so heavy with fish they could hardly lift them. They had to call other boats to share the load. At that, they knew it was Jesus. They rowed ashore and there they found him. He did not scold them or chide them to believe more. He was just cooking fish over an open fire. He invited them to sit and have breakfast with him. He stood in solidarity with them. He saw their suffering and fear and despair and just cooked them breakfast. I’m sure they sat around the fire and talked about their misgivings and fears. There he was…with them.
However, we must know that the fact that God is with us all the time does not mean that bad stuff does not happen.
I will tell you a very precious and intimate story about my childhood.
When I was about 10 years old (back in the late 50’s and early 60’s), the big talk everywhere was that the communists were going to take over America. At the same time on our small black and white TV, I saw the images of the holocaust for the first time. My uncle built fallout shelters and the adults in my life talked about the threat all the time. I became obsessed with fear. I ran to school hoping an airplane would not fly over while I was between school and home. I imagined all kinds of awful scenarios. My parents went to Bible school one night each week. They left me at home alone with two babies in a huge 3 story creaky house with tons of snow outside. I froze in fear when I heard a plane overhead. I imagined running through the snow with babies on my hips and being thrown down into a pit and shot. It was no joke. I was obsessed with fear. One afternoon I was alone in my room and I heard a plane. I froze. Suddenly in front of me was a bright and shining figure. I just looked and all the scenes of horror I had imagined ran in front of me like a movie. Then He clearly said to me, "Kass, I’m with you and I will always be with you. I will never leave you.” Then all the same scenes went through my mind again, but this time, He was with me. The fear drained from me. This encounter has been a bed rock of my faith ever since.
As I think back on it, however, I understand that He never told me He would spare me from these things. He simply said, He would be with with me. That solidarity, that loving companioning presence, was enough to dispel my fears.
God wanted us to know we are not alone. He is with us in our deepest sorrows. I think of the time his dear friend Lazarus died and He received word of his death. He made his way to his tomb and when He got there He just cried. I often imagine God crying with us. He feels our sorrows with us.
After His death and resurrection the disciples were locked in a room paralyzed by fear. Suddenly He appeared in the room and His words to them were, “Peace be with you” That’s all….just, “Peace be with you”.
Listen to what He says to us., I don’t call you servants…instead I call you friends”. (John 15:15)
Lately this idea that God being my ever-present friend has been a growing reality. It is so comforting to visit with Him as my my best friend. He knows me. He knows my whole life. He knows my heartbreaks, He knows my failures and my traumas. I don’t have to explain anything to Him. AND he is always with me.
I encourage you in this season which often lends itself to stress, disappointment, anxiety, regret, and loneliness to just get still somewhere and know the friendship of God.
Hear the words, “I’ve got you buddy, I’m right here with you.”
This song says it all.