Sermon – Feeling Alone?
Psalm 31; John 14:15-20, 25-28
Farmville Presbyterian Church
2/16/25
It is entirely possible and most likely that one day you will be able to get into a car with no one in the driver’s seat and go anywhere the road takes you. Of course, driverless cars are a current reality, though they are far from being the standard for driving. One of the more interesting situations is what to do when these cars without drivers break the law by going through a stoplight, for instance, as has happened. Police officers are stumped when they approach such cars with surprise and bewilderment. Who do they even ticket? Of course, it is not just cars. Almost 10 years ago in Perth, Australia, a passenger train made a planned stop. The driver stepped out to check on a maintenance issues, but the trained started going by itself, again. The passengers did not really notice anything unusual for the ten miles that it went unoperated except for when they passed the driver running alongside them trying to catch the train. Emergency systems did eventually stop the train. Still, the idea of riding in a vehicle without the people supposed to be taking us is a bit unnerving. Who wants to go it alone?
This is one of the big questions for us as we travel on this road called life. Certainly, there are those who travel with us at different times, but there are also stretches of road on which we seem to be the only ones. The mental health situation today tragically bears out how many people feel desperately alone. The number of people who truly wrestle with feelings of loneliness is greater than any of us can imagine. Odds are that there are those with us here today who strain under feelings of isolation and aloneness. It can be a time of real crisis.
It may not be so obvious, but both of today’s passages are also right in the middle of similar crises. They are both about times of people feeling very alone or cut off. Psalm 31 should be more obvious. David uses very direct and unambiguous language.
I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many—terror all around!—as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
There is no way to hear that and accuse David of ignoring his plight. The line that draws my attention the most is being like a broken vessel. A broken bowl was once good and useful and valuable but has become trash. Other lines stood out to you. He is isolated; he is alone; he has no friends; even acquaintances dread him. His enemies scorn him. Somehow, despite his emotions, he is still able to call out to God and to find help and hope in the Lord. David cannot fix anything. He does not have any answers other than God has been faithful and helped him before, and God can help him now. The Lord is with him. As lonely or desperate or isolated he might feel, he is never really alone. He is walking with God’s help.
Yes, he might have to wait for things to feel improved. Yes, it takes courage to wait. Yes, he will have to find some kind of inner strength, but he believes just as much that there is hope for him. He is not nor will he ever be truly alone. Even in his greatest failures, he found comfort in God’s presence.
Jesus’ disciples were also having a real crisis. John 14 is one of those passages that people turn to in the hardest of times. After all, the chapter begins with the old favorite, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Do not be so afraid. That line can be so cliched, however, that we cannot grasp where this really is in Jesus’ story. He did not just wake up on day and say this. His disciples just found out that he is leaving. This is the Last Supper in John. Years of shared life and ministry, years of shared hope and love, and years of dedication and commitment were all now just coming to an end because of Jesus’ doing!?!? Sounds like it is his choice what is about to happen. What happened to the grand strategy of restoring the Kingdom of Israel? What happened to the Messiah reestablishing the throne of David? Why did they bother going to all of this trouble and leaving their families to follow this man who now seemed to be giving up. Other people were after them. They had been hounded. John the Baptizer had been executed, and now their master and teacher was leaving them defenseless? Jesus literally just told them one of them would betray him and another deny him. Yes, they are having a crisis moment. They are terrified of what was coming.
That is why Jesus makes this promise that they will never be alone. Trust God; trust him. They will never be alone.
I have only ever seen one president before he was elected. I saw Ronald Reagan at a campaign event in 1980 before he was elected president that year. I have seen Jimmy Carter, also, but that was long after he was president. I have never seen any of the others, but I do genuinely believe they have existed and do exist. In this world of deep fakes, people can make up people out of whole cloth who can show up on screens or media. Just because someone is talking on television or radio, does not mean they are real these days. It is up to us to believe in those we consider real until the time we might meet, and we have to be careful and deliberate about that faith. It takes faith for those we cannot touch. It takes faith for those we cannot see with our own two eyes. This is why Jesus says to them here, “Have faith. Believe in God. Believe also in me.” When he is no longer with them, they will have to continue in faith. In fact, he also admits the greater faith of those who will believe and haven’t see him. Sounds like that might apply to us, too. We must have greater faith than his disciples, and we must not take any of this for granted. Jesus is trying hard to introduce the Spirit here.
Our Helper is more than a pet or a sidekick. Some might want to think of the Spirit of God or Christ as a faithful companion as we might think of a beloved household pet. You know the Spirit is not a cat. I have a cat and love the crazy cat, but the Spirit does not walk around in the wee hours knocking all of our stuff on the floor. Half the time, we have no idea where she is, either. Some might want to think of something more like a Labrador Retriever who is always there and always faithful, but that is such a shallow image. The actual “Advocate” word that John uses means someone who will come alongside you and defend you. The disciples were hunted down according to tradition. Many of them were executed. They needed someone who would be their strength in trouble, someone who would give them what they needed for the witness they needed to make. They needed someone who would help them stand against the powers of this world and proclaim a Gospel greater than systems of oppression and cycles of brokenness. That is the Spirit who accompanies us. Unfortunately, the Spirit is easy to overlook.
SOME Christian traditions are especially pressed to truly remember and appreciate the Spirit’s active, daily work in our lives. The Spirit might seem intrusive or alien to some. Literally, we cannot take a breath without the Spirit’s blessing. If that presence is not a presence of love to you, then it might seem unsettling. If you would rather try to go it alone in life, to not be bothered by God’s presence, that is anyone’s choice, but that is a lonely way to go. And it is not going to last you.
It feels to me like it might be good to really give thanks everyday that we are not alone. This goes for those who are with us in this walk in life, for whomever supports us and cares for us. I am so thankful for you and for your willingness to walk with me and each other as a church family. If you are struggling to find comfort in the gift of others, I can tell you of a deep and abiding strength that is given to us all, especially in our weakness and loneliness. The Spirit is not just some idea or pleasant notion. Nobody can make you believe that God is with you in this way. It has to be your choice to trust, but Jesus loves us so much that, even though he left in person, he impressed on us that he would be in us and we in him. The same Jesus has never left us. The same Jesus about whom all of this is written and about whom we sing and to whom we pray, is still with us. He is in us and we are in him. That is the Spirit, and we are never alone. To God be the glory. Amen.