by Rebekah Sills
I visited a new church a few Sundays ago. I was skeptical about whether I would enjoy the service, being that it's one of those giant churches smack dab in the middle of the Austin suburbs. But surprisingly I not only enjoyed it, I'm still thinking about the implications of the message almost three weeks later.
Most sermons begin with a question and then attempt to answer that question in three points stretched over the course of three Sundays. This particular sermon asked the question "Where is God, and why won't He show up every once in a while?" I attended church the third Sunday when the pastor honed in on his answer.
Where is God? It's a simple enough question, and the answer is one that might surprise you.
The short answer: God shows up in people. God is in you and me—an answer I find profound, yet amazingly simple.
Relationships. A word that is almost synonymous with people. The word relationship means the state of being connected, whether it's two people or ten. So where is God? God’s right here in our relationships—in people, in our neighbors, friends, coworkers and family. And, God is in strangers, too.
Regardless of what you believe, if anything at all, the message of relationships and connectedness surpasses religion. We're born into relationships, as the product of relationships. Sometimes these relationships break, sometimes they don't last, but just as we're born into them, we're meant to remain in them.
We are not designed to live alone, to live disconnected from each other. We thrive when we have social networks for support. We fall apart when we don't.
I often think about how our world has become more connected with the advancement of technology. We now live in a "global era" and we hear talk about "globalization" and the "international community." But sometimes it seems like these technological advancements only further separate people. It creates a newfound awareness of "us" and "them," the "other," and we're not exactly rushing to overcome the cultural, ideological and socioeconomic barriers. If anything, we continue to support and pay attention to that which reinforces our own beliefs, our own status quo.
I realize it seems idealistic and perhaps a little too simplistic. I know that standing in a circle and holding hands while singing Kum ba yah won't halt the violence in Kenya or Iraq. It won't solve the clash over immigration in the United States. It won't bring redemption or justice. But the simple act of remembering that we humans, ALL humans, need each other in order to survive, to grow, to live is enough.
Look around. Look at people. There's beauty in the way your life is guided by individuals, through conversations and sometimes even through five minute interactions. We live in this world together, and what affects one affects us all.
So stop looking up and start looking around you.
5 comments:
Your writing is sound and eloquent, Ms. Sills, and I applaud your convictions regarding the betterment of society.
But I find that 'looking up', as it were, only increases my desire to 'look around'. To think the two are incompatible would be folly.
What I meant to imply, kind reader, is that 'looking around' is equivalent to 'looking up,' not incompatible with it.
That I inferred, and it is my largest qualm with your piece. However, it does not lessen my opinion of your opinion at all. Keep up the good work.
In this idea (when clarified as in these comments) is the beauty behind the doctrine of the incarnation. In Christ we see the union of humanity and divinity, the simultaneous looking up and looking around. I think I heard once that Mother Teresa was asked how she could possibly love the dirty, diseased, destitute population she served. She replied that in each face she saw Christ's face and that is what she loved. This, again, is where these two realities -the divine and the human- must merge. We find our worth in our bearing the image of God; through that echo of divinity, humanity suddenly becomes immeasurably important.
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