Alone Together
The
First United Presbyterian Church
“Alone
Together”
Rev.
Amy Morgan
January
26, 2020
Isaiah 9:1-4
But there will be no gloom for those who were
in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and
the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of
the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a
land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.
3 You
have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.
4 For
the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their
oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
Matthew 4:12-23
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to
Galilee.
13 He left Nazareth and made his
home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 so that what had been spoken
through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 "Land of Zebulun, land of
Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of
death light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to
proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
18 As he walked by the Sea of
Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them,
"Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."
20 Immediately they left their
nets and followed him.
21 As he went from there, he saw
two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with
their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat
and their father, and followed him.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and
curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Guided Meditation
We’re going to be hearing a lot of talking at the Annual Meeting of the
congregation after church. And I’ve had a lot of meetings this week, where
there have been lots of great conversations. And I feel like what we need this
week in worship, more than more talking, more than more words, is just some
time to be quiet, to ignite our imaginations, to see what God desires us to
see. And I can’t claim to know what that is for each and every one of you. So
today, I will lead you in a guided meditation on our gospel text. We’ve done
this several times before, so many of you know the drill. There will be some
suggestions for your imagination, and some periods of silence. It may put some
of you to sleep. And that’s okay, if that’s what you need right now. But for
most of you, I hope this is a time of vibrant, active imagination. You are
encouraged to let go, to just be, to see where the Spirit takes you and what
gifts she has in store for you.
So for just the next little while, I invite you to relax. To sit, or lay
down on the floor, if you like, in a comfortable and grounded position. You can
move to the chairs at the back in the fellowship hall if that’s better for you.
When you are ready, you might close your eyes or soften your gaze. And
just begin to draw your attention to the breath in your body. Don’t judge your
breath or try to change it. Just notice it. Give thanks for the gift of life,
the gift of breath. Throughout this meditation, if your mind begins to wander,
just draw your attention back to your breath. Feel it moving softly over your
upper lip. And then re-engage wherever you left off.
As you breathe, I invite you to imagine that with every breath you
inhale, you are breathing in the very Spirit of God, that love, and comfort,
that guidance and peace that is always as close to us as our breath. That
Spirit of God that moves around us and in us and through us.
And as you exhale each breath, I invite you to imagine that you are
releasing any distractions, discomfort, fears, or frustrations. Just for this
short period of time, let all your responsibilities and concerns be set aside,
set down, so that you can give just this brief moment over to God completely.
Let God be in charge, in control, of everything, and just be. As those
distractions and thoughts try to re-assert themselves throughout the
meditation, just let them go on the next exhale and return to being fully present
to God in this moment, attentive to the Spirit that is on your breath.
And now…I invite you to imagine that you have moved to a new home, in a
new city. The surroundings are unfamiliar. You’ve left behind everyone you know
and love. You don’t know your way around. There are crowds of people around,
busy about their daily lives, but you feel terribly alone. Perhaps you’ve
experienced this before. Tap into how that felt for a moment.
Inside your new home are objects that remind you of your old life –
family and friends and familiar places. Think about one person, place or thing
you miss. And imagine an object – a trinket or token of some sort
– that represents that person, place or thing. Focus on that for a
moment. If there are other people or things you miss, imagine
objects for each of them. Take some time to imagine these objects and the
memories they hold. See how they fill your house. All of these memories, in a
new and lonely place.
You decide you need some time, away from the memories, away from the
newness. You walk out of your house, and up a hill overlooking the city.
Sitting on the hill, you watch the life of the city. People shopping.
Riding bicycles. Eating in restaurants. Playing in parks. A widow struggles
with the self check-out at the grocery. The bike rider narrowly misses getting
hit by a car because he’s wearing headphones and the car driver is on her
phone. A woman sits alone at the café, reading a book. A nanny scans through
social media on her phone while a toddler shouts for her to look at him.
And suddenly, that is the only sound you can hear. “Look at me.” It
begins with the toddler, but then it grows and spread throughout the city until
it becomes a dull roar. Everyone in the city shouting, “Look at me!” until the
sound becomes almost deafening. “Look at me,” they all plead.
You know you must help them. But you also know you can’t do it alone.
There are so many of them. You descend from the hilltop into the heart of the
city.
You walk into an office building, where you hear more shouts of “Look at
me.” People with their faces glued to computer screens, headphones on, sitting
at desks, in cubicles, work alone. Together.
Then you look through a window into a conference room. People are
talking. But more than that – they are engaged. Gesturing, listening intently,
sharing ideas, collaborating. They are seeing and hearing one another. They are
not shouting “Look at me” like the others all over the city.
You can see that they are working on making or selling something –
widgets, perhaps, or engineered food products. If they can collaborate like
this to sell widgets – ah! what they could do for all the people of the city
shouting “Look at me!”
You open the door – you don’t even knock – just walk in. You look at
them. You see their gifts, their potential. You see how far they’ve come. You
see their struggles and their accomplishments. You look at them. And they look
at you.
Urgently, you tell them – “Follow me – I can put your lives to better
use!” They are confused for a moment. But then they hear what you’ve been
hearing. The cries of “Look at me!” coming from all over the building.
They drop their whiteboard markers and charts and follow you without a
second thought.
As you all move through the office building, you stop at each desk. You
see each person. Their beauty and their pain. Their history and their promise.
You see their infinite value.
Some return your loving gaze and stop their shouting. Some even follow
you and the others. But many don’t see you at all. Some even just think you’re
creepy and ignore you on purpose.
You move out of the building, with more and more people following, more
and more people quieting their cries of “Look at me!” More and more people are
looking, loving, being together. Together.
Those who followed you have spread out all over the city. The din of
shouting has quieted down, and many people are even spreading out beyond the
city, to other places, even far away places, where people are desperate to be
seen and known and loved.
You come upon the park you saw from the hilltop. The nanny sits on a
bench, shouting at her phone screen “look at me!” and the toddler stands at the
top of the slide, crying at the nanny “look at me!”
You walk up to the nanny and gently lower her phone screen. And you look
at her. You take her hand and lead her over to the toddler. And she looks at
him. And the toddler slides down the slide into her arms. And they laugh.
You think about returning to your new home and your old memories. To
your loneliness.
You see the nanny and the toddler playing, hear them laughing.
And you shout to them, “Look at me!” They stop for a moment, and they
look at you. They see your memories, and your loneliness. They see your
infinite value. They invite you to be together. Together.
As we conclude our meditation, I invite you to take a moment to give
thanks to God for whatever you have received in this time.
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