Why I’m No Good When I’m Alone
I use this blog each week to help get the juices flowing for sermon writing, to drop off whatever load I’m carrying, or to try to share something that struck me. I’ve found that writing can be very cathartic and actually very energy-giving.
I need energy. I’ve been home by myself for the last two days and haven’t seen Ben (my son) in nearly a week. I’m drained. Erin and I had the opportunity to get away to Saint Simons Island last week, which was very restful and much-needed. Now Erin’s in Lawrenceville, meeting with friends and helping out the church there to figure out some of the stuff she’s been doing for the last 5 years.
Have I mentioned that I don’t do well when I’m alone? I miss my family - even as much as Ben wakes me up in the middle of the night. It’s a drain on me to be in the office alone and even much more to go home alone.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Just sharing. There is something to being in constant fellowship with others. After all, isn’t it Jesus who said, “Where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them”? Being alone isn’t healthy for anyone. I’m reminded of a story told by a preacher from my childhood:
There was an Irishman who lived in the countryside by himself and only left home to go to market. Not once in several years did he darken the doorway of the local church. The new rector assigned there took it upon himself to visit this man to discuss his solitude.
The meeting didn’t start well. The Irishman had become quite a grouch and obviously didn’t want the visit. “Why should I bother to come to church? I can just as easily worship God here, in the peace and quiet of my home.” The rector was quick on his feet - he went to the fireplace (one of those big ones with the stone hearth) and with the poker, took a single log and rolled it out onto the hearth. After a couple of seconds, the single log was no longer burning. “Sir,” said the rector, “Christ established his church, not for him, but for us. Just like this log, we cannot continue to hold the flame of faith on our own.” He rolled the log back into the fire, “but together, we worship, and together, we kindle the fire in each other.”
I’ve often pondered the Matthew 18 verse that I quoted before. Why would Jesus only show when there are multiple people gathered? Does he not have time for small crowds? Does he not care for the single person?
This is what I’ve come to on Jesus words: We, as Christians, have an incarnational theology - meaning, we believe not only in the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ, but also that each of us represents the incarnation of God. Incarnation is a word that we often have trouble with, but it means literally to “take on flesh”. If we are each Christ incarnate, or “in the flesh”, then where do we see Christ most in the world? IN EACH OTHER!
Jesus told his disciples that he is there when two or more are gathered because he is always there, but we are unable to see Christ in ourselves. The question that we then have to ask, “Is anybody seeing Christ in me?” I fell in love with my wife because I could see Christ in her. Even in the insignificant moments, we are a reflection of Christ to the world.
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Still waiting to hear from iTunes to see if they’re going to add my sermons to the directory. I’ll keep you posted.
