We Are Not Alone
Luke 6: 20-31
Roger Lynn
November 1, 2020
The Feast of All Saints

We are not alone! This may well be one of the most important truths for us to grasp. And yet, more often than not, we forget, resulting in so much pain and suffering. We cut ourselves off from valuable resources which could help us face the challenges of life. We start seeing other people as enemies to be subdued and defeated instead of as partners to be cherished. And all because we forget the basic truth that we are not alone.

In the very familiar Beatitudes of Jesus, rendered in this less familiar form by Luke’s Gospel, we find this truth hiding just beneath the surface. It is the understanding which gives Jesus’ words their meaning, hiding as the unspoken phrase attached to both the blessings and the woes. How can it be that the poor, the hungry, the grieving, the persecuted can understand their lives as blessed? It becomes possible if you added the phrase “because you are not alone” to each of the descriptions. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh, because you are not alone.” The blessedness is not determined by the outward circumstances, but rather by the sense of connection with God and with each other. Whatever comes our way, we can face it when we remember that we do not have to pretend to be brave and strong and self-reliant. We do not have to draw exclusively on our own resources. We are truly blessed when we catch a glimpse of the bigger picture of which we are a part.

Understanding the “woes” of the beatitudes is likewise easier if we think in terms of connections. First of all, it is important to understand that these do not represent God’s condemnation. They are not judgments. They are warnings. If you continue down the path you are on, you are going to be in trouble. Not because God wills it to be so, but simply because that’s the way life works. And so, having said that, how is it that being rich, or well-fed, or happy, or respected is cause for warning and concern? This is the flip-side of the blessings, and again an unspoken phrase assists us in our understanding. This time the phrase is, “if you think you are alone and don’t need anyone else.” “Woe to you who are rich, if you think you are alone and don’t need anyone else, for you have received your consolation.” When we get caught in the trap of thinking we are self-sufficient, we cut ourselves off from all the benefits of being connected to God and each other. If meaning and purpose and comfort and strength for our living extends no further than our own skin, then we are in for hard times indeed. How will we cope when the money runs out? What will we do when the grief comes? Where will we find the strength to go on when someone we count on lets us down? We are not alone, and life simply works better when we recognize that truth and begin to embrace it.

The Sufi poet Hafiz had some fun playing with this notion in one of his poems.

Resist the temptation to lie
By speaking of separation from God,
Otherwise,
We might have to medicate
You.
In the ocean
A lot goes on beneath your eyes.
Listen,
They have clinics there too
For the insane
Who persist in saying thing like:
“I am independent from the
Sea,
God is not always around
Gently
Pressing against
My body.”
(from The Gift by Daniel Ladinsky)

When we forget that we are connected to God and to each other, it doesn’t change the ultimate reality of the world. God is still all around us. We still have deep-rooted ties which bind us together with every other person on the planet. But we start acting and reacting as if it weren’t true. We suffer needlessly and in our pain often contribute to the suffering of those around us. And so, from time to time, we pause to remember our connections. When we celebrate the ancient Church tradition of the Feast of All-Saints, we intentionally draw our attention to what the writer of Hebrews called “so great a cloud of witnesses” – all those who have gone before us but are connected to us still. We remember that we are not alone. We savor the divine heritage of every human being who ever has or ever will live – that we are one with God and thus we are one in God.

We are not alone, and only when we really remember this truth does it become possible to begin living into the reality of Jesus’ words which follow the blessings and woes. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:27-31) Living with people as if we are connected, rather than separate. As if we truly matter to each other. As if we have access to resources greater than our own. Not to be submissive and subservient, but to be equal and connected. Walter Wink did some work with this text and offers a helpful understanding of what Jesus was saying. So often the words about turning the other cheek and giving up your shirt have been taken as advice to be a doormat. Dr. Wink suggests that it is, in fact, advice about creating equality. In the ancient culture of the Mediterranean region, you struck an inferior with the back of your hand, and would only strike an equal with the palm of your hand. So if someone backhands you as if you are inferior, and you turn the other cheek, thus forcing them to use the palm of their hand, it is saying, “I will meet you here as an equal.” To give up your shirt as well as your coat is to be naked before the other person, and in that ancient culture it was the beholder of nakedness who bore the shame.

We are not alone. We are created for community. We are created for equality. We are created for connection. And when we remember to live that way, we are most certainly blessed.