“Hungry. Thirsty. Lonely.” This is the text that I sent my husband one day after I had foot surgery and had been at home all day in pain and with extremely limited mobility. What surprised me about the time I was homebound recovering was how I missed being out and about and involved with other people. I couldn’t wait until my son got home from school or my husband got home from work to hear about what was going on and just talk. Being home meant that I got a lot of reading and other things done for church that I often put off which was good. But the feeling of isolation and loneliness that I experienced with the reduction in human contact was unexpected.
This week, we are reflecting on Psalm 107. The psalm celebrates God’s deliverance. In one section we are told,
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
In this loneliness and desolation, the people cry out to God and are delivered from their distress:
God led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
In these verses we see that deliverance is more than food and water. God could have led them to a well for water. God could have led them to edible plants or animals to hunt for food. But God leads them to an inhabited town. Yes, this implies supplies of food and drink, but it also means human contact, community, and social interaction.
Human beings are social creatures and we need one another. We need meaningful relationships and social interaction to be fulfilled and satisfied. This is one of the reasons that church is so important. Church is community, it is family. It is people who care, who are interesting, and who enrich us. And one of the great aspects of being part of the church is that we get to know people that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to become acquainted with. I know I have met people in church of different ages and interests and backgrounds and life experiences who have significantly enriched my life. They have helped me to get to know myself and understand the world, better. And they have deepened my appreciation of God.
As that alarm goes off on Sunday morning, some people may think to themselves, “I don’t need to go to church. I can pray and read the Bible here at home.” But that is ignoring and devaluing our need for community and for social interaction. In the fellowship of the church we receive blessings that cannot be quantified or received at home by ourselves. When people can’t come to church for physical reasons, they miss it sorely because of the social interaction and community and the way it is world expanding. When people who consider themselves Christian choose not to go to church, they may find themselves feeling hungry, thirsty, and lonely.
Prayer
We are grateful for the community, solidarity, and enrichment that we receive from being part of the church. Sometimes we don’t appreciate what the church is embodying for us. Through the church not only do we feel the presence of Christ, but we learn to be the presence of Christ. We need one another to learn these lessons of faith. Jesus surrounded himself with friends right from the beginning of his ministry. He created community among his followers. May we see church not as a chore but as a blessing of friendship and community in Christ. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 