“Opened by the Risen Jesus:
Opened Arms”
May 29, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and
peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Amen.
What do we need? That’s the question
we ought to be asking this morning, as we are gathering together after several
struggles which have taken place in our society. Today we remember the nineteen
innocent children and two teachers whose lives were so cruelly taken from them
at the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Just the past couple of weeks have
shown us how violence seems to be on the rise, as more frequent shootings and
threats of shootings have taken place. Arguments take place over how to resolve
the issue of increased violence. We remain divided in other areas, and it also
seems like it has become easier to insult people, to speak without any thought as
to the consequences of how our words may affect another person, affect our
relationships with others, or how we may be thought of. The instinct nowadays seems
to be to try to assert opinion or ideology, and to tear down, rather than build
up; to emphasize differences and divisions rather than commonality and unity;
to try to seek out our own “tribe” rather than reach out to build relationships
with others; to push away rather than embrace. But that is what the world needs
more than ever before: to be embraced. We need to be united, and to belong. We
need to be comforted as things seem to be even more fearful and uncertain.
Strange
as it sounds, we can say that what it seems like the world needs right now is a
hug. People just need to feel reassured – reassured that
eventually, even though things seem to be out of control right now, things are
going to get better. But as we know personally, sometimes when we feel like
nothing is going right, everything is out of control, and no one else seems to
care, we just need someone to give us a hug. A hug shows us that someone cares
enough about us to embrace us, and feeling someone’s arms around us helps us to
feel supported, and to feel physical touch assures us that someone real is
there to be there for us. A hug also creates a circle – a circle in which we
know we are accepted and included, and in which everyone who is part of that
hug is being held and held up.
In continuing to talk about the
various parts of the liturgy which make up our service, one which we hear without
fail every single Sunday is the Benediction. The Benediction, like many parts
of our liturgy, is taken directly from the Bible, in this case Numbers 6:24-26.
I will not recite it in full since we will be hearing it towards the end of our
service anyway, but what we can say is that it is an expression of God’s
welcoming love. The Benediction is God giving His people, and all people, a
hug. It is His way of showing who He really is: someone who is kind, and who
wants nothing more than to show how much He cares for everyone. When we hear
that God is blessing us and keeping us, we are hearing that God is giving us
every good thing, freely and without any condition; and that He is preserving
us and keeping us safe through all the struggles and trials of life. This is
also the same invitation He makes in today’s Second Reading from Revelation, where
He invites everyone who is thirsty to come and be refreshed by Him – to be
refreshed by His power and re-energized to keep going and feel encouraged. Him
making His face shine on us and being gracious to us means that He is looking
on us in love, is looking out for us, and is paying attention to us in a positive,
caring way at all times. His constantly being interested in us and watching
over us at every moment is not something we are to be afraid of, but something
we are to be comforted by – the fact that there is always someone who cares
about us, what is happening to us, and is doing something about it. Then, God
looking on us with favor means that we have His special attention – He not only
cares about all people, He cares about us personally. Everything He does is for
our good, and for our benefit. Finally, God gives us peace – peace, which, as
heard last week, comes from knowing that He, and He alone is in control, that
He is causing everything to work out according to His plan, and He will prevail
over everything else in the end. This, once again, is God’s way of giving us,
and everyone, a supportive hug, to let us know that He is not only there, He is
actively working in our lives, showing us His love and blessing in every way,
and He will always be there, no matter what. Part of the reason the Benediction
is almost always said with arms raised is to show that God is extending His arms
out towards all of us to give us a hug. God is inviting us to come into His embrace;
all are included in God’s loving embrace, and no one is excluded. His arms are
open to everyone, and He pushes no one away. Even when Jesus died on the cross,
His arms were opened wide – meaning that everyone who believes in Him, and
accepts Him as Lord and Savior, is accepted unconditionally. These are the
words the whole world needs to hear, and all people need to feel, right now. This
is the kind of hug from God we can also be giving everyone, starting with each
other.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus
prays that we would all be one. This is something we hear every year, and
something which is preached on frequently, but the actual need for us to be one
is greater than ever before. The unity Jesus wants for us is something far more
than just a vague aspiration, or even a sentimental feeling. It is a real
action and goal. It is something we are to be actively working for, by working
to break down barriers which have kept us from embracing each other. These
include any differences in political, moral, social, doctrinal, or theological
belief or opinion, which we have used to create different circles to which we
insist some belong and others do not, rather than seeking to create one large
circle, where all are included based on Jesus. It means eliminating any personal
suspicions we may have devised towards each other, and instead seeking to open
ourselves up to each other to form relationships. It further means, as we will
celebrate next week, welcoming each other and all baptized believers like us to
receive Communion, without any restrictions or exclusions, where no one is to
be kept away from receiving Communion for any reason. It ultimately means,
rather than finding reasons and excuses to push each other away, as we have
done for so long, to find ways of discovering what we share in common, what our
shared desires and goals are, and we are hoping for together. And, hopefully,
what we are hoping for together is to be responsible for each other.
As, once again, we are reminded
in the Benediction, God assumes a special responsibility towards us: to watch
over us and care for us in every way at all times. As believers in Jesus, we
have a responsibility to each other. As people who, in acting like Jesus, act as
Jesus towards each other, we are to have the same responsibility towards each
other that God has towards us. We are to be concerned about each other’s needs.
We are to show compassion to each other, accepting each other’s struggles, and
providing whatever support we can to each other. In various ways, we are even
to give each other hugs, hugs of support, and hugs of acceptance. We are to open
our arms to everyone, and encourage everyone by embracing everyone freely. We
are called to live together not only in unity, but in community – living in one
place together at peace with each other. Even though living under pandemic
conditions has probably caused us to forget what it is like, we are still
called to live in community. One of the most encouraging things I witnessed yesterday
at the dedication ceremony for the Hometown Heroes Banners was how many people
were there. I have to admit I was a bit surprised, since I was expecting maybe
a handful of people, but there turned out to be a large crowd. I was reminded
that, for the past couple of years, with the pandemic, our community hasn’t
really had much of a chance to gather together to celebrate all that often, and
Farmersville hasn’t really had anything to observe Memorial Day for a long
time, so this was a perfect opportunity to be able to do so – for us to be able
to celebrate the weekend in a special way, and for us to be able to see and
visit with each other. Opportunities to celebrate together in this way help us
to feel like a community – and when we feel like a community, we know that we
have a group of people we can count on for support. In the same way, when we
seek to be at peace and in unity with each other, we know that we are part of a
group, or, more importantly, a family, which we can count on for love, care,
and support. When we are at peace with each other, our witness to what we
believe, especially about God’s love, is a lot more effective and believable –
it is easier for other people to accept what we have to say as true if we are
living what we believe towards each other.
Today, in Revelation 22:17 God
gives us an invitation: “Come.” If you are struggling and in need of any kind
of help or encouragement; if you are in need of healing in your mind or body; if
you need to get rid of something which has been keeping you from living your
best life; if you need a fresh start for your life; if you need guidance and
direction; or, if you just need to know you are loved, come to Him. If you need
to feel included, that you belong to a loving, supportive family, come to Him,
and come to us, His family. And, we all are to come to God, and, in being
united together in His loving embrace, be united to each other, as we accept
and embrace each other as members of one family. May we be one, and may we be
able to give each other, and the whole world, a hug.
Now may the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
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