Suggested Readings: Psalm 27; Isaiah 26:7-15; Acts 2:37-42
A recent well-publicized study indicates that nearly 60% of Americans are lonely. Other surveys have suggested similar numbers. Counterintuitively, the highest rates of loneliness appear among 18- to 25-year-olds, something those of us who teach at Belmont observe in our classrooms.
The experience of loneliness reflects the deep human need for love and relationship, for another’s presence. The profundity of this need is evident in Psalm 27. David considers what comfort is available in “the day of trouble” (v. 5). He lists out the extraordinary threats such a day might bring: evildoers (v. 2), foes and enemies (v. 2), a military siege (v. 3), false witnesses, and threats of violence (v. 12). It’s a staggering list of dangers; even more so when we consider that, while we might speak metaphorically about being “under siege,” David could do so literally. When confronted by all of this, there is “one thing” that David asks and seeks: “to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” Surrounded by enemies, David does indeed look to God as his stronghold (v. 2). But a stronghold is not “the one thing” David desires. He longs to see God’s face. The third level up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (“belonging and love”) occupies a more central place in this psalm than the second level (“safety and security”). There is a human desire, this psalm suggests, even more fundamental than security, and that is presence; communion; at-one-ment.
At Advent we celebrate the way that Jesus, as God with us, answers to the profound need articulated in this psalm. Jesus is the temple (cf. John 2:21) in which we may dwell “all the days of our lives.” Jesus is the one in whose face we may “behold the beauty of the LORD” (cf. John 1:18).
Is this good news? Maybe. Jesus has come; but (we might observe) we’re still lonely. The gospels announce “Emmanuel: God with us;” but the newspapers announce that we are in the midst of a “loneliness epidemic.” And so we might find ourselves responding the same way the crowd responds to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2: “Brothers and sisters, what should we do?” Yes; what should we do? Do our lofty theological pronouncements ever touch down in the world of lived experience? Peter responds: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) And he continues (with words that are especially poignant in the context of an epidemic of loneliness affecting the young): “the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away” (Acts 2:39).
The presence of God which filled the temple is now poured out in the Person of the Holy Spirit who fills this community of Jesus followers. The Holy Spirit, who carried the eternal Word of God to the womb of Mary (Luke 1:35), now comes to indwell this new community; this “temple of the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 2:17-22). And so, filled with the Holy Spirit, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) Filled with the presence of God, they extend their own presence – and God’s – to others.
At Advent, we celebrate that Emmanuel has come and we wait for the coming of Emmanuel. This temporal complexity means Advent is neither unfulfilled longing nor settled achievement. The celebration is not passive, nor is the waiting despondent. We celebrate God With Us and we also say “Brothers and sisters, what should we do?” Filled with God’s Holy Spirit, we enjoy God’s presence with us, and we “devote ourselves to the fellowship.” Indwelt by God, and living in a lonely nation, we devote ourselves to the breaking of bread and we look forward to the feast that God will prepare for all people.
Steve Guthrie
