Loneliness and Community

If you go to a mainline church and/or follow the lectionary,

Then you know that yesterday’s gospel reading from Mark 7 was a tough one.

It was the passage in which Jesus heals the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter

And in the process calls them dogs,

And then moves on to heal a deaf man

Bought to him by “them.”

I’ll write more about the name calling on Thursday,

But for today,

I want to write about a lesser-known theme that runs through the reading,

And that is the theme of community.

 

In both stories, it is an “other” who brings their loved one to Jesus.

In the first story,

It is the mother begging for her daughter to be healed.

In the second story,

It is “they” who bring the deaf man to Jesus to be healed.

We don’t know if “they” were friends, family members, or community members tired of hearing the man beg,

All we know is “they” bring the man to Jesus

And that after Jesus heals the man,

“They” are told not tell anyone what has happened,

Yet “they” do anyway.

It is hard to keep quiet the good news of Jesus.

 

…

 

We live in a society that is increasingly connected online

But decreasingly connected in person.

In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services produced a report called

Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.

According to this report,

Loneliness is more detrimental to health than

Cigarette smoking, drinking, obesity, and lack of exercise.

This is HUGE.

And this is where community comes in.

 

Community is so important.

Community can combat loneliness.

Community can bring others to Jesus

When the others can’t come themselves—

For whatever reason—

Disability, anger, resentment, hurt, fear, depression, trauma.

Community can pray for one another,

Lay one another at Jesus’ feet,

And check on one another to make sure

No one

Feels

Alone.

 

Oh God: Ideally, the church is a safe place of community. Forgive us when we make it anything different, and help us to be more open to meeting people where they are and offering them a space to be than we are in changing them. YOU are the one who changes and heals when we bring others into your presence. You show us that in scripture. So help us to remember. And help us each to find communities where we belong—even, God, if it’s not in the church. Amen.