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I Kings 19: 9-18; I Corinthians 12: 12-26
Four young men in Sydney, Australia, believed that they had come up with a way to make a few bucks, but they had no idea that they had ventured into a gold mine. They went on ebay and offered a weekend of no-questions-asked camaraderie. “We'll be your first mates - instantly!" the ad said. "You won't have to try and impress us. We don't even care who you are. .. We won't fly you here. Heck, we won't even pay for your bus fare. What we WILL do is guarantee you some beers, some snags (sausages), some good conversation and a lot of laughs." Within a few days, they had received over a hundred bids, and the high bid was at $79,900.
Apparently, there are a lot of lonely people in this world. A couple in New York City has cashed in on loneliness as well. They throw pajama parties for a living. Not for junior high girls, but for people in their 20s and 30s and above. The parties are held in their apartment; they're called cuddle parties; they are co-ed, but no hanky-panky is allowed. And basically, people pay $30 for three hours of snacks, games, and togetherness in a pajama party setting. One of the founders says, "There is a recognition that we're not getting enough touch and affection." So, does it work? In just a couple years, their business has now expanded to Hawaii, California, and Washington, D. C.
A few years ago, a researcher named Robert B. Putnam wrote a book called Bowling Alone. It is about how many of the activities that used to be social activities are now done by more and more people alone. And groups that used to provide togetherness - lodges, clubs, churches - are being joined by fewer and fewer people. And, finally, many neighborhoods aren't what they used to be - in more and more cases, people know their neighbors by first name only - and many times not even that. No wonder over three out of four people report feeling lonely a good share of the time.
The prophet Elijah was experiencing a moment of extreme loneliness. We read about it in I Kings 19 in the Bible. He was under attack, and he retreated into a cave, and made his prayer to God: “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” And God responds to Elijah, “What are you doing here?...Go, return… to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi as king over Israel; you shall anoint Elisha...as prophet in your place...” In other words, God tells Elijah to go get connected. He's not alone. There are 7000 others who are ready to join up with him.
This story is such a great example of what happens when people isolate themselves - their thinking goes awry. They start believing there's nobody else out there, and feeling sorry for themselves. Earlier in that chapter, we see that Elijah actually came to the point of suicide - all because he didn't know there were 7000 people out there backing the same cause he was. And that's what happens in a society where people are substituting more and more time in front of the television and the computer for more and more face-to-face contact with people. Distorted thoughts, loneliness, and isolation result.
It wasn't supposed to be that way. In Genesis 2, God recognized it right away: "It is not good for the man to be alone." (Sharon tries to tell me that the reason God went on to create the woman was because He knew He didn't get it quite right the first time with the man - but the story says it was about companionship.) And so, connection with one another was built right into the creation story.
It's ironic that one of the most isolated aspects of our lives is our faith. We say that religion is a personal, private matter. There is not one single word in the Bible to support that. Certainly there are personal, private moments in our faith - they are very important, especially for us introverts. But the faith that is taught in the Bible is a social faith. It's a connection with God and other people - or, as we say it the first Sunday of every month- it's a Communion with other people - the words that we pray are that we may be 'one with God, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.'
In the Old Testament, it's all about the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, it's all about being part of the Church - what Paul calls, in our New Testament lesson today, the Body of Christ. All of us are connected together into one Body - that's how we live out our faith. Not alone. Together. Of course, a reality check: the fact is, the Church, in its sinful state, is often disconnected and even destructive of faith. But despite that, we don't lose the great vision of God - that the Church will be a true connection of love in the name of Jesus Christ. I see that coming true around here time and time again, and it is a powerful thing to behold.
October is stewardship month this year, and by now you may be catching the progression of these four sermons. The first one said that “You Are Called.” God has a job in this world for each one of us. You are called into ministry in His name. The second sermon said that “You Are Gifted.” God will surely give you the gifts you need to fulfill your calling in this life. Today, it's about “You Are Connected.” What gives your calling and gifts, and mine, true power, is that we connect our destinies together, and become the Body of Christ in this world.
In order to do that, we make a pledge to each other. It is a fourfold pledge - we heard it from our new members today, but - as I said earlier - all of us have pledged these four things in one way or another - our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.
Two weeks ago, Joan Kesel and Ann Torrey talked about the importance of the pledge of presence - how important it is to be here, worshipping and praying with each other. Last week, Bob Coe became Zacchaeus, and talked with us about the pledge of gifts, including our financial support for the Lord's work.
I want to say one thing about financial gifts. We decided that we wouldn't focus as much on finances in our stewardship drive this year as we have some other years. But there is an important piece of information I think all of you should know about. Our budget this year includes an important new item. We have, in our church, a wonderful staff - several working part-time. But we have three full-time employees. One of them is me. The other two are our Administrative Assistant, and our Director of Christian Education/Custodian. I am blessed that this church provides me with good health insurance. But the other two full-time employees do not receive health insurance from the church. This is just plain wrong. Both have been here for well over ten years; both do an amazing number of things to make this church a great place. There is not a person here who is not blessed by their work. They should have health insurance. We have discussed this for years, and year after year we come up short. This year we have decided we are just going to do it. What it adds to our budget is $8500. That's not paying all of it; it's paying 80%. It's not paying for the family plan; it is simply insuring the individuals who work here. There is no pocket of money it can come from; it needs to come from the pledging of our congregation. It would average out to less than one dollar more per week per giver in our congregation, but we can't think that way, because some people can't do it, for whatever reason. And, each year we lose some pledgers, for various reasons. We need some people giving five or ten dollars more a week, if we're going to get this done. Please prayerfully consider this as you fill out your pledge card this year. We need to do the right thing by these people who give so much of themselves to this church.
And then the third thing we pledge - our service. Lee has shared with us the exciting opportunity all of us have to step forward and serve God together this year. Next week, we will consider how we pledge our prayers together, as we bring our pledge cards forward to lay them before the Lord. I have a cartoon somewhere of two men on a desert island, and they get all excited because a message comes in a bottle. And the one man looks at it, and then he rolls his eyes, and says to the other, "It's the pledge card from my church." We roll our eyes when we talk about stewardship in the church - here come those pledge cards again. But next Sunday, when we bring our pledge cards forward, that will be our most significant annual sign of connection - each of us bringing what we can pledge to our life together as the Body of Christ. It is so important that we prayerfully think on these things. It's so much more than money. It's our declaration of faith, of vision, of communion.
Finally, a lesson - a powerful lesson - from our Amish sisters and brothers. We have always understood that the Amish way of life represents as tight a connection as you could imagine in the Church. Picture an Amish barn-raising. Picture the distinctive dress and the simple ways of support and care for one another. I don't know about you, but I never understood how that connection among the Amish is a widening circle until I saw how it takes in neighbors - neighbors who aren't part of their church - and it pours out love even for the family of the man who attacked and killed some of their own children. The Amish came to his funeral and mourned his life beside his widow. They offered their friendship and service. They witnessed to the world of the power of connection - not just within the Body of Christ, but in the Body of Christ reaching out to others.
What an amazing thing to imagine that we can be part of a connection like that, where powerful, world-changing things happen as people pledge themselves to God.
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