God of the Loved and the Lonely

As we prepare for our Christmas Eve services, I am reminded of the isolation of Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus. In the Bible accounts, a very young Mary (probably 13 or 14 years old), and her husband, who would not be too much older, journey far from their home to participate in a census. When she gives birth, she does it with no midwives or female relatives to help her, as a woman normally would give birth in her society. She must have felt so alone at that moment, and Joseph, a father for the first time, must have wanted some help.

Those of us with wide circles of friends or local family members often forget how lonely Christmas can be for some people. And yet, psychologists, doctors, pastors and rabbis are noticing the growing phenomenon of people experiencing profound loneliness—perhaps widows or widowers living alone, or people who never have had children, or young people who have moved far from their families to pursue work. Refugees and migrants are also far from what they know, unsure where they will go, and wondering if they will get help.

Jesus came for the loved and the lonely. I believe that the profound love between family members, friends, colleagues, and church members comes from God. When people are lonely, they may believe that God loves them, but they need to experience that divine love through real and frequent connections with family, friends, and community members.

Churches are ideally positioned to help people feel this love, both at church services and in our homes. We can invite people who have no place to go on holidays, such as international graduate students, to a Christmas dinner or New Year’s party. We can invite them to church. We can offer them a ride to church. We can ask them to lunch after church. We can offer to visit them in their homes. This is one of the many ways we can live out our church motto: Love. Be Loved. 

If you are feeling lonely yourself, know that you are loved, both by God and by your church community, so let someone at church know. And if you have no church community, try visiting one on Sunday to look for a community that feeds you.

Tags: loneliness; lonely; community; church community