Wednesday of Lent 5 - The Salutation
Things are still a bit chaotic around here, I have a headache, been very busy all day and must go to Lenten dinner and services in less than an hour. I'll try to post some stuff tomorrow.
Re-read: Luke 1:26-38 (If you like, review devotion 10.)
And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, theLord is with you; blessed are you among women!" (Lk. 1:28)
I hate being lonely. We all do. “People are social creatures,” say
sociologists; they need to be with others, and this is borne out. Watch the toprated
TV shows these days, and they're about groups of people working
together. The lone Dirty Harry is out, CSI is in; and especially in cop shows
and hospital dramas, there's even a theme of working together against evil and
death. It's a recognition that loneliness is a terrible curse, that isolation hurts.
It's not supposed to be like this. When God made Adam, He created Eve
because in a creation that was “very good” on all other counts, it wasn't good for
man to be alone; he needed a helper comparable to him. The Lord created us
not only to need others, but He created us to serve others. Not only that, but the
Lord desired that Adam and Eve be with each other and Him; for it is in the
Lord that loneliness ends. As St.Augustine wrote, our hearts are restless until
they find their rest in Him.
Mankind looks to ways to connect with others, but the flaws are apparent.
There's the sexualized world, where marital intimacy is violated into a one night
stand to feel “close” to a stranger. There's political correctness and multiculturalism,
which says we must accept all things so that we're all together. In
the meantime, Christianity faces increasing criticism for allegedly dividing
people and ostracizing others. All attempts to defeat loneliness apart from God
lead to the isolation of hell, cut off for eternity from the living Lord and His life.
And don't be fooled: the devil uses sickness, infertility, failed relationships, past
sins, corruption, death and more to make you feel as lonely as possible, cut off
from others and Jesus.
In this lonely world, the congregation sings the Gloria, proclaiming that
Jesus became flesh to dwell with us, and that He is just as present in His means
of grace for our salvation today. When that hymn concludes, the pastor declares
to the people gathered, “The Lord be with you.” It's an astonishing statement of
presence.
Remember the angel's words to Mary: “The Lord is with you.” This was not
a toss-off, “How's it going” kind of greeting. It wasn't a distant, “The Lord is
with you in that, if you want to be close to Him, just make the trip to the
temple.” It was a statement that the Lord was truly there with her; and, in fact,
He was becoming flesh in her womb, on the way to birth and cross as your
Savior. The Lord was most certainly “there-He-is” present with Mary.
So as the liturgy continues, the pastor declares the joy and reason of the
Divine Service: “The Lord be with you.” The Lord is with His people. By His
means of grace, the Bridegroom comes to care for His bride. No matter the
isolation and barrenness that you must endure in this life, the Lord who went to
the cross is just as with you in His means of grace as He was with Mary in her
womb. What a wonder to hear these words in Divine Service, surrounded by
your brothers and sisters in Christ. You are not alone.