This is a very fitting passage to reflect about during this difficult time. The experiences that we are going through currently in our lives can force us to raise certain questions about God and our relationship with him. Recently someone raised this question to me: what happens if we lose God? Are we losing our God?
So that is my question to you today. Are you losing your God? In relation to what many of us are going through now, there is room for such questions. When you are in isolation and alone for longer than you want, you might think of Jesus’ words: in a short while the world will no longer see me. But remember, he doesn’t stop there, he assures us:
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come back to you. It was a big blow for the disciples to lose the physical presence of Jesus, so Jesus makes up for it by sending the Holy Spirit to them.
We can easily feel a sense of loss and abandonment, when we are all isolated from human contact. I am not referring to the isolation caused by this pandemic alone, but the isolation we cause on ourselves too. We isolate ourselves from God and others and focus on our own lives sometimes not realizing that we deprive others of our time and presence. We cannot be in isolation: God created us as social beings. And so it is perfectly normal for us to desire intimate, personal relationships – both with each other and with God.
So there is no wonder in asking the question: Are we losing our God?
To answer this question we need to first look at ourselves and see how we have ruined our relationship with God. We cannot point our finger at Adam and Eve, or our parents or the culture. You and I do not have a perfect relationship with God because we are sinners. Is this when we lose God? Does he leave us when we sin?
His love, his very character would not allow us to remain isolated from him. While we were dead in sin, completely isolated from him, unable to express even a bit of love for God, he came into the world and died for us. So – you and I – are, once again made God’s beloved children. So we can never lose God. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been won by our God. We will never lose God because he has not lost us.
Jesus suffered total isolation in the tomb, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer isolation from God’s love. God is like the sun and we are like the moon, we only reflect the love God has shown us through Christ. Even though Jesus has put us back into a perfect relationship with God, we are unable to maintain that relationship on our own. That’s why Jesus says: the Father will give you another counselor to be with you for ever – The Holy Spirit.
A counselor is someone who helps you through tough times, like the present days of our life. Today we don’t have the physical presence of Jesus; we don’t see him or speak with him. But we are not alone. He has sent us the Holy Spirit to be with us, confirming God’s love for us: – We have not lost God, nor has he lost us. He proved that by sending his son to die for us.
This does not mean everything in life will be perfect. If you ever feel alone and isolated in this world, that’s not your imagination. Sin has isolated us from God and one another. But we are not alone; Jesus has not abandoned us. He comes in the bread and wine that we offer, uniting us in perfect loving relationship with God.
Deacon Jithin Anto