[Sing: YOU WILL BE FOUND]
Have you ever that nobody was there?
Have you ever forgotten in the middle of nowhere?
Have you ever felt that you could disappear?
Like you could fall and no one would hear?
Feeling alone is one of the toughest situations to endure. Feeling that no one would understand is hard. Feeling that somehow you are a mistake or that your being is a nuisance or that what you did could never be accepted.
This is a frightening feeling to any age, whether you are 9 or 79. It is the age old doubt that if others really knew me would they love me, or even like me. Especially, if I am not sure that I love myself or if I even know myself.
Let that lonely feeling wash away.
Maybe there’s a reason to believe that you’ll be OK.
‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand,
you can reach, reach out your hand.
And oh someone will come runnin’
and I know they’ll take your hand.
You know, sometimes people ask me about my faith and my love of God. I tell them that it all started back when I was a boy and felt all alone. As I told you a couple of months ago, that once during daily Mass that we had at the start of Catholic grade school, as the teacher was reprimanding that each of us hold our hands rigidly correct [Demonstrate praying hand] and as I got back to my seat after communion and had this conversation with God, “You don’t really care how we hold our hands, do you?” I felt a presence that said, “Correct, but do it anyway so that you don’t get into trouble.”
Ever since that time. I have had this deep connection with God. And it has stayed with me ever since. It is the feeling that no matter happens in the world, or not matter what anyone says, God will always be there for me and with me.
That no matter how lost I feel, God will come looking for me. That I will be found. Just like a good shepherd searches for a lost sheep (like in the gospel today) and that God will do anything, anything . . . to let me know how much God is in love with me . . . even to lay down his life, as Jesus said . . . so I start believing how valued I am (and each of us are) to God.
That no matter how lost we feel, we will be found
Even when the dark comes crashing through
When you need a friend to carry you
When you're broken on the ground
You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in
'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again
If you only look around
You will be found (You will be found)
You will be found (You will be found)
You will be found
This song is actually from a Broadway show called DEAR EVAN HANSON. It is probably one of the best musicals that I have ever seen in my life. It is actually coming to Mpls in June of 2019. The musical isn’t really about God, but then, God is about everything. Some people talk about a relationship with Jesus. Some talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit. I talk about me and God, the Creator. It doesn’t really matter which aspect of God you are most drawn to . . . it is all God.
So on this Good Shepherd Sunday, for all of you . . . especially you that are feeling so alone or forgotten, for you that feel that God has disappointed you (or that have disappointed God), for you who have never felt a closeness to God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Hear this . . .
God has never stopped looking to get close to you. Like a shepherd searching for a sheep that has wandered away, or a sheep that is caught in the middle of thickets and can’t get out, or a sheep that is surrounded by wolves and is all afraid.
It’s start with you simply being honest with God, or Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Just talk. Talk out loud or talk from inside your head. Be honest. Don’t be afraid to yell or scream or cry or laugh with God. Just be honest. Be real. Be yourself.
Read: Out of the shadows
The morning is breaking
And all is new, all is new
It's filling up the empty
And suddenly I see that
All is new, all is new
You are not alone
You are not alone
So let the sun come streaming in
'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again
If you only look around
You will be found (You will be found)
You will be found (You will be found)
You will be found