You'll Never Walk Alone

The hurricane is knocking on my oldest boy's door this morning. I am waiting, and praying, as Irene hammers the area where many relatives, including my own parents, and my dear son all live. We experienced the outer bands while vacationing at Hilton Head, and that was enough for me.

It is eerie watching the frightening videos and having seen first hand the absolute blackness of the sky as the hurricane roars by. And then, there is the next day. The forecast for Boston tomorrow is 78 and sunny. Hang on, beloved son, dear family and friends! Brighter skies beckon!

After our brush with Irene, I went bike riding on the beach, early in the morning. The sun was rising and the last of the hurricane clouds still lingered. They were perhaps as reluctant as we were to leave lovely Hilton Head and return to work, and the incredible chaos of the start of a new school year. But through the clouds, little fingernails of sun were scratching away. And then suddenly, it clawed open a small hole and the endless streams of golden light shattered the darkness and danced in silvery diamond steps across the glowing sea.

I biked and sang, on the empty beach. I sang a triumphant song from an old musical, Carousel. It reminded me that no matter how dark the skies of my life turn, I am never facing the darkness alone. To all my dear family and friends, huddling under stormy skies today, I am praying for you. You are not alone.

R. Rodgers and O. Hammerstein II

When you walk through the storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark

Walk on, through the wind
Walk on, through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

John 16:32-33

...Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.    ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Alone

Troubles and concerns always have a way of making me feel alone, a sock in a world of socks. There are always loving friends and family that yearn to help, but ultimately, struggles are often fought in the confines of our own hearts. There are some things that just can't be conquered by committee.

Tomorrow is Passover. We are Jewish, but believe that the Messiah came and is Yeshua, Jesus. So we celebrate Passover with the richness of its symbolism and tradition, but also with some twists the typical Jewish family might not add.

One of my favorite parts is when the matzo is placed in a special cloth with three compartments. Two whole pieces are placed on the top and bottom slot, but the third piece is broken in half, and one half is hidden somewhere in the house. That piece called the "afikomen" is left hidden til the end of the Passover Seder, and the children are then sent to find it, and return it, usually for some reward. There are many interesting things about this tradition. First of all, afikomen is a Greek word, strangely suspended in a Hebrew ceremony. It means "that which is coming" or "he that is coming". Jewish tradition is conflicting on the meaning of the 3 pieces of Matzo and on the Afikomen, which in and of itself is rather amazing given the intense symbolism of the whole Seder which in every other aspect is clearly explained within the Seder "haggadah" or guide.

However, we look at the three matzoh pieces as the three parts of the trinity, and the afikomen, which is broken, but then returned as the broken sacrificial lamb, Jesus. With His return, comes reward. As I was thinking about "aloneness", I thought about Jesus, right before He was crucified, asking His disciples to stay awake with Him. They could not, and ultimately Jesus had to face those terrifying thoughts and lonely dark hours alone.

Yet the Passover Seder is a reminder to a people, to a nation that they will be rescued, their sins are ransomed by the sacrificial Passover lamb, and they will stand together someday redeemed. It is a celebration of togetherness and memorial to the history of a people who together struggled and suffered with a hope of a better future.

I think probably God does need to get each of us alone at times, and those are often hard times. But in the end, I think we will all gather together, voices rising in song together, spirits blending in joy together, made one by "he who is to come".

Psalm 118:25-27

²⁵ O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you. ^a]">[a]

²⁷ The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up ^b]">[b] to the horns of the altar.