Goodbye. We say that all the time, don't we? That word is a contraction of “God be with you.” It has largely lost meaning, which is perhaps unfortunate. Our lives are filled with necessary partings. We are constantly saying goodbye to people we love. In most cases, the separations are routine brief, and we're not troubled by them. But sometimes they are difficult and painful, and they leave us with a deep sense of loneliness.
I wonder if it would relieve some of the sadness if we could remember that the parting is always from each other, but never from God, never from the Father, never from the Spirit of the Universe. I walk away from you, and you walk away from me, and the father we walk, the wider the space between us. But I'm not alone, neither are you. God remains with both of us.
Now, this doesn't mean that human companionship will no longer be a necessary part of our lives. In fact, the exact opposite is true. The more we become aware of God's presence, the closer we will be drawn to other people. Instead of loving each other less, we will love each other more, knowing that each of us has a constant companion always with us. From this presence there is no parting. It goes everywhere we go. It knows us better than we know ourselves. From that, there is no rejection - acceptance is without condition. It never turns its back upon us. Even in our worst times of loneliness, were not really alone - never have been and never will be. As it says in John 16:32, “Yet I am not alone, because the father is with me.”
On the wall next to the door leading into the sanctuary in the church in Oakhurst, California, where I was associate minister, there is a sign that reads, “Salvatore aum bulando cum dao.” This means, “It is solved by walking with God.” If we believe that there is a divine power that permeates the universe, that's omnipresent, then it's as if we're swimming in a sea and were surrounded by divine energy; and that God is with us all the time.
We sometimes discussed if #should have read, “Salvatore aum bulando in natura dayee” - “it is solved by walking in the nature of God.” What is the nature of God? The nature of God is harmony and completeness, right here and right now, providing its glory and its beauty and its unfoldment effortlessly, which means we don't have to do much. In Luke 12: 32 we read “It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
But wait, there's more: As it says in the song - “You'll Never Walk Alone.”
