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I’ve been reading an interesting book recently entitled The Anxious Generation, by psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Within this narrative he documents the rise in reported diagnoses of mental health disorders, especially among the younger generations, namely, Gen Z (those born after 1995). In some cases, reports of anxiety and depression rose over 130% between 2008 and 2023, with almost 20% of the Gen Z demographic reporting such experiences.
Our author ponders the question: is there a connection between the rise in mental health diagnoses and the introduction of the 2008 smartphone with the evolution of social media apps designed to addict and manipulate the brain of the user? Haidt says yes. Especially for adolescent users, whose brains are most vulnerable during such a formative stage.
He then goes on to document just how far-reaching and influential the introduction of such technology has become. This mental health crisis is being experienced not only in the US, but throughout the western world. And while our younger generations may be experiencing the brunt of the diagnoses, older generations are certainly not immune to its effects.
Today’s adolescents and adults are spending more and more time isolated from their places of education and work, their friends and peers, and even their families, as they spend more and more time in front of screens.
Now, you may or may not agree with the author’s thesis or suggestions moving forward. But I think we can all agree that society has shifted to become much more individualistic and disconnected over the years.
The reality is that we spend less time together in community.
And when we do, our attention is only partially present; our minds also subconsciously engaged with the smartphone within an arm’s reach.
The recent pandemic might have accelerated this already-developing trend, but the rise in experiences of loneliness, isolation, and mental health, have quickly become a centerpiece of American society, even for us good church-going folk.
It was true that in the latter half of the twentieth century the church often was the centerpiece of the local American community.
I remember a time when the city’s Memorial Day parade began at my hometown church’s front lawn, where the mayor and other civic leaders would address the crowds to kick things off; the stage just feet away from the front doors of the sanctuary.
There were church athletic leagues.
Neighborhood and community groups met inside the church.
One of the first places families showed up when moving to a town was the local church, where they could meet and greet their neighbors, learn about local networks and resources, and develop life-long friendships for both the parents and the children.
All of this has changed, and it has done so drastically over the last 15 years in particular.
And so we, like the author, are left pondering, ourselves: what is the way forward?
How do we address this epidemic of loneliness and anxiety amongst our young people…and ourselves?
And what role might the church play in all of this?
Today we continue with our series on encountering the risen Jesus, as we venture further beyond the first-hand accounts of the Easter story, to now exploring the role of the faith community living as witnesses to the resurrection in a world yearning to hear good news.
We are reading today from the first letter of John. Many of us are familiar with the stories from the Gospel of John, but this letter takes on a different perspective. What is interesting, and sometimes challenging, about the letters in the New Testament (which we call Epistles), is that we as the readers oftentimes are only getting half of the conversation. Many of the statements in the letters we read are from previous actions, questions, or statements from even earlier events or letters that we are just not privy to.
And so in this case, we pick up with remarks addressing a community that most scholars can assume is discussing the nature of Jesus and his resurrection, perhaps following some teachings, or perhaps even a previous letter from another individual or group, suggesting that the humanity of Jesus was not a central theme of belief for Christians (the theological term would be Docetism).
And what is the author trying to articulate in the opening verses?
That Jesus was a real, live, human being.
And the second part of this reason for writing such a letter from our author is something that I’d like for us to reflect on today; that is the term fellowship.
3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:3-4)
The author then goes on to reflect on our actions as Christians. Similar to Paul from last week’s letter to the Romans, there is a difference between living a life in God, versus living in sin. Our author today uses the imagery of light and dark, similar to the Gospel of John, to communicate this difference of such a livelihood.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)
And again this theme of fellowship comes up.
(Readers take note: if there is a word that is used four times in just a few sentences, then it’s worth paying attention to!)
Now many of us as good Presbyterians may hear the word fellowship and think of cookies and coffee after a Sunday worship service.
The question we must ask ourselves: what does fellowship mean for us as Christians today in the year 2024?
Our author clearly understands it to be paramount in life as a Christian. He notes that fellowship is a multi-directional practice.
1. First, there is the fellowship between ourselves and with God. We can understand this as a vertical relationship.
2. Second, there is the fellowship between believers as followers of the risen Christ. We can understand this as a horizontal relationship.
And there is certainly a connection between walking in the light and fellowship…but how can we make sense of such an image?
Friends, the good news: the risen Jesus invites us into fellowship:
the very real, tangible, expression of faith in our resurrected savior,
as our physical lives, both individually and collectively as the Christian community,
reflect the love and grace of God in our lives.
This is why it is so important for our author to clearly demonstrate that the good news of Jesus includes the truth that Jesus was a living, breathing, human being on this earth.
He physically walked in the light.
He ate with sinners.
He healed the ill and the lame.
He broke bread, and drank wine, and laughed, and cried…just like each of us.
And when he was executed on the cross, he experienced the very real human pains of life and death on this planet, as each of us do.
Because of Jesus, God knew what it was like to suffer as humans suffer,
and so when Jesus was raised from death,
his liberation was for all humanity to experience as well.
The invitation into fellowship today, then church, is for us to experience and share in the physical, tangible, love of Christ for the world.
We are called to worship in person, face to face.
We are called to hold each other’s hands, and hug, and touch.
Yes, we are called to share in cookies and coffee, and covered dish luncheons, and meals.
And, oh, what a meaningful experience of the Lord’s Supper it then becomes, when we smell the bread, and taste the fruit of the vine, and pass the peace of Christ together.
Communion then is not only a spiritual remembrance of Jesus, but a living, breathing, celebration of the risen Christ still present with us today; our very lives serving as the hands and feet of Jesus.
This is what we celebrate today as we witness to the resurrection.
We give praise to God whose grace and mercy extends to us as beloved children, who suffered as a human, and who conquered death in love for humanity.
We witness to Jesus alive within us as our very lives share his love for a broken world, extending God’s grace for the hurting and lonely.
We are led by the Spirit of God, ever moving, ever transforming our hearts, so that this world may reflect the kingdom being realized today, and to be revealed throughout eternity.
Rev. Dr. Jeff Binder 
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