The Longing to Be Seen and Known by Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace

“As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.”
Psalm 42:1

In a culture of rapid connections via digital platforms, there is a longing for something more…

In a culture of information and newsfeed overload, there is a longing for something more…

It is a longing to be seen and known for the uniqueness of our stories – however imperfect they might be.

It is a longing to be seen and known for our struggles and our courage to lean beyond them into something more.

It is a longing to be seen and known as intentionally loved creations of a God who, out of love, brings this world and each of us into being.

Now it is clear that our technological capacity has blessed our ability to stay connected – allowing us to maintain a sense of community throughout an unimaginable journey; inviting us to engage that capacity as a way of enhancing our inclusivity and accessibility.

But, as face masks continue to come off and we gather in person in various spaces, this longing to be seen and known has proven to be profound.

For some, the longing has grown out of the experience of isolation prompted by illness or loss.

For some, it has grown out of the experience of isolation prompted by economic inequity.

For some, it has grown out of the experience of isolation prompted by the lack of physical contact with family and friends.

From the beginning of time, our deep longing to be seen and known has defined the importance and power of incarnational presence. This longing is theological – we believe in a God who knows us and calls us by name. We believe in a God who meets us where we are – in the complexity of our hopes and our imperfections. We believe in a God who, in Jesus, becomes human – embracing our vulnerabilities. We believe in a God who, in Jesus, tirelessly worked to satiate the hunger and thirst he encountered throughout his ministry – the human longing to be seen and known; the longing to return to a love, by which and for which, we were created.

Today, this longing continues to find sound in the voices of people who have historically been unseen or unheard by the majority cultures. We have experienced a particularly painful season as we have been compelled to look in the mirror and acknowledge where we may have been complicit in cultivating the cultural climate of polarization that has often unleashed the worst of humanity. But the movement from latent to blatant acts of violence and hate has also unleashed an orchestra of music – reminding us of the many voices and melodies of a people long-silenced; a people whose true hopes and lives have often felt entombed – unseen and unknown.

The past year has taught us much about ourselves – but it has also been a teacher about seeing and knowing “the other.” It has invited us to learn about and listen to people not like ourselves – whose stories we do not know or understand. This weekend our nation celebrates Juneteenth – the day commemorating June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, when the state of Texas abolished the institution of slavery. It is a date that has been long-recognized by the descendants of an enslaved people, just recently finding its way in to the consciousness of the majority culture. We are reminded – the quest for dignity and freedom continues; a longing to be seen and known – still within and before us.

We also find ourselves in the midst of PRIDE month – the quest for dignity and freedom for the LGBTQIA+ community continues; a longing to be seen and known – a longing that is still within and before us.

In May, we celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – a continued quest for dignity and freedom; the longing to be seen and known – a longing that is still within and before us.

I am deeply aware that we bring different experiences and understanding to this conversation. But this longing to be seen and known is one that is shared by each of us. It is a longing inviting us to hear the voices and journeys of others – different from our own journeys. It is a longing deeply rooted in our longing for God – that sacred relationship and space where we are received and embraced with an unconditional love.

I love serving the complexity of who we are as a people of faith in this presbytery. I am grateful for the courage to engage in places and spaces that are uncomfortable – not out of judgment for one another – but out of a Gospel-hope for who we can continue to be in this broken world. May our longing for God continue to inspire and encourage us to work together to make those sacred spaces – for ourselves and for others – where we might be seen and known.

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