Sermon: June 19, 2021

<p>As we adapt to a new normal, while hopefully coming to the end of Covid-19, we are facing yet another challenge, a new form of social anxiety. Over the past year and a half, we were forced to physically distance from family and friends, and many of us spent most of that time in our homes, with video calls and Zoom events becoming the primary means of socializing.  Consequently, many now feel anxious and have a degree of social unease after living through this global pandemic.  Therapist, Leslie Adams, writes, “Dealing with long periods of isolation can increase social anxiety. Even those who would consider themselves naturally more extroverted could be struggling. Being outside our bubble will feel overwhelming because it is a drastic change.  We will notice all the subtle things that we don’t see or hear on video calls. We will feel like we are struggling, like our senses are on overdrive, because they are.”  As my friend, Bill Uetricht, says, “This pandemic has been one of the most anxious times in recent memory for all of us, and anxiety has a way of lingering, affecting our behavior and our interactions with others.  This happens even if it is not fully rational.” </p> <p>You see, throughout this pandemic, we have placed boundaries around ourselves and around the way we function.  We have imposed artificial boundaries with the intent purpose of staying <strong>away</strong> from others. The anxiety some people now face is very real, and it is rooted in a newly developed fear of being <strong>with</strong> or <strong>encountering</strong> <strong>others</strong>. </p> <p>Anxieties over crossing boundaries and encountering others are nothing new in human history.  In fact, such anxiety was very real in Jesus’ lifetime.  In Biblical times, the Sea of Galilee was a well-defined <strong>geographical</strong> boundary.  The Jewish people were on one side of the sea, and on the other side you would find those despicable, contemptable Gentiles in the country of the Gerasenes, those vile “others” with whom the Jewi