You Are Not Alone

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, November 23rd, 2025:
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

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Psalm 122

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

​I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. 

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Jerusalem — built as a city that is bound firmly together. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. 

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

As it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David. 

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Pause. Pray. Reflect

One thing I love about our faith is its communal nature. Yes, we are called to a personal relationship with God. However, we are at the same time called to live out that faith in community. As the psalmist writes: “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” God does not want us to be alone. 

​Years ago, I was teaching a confirmation class. One day the topic was our greatest fears. As I stood in front of this group of teens, I offered an example. Without any thought I said: “One of my greatest fears is being all alone.” Well, that got their attention, with one young woman saying: “Well thanks, that’s another fear to add to my list!” Not realizing my words would have such impact, I quickly replied: “And that’s why I’m thankful to know Jesus, because with Him in my life, I will never be alone.” With the anxiety eased, we proceeded to have a good discussion about what a relationship with Christ meant.

I don’t know where those young people are now. But I do know, regardless of where they are, or where I am, we are not alone. Jesus connects us not only to the Father, and Holy Spirit, but also to each other. Developingmy relationship with Christ invites me to open my eyes and heart to knowing God’s presence in and through me and the other. We are and share in God’s joy. A joy easily felt and seen when life is good, but what about when life is not so great? While serving as a chaplain at the children’s hospital, I experienced for the first time the death of a patient I was accompanying, a 10-year-old child. I had walked with him and his family for several weeks. This happened while I was still doing my MDiv and I had class that night. As I left the hospital, I dreaded the thought of going to class. I just wanted to hide away and wallow in my grief. By myself. Which I did, but something prompted me (Thank you Holy Spirit!) to go to campus and join my fellow students for the regularly scheduled prayer time before class. My classmates were school “friends”. We socialized and bemoaned assignments together, but these were not deep relationships. Yet, it was with them that I found myself that day. And as we shared some time in prayer, I shared the story of my patient. We continued to pray with and for one another in whatever joys, challenges, and struggles we were finding ourselves in. I experienced the most profound sense of community, Christian community. I may have felt alone in the experience of losing my patient, yet, I was not truly alone. God provided me with a community that I may not have chosen but one that I needed in that moment to remind me: I am not alone. 

Let US indeed, go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!




Aurea Sadi

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