No Man Is and Island (John 21, Psalm 139)

No Man is an Island

June 7, 2026

John Chapter 21 and Psalm 139

By: Lou Engelhardt

Please pray with me…

Great Creator God Spirit, source of love, grace and community - please help me to put words to a message that lifts and inspires …in Jesus’ name.

Good Morning and thank you for being here this morning and for listening…

“No man is an island" is one of the most famous lines in English literature, written by the poet and cleric John Donne in 1623. It appears in his prose work Meditation XVII (from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions), which reflects on human mortality and our deep interconnectedness.

He wrote:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were:

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

Based on John Donne’s writing, Joan Baez wrote this song:

No man is an island, No man stands alone, Each man's joy is joy to me, Each man's grief is my own. We need one another, So I will defend, Each man as my brother, Each man as my friend.

No man is an island, Way out in the blue, We all look to the one above, For our strength to renew. When I help my brother, Then I know that I, Plant the seed of friendship, That will never die.

Today is the first Sunday in June and Pentecost has happened. We have heard that Christ is risen. We have heard that people have all been invited to know Jesus and been touched by the Holy Spirit. This is amazing!

And yet… I have heard people speaking of fear, and feeling disappointed, and alone … fear over world conflicts, fear related to health, fear related to finances and safety, fear of political powers, fear of attitudes here in our Pocatello community, and fear of change right here in our congregation. A new pastor is coming, how will that be?

The following is a statement by Kabir, a famous Indian devotional mystic poet (1440-1518). He speaks of our needing to have lived through something in order to understand. What Kabir talks of is only what he has lived through.

“There is nothing but water in the holy pools.

I know: I have been swimming in them.

All the gods sculpted of wood or ivory can’t say a word.

I know, I have been crying out to them.

The Sacred Books of the East are nothing but words.

I looked through their covers one day sideways.

If you have not lived through something, it is not true.”

We are a community who have lived together through lots of change. As we heard last Sunday and as many of you know even if you were not here last Sunday, you and I have “walked on water” in our growth these last 5 years with Pastor Mike, overcoming fears, becoming more inclusive, and strengthening this community around some pretty hefty projects. I know it from living through it with you. And I believe we will continue this growth as change happens again. However, I also think we need to pay attention and keep our eyes on Jesus. We need to continue to lift each other onward, to face the storms of life with faith and not just “go fishing”.

I love Peter. He is so human and I can relate to his ups and downs as his faith is tested and as he matures. He walked on water and listened to Jesus' speaking directly to him, sending him forth to share the good news. And yet, what did Peter, and the other disciples do in the face of fear? When they thought Jesus was gone, in the face of change? Go fishing! And this was not “fishing for men, fishing for people”. They returned to what was familiar, they went out in their boat to life the “way it was”.

As John 20:19 says, it was Sunday evening after Jesus died, the disciples were meeting behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus had died, left, was gone…and doubt, confusion and fear was filling their hearts and minds.

Then suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you.” he said. And as he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side, and they were filled with joy!

They always loved Jesus showing up again and helping them to see the Way.

Just like when Jesus caught Peter as Peter was walking on the water and “saw the wind” and started to slip under, Jesus arrived, saved Peter, and brought peace to the disciples in the boat. And they were amazed.

And in today’s reading, John 21 begins by reminding us that Jesus has previously directed Peter and the disciples in the midst of their fear, knowing He would disappear again. He said: “I am sending you” - go proclaim to people that their sins are forgiven, that they are loved and valuable. The people of the world will not know they are forgiven if you do not do the work!

And the next thing they do is go fishing. Peter said, “I’m going fishing”. “We’ll come too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat… They went back to their old life that they were living before they met Jesus. And when Jesus appears on the shore as they are fishing, they do know him.

Here at Pocatello First UMC we have lived through some miracles of open hearted change and growth. My question is: will we “go fishing”? And not remember what we have learned together? Or will we take Jesus' words to heart and be sent forward to continue the journey of developing this lamp-lit community here in Pocatello?

I have lived through times in my life that seem similar to the story of Peter’s fear and his response to loss and change. The most striking story for me is that of my original introduction to Jesus.

It happened at Mount Hermon, which is a year round camp and Christian conference center in the Santa Cruz Mountains. A large group of us from high school who had been participating in YoungLife got to go on a bus to this beautiful place in the Redwoods. It was a weekend adventure. We played Capture the Flag in the mud, we wandered on quiet trails, and we gathered for laughter, meals and singing. Then, we were presented with a passionate evening service on Saturday night that told us the full story of who Jesus was, and what he wanted from us. And, it only takes a spark, to get a fire going…

I was overcome with my own personal desire to know this guy Jesus. To be closer to Him and follow His way of loving in the world. I felt I wanted to share this

amazing love story with my family and friends and tell everyone that we are all made in God’s image, and perfect in His sight. I became a Way follower with the dream of a more connected and loving world. I embraced the wonderful music of the 60’s, like Joan Baez’s song “No man is an Island”, like Simon and Garfunkel singing “like a bridge Over Troubled Waters”, like Carole King singing "You've Got a Friend, and like the Youngbloods singing "C'mon People Now, Smile on Your Brother, everybody get together and love one another right now.” After that weekend, I felt alive and excited. As John Fisher’s song says, “That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it, you want to sing, it's fresh like spring, you want to pass it on.”

My enthusiasm and actions lasted a couple years. Then, without the excitement of that weekend, my life as it was before pulled me back. I saw my Way-following friends get into arguments with the Jewish kids on campus, and my Younglife Leaders changed and moved on, and then, my parents divorced. I withdrew. I went “fishing”.

My father was my best friend from a very young age, and when the divorce happened, he was forced out of my life by my mother, due to his disclosure to her that he was gay. That information did not reach me till I was away in college. My experience of losing my dad while I was still in high school was devastating. During those last years of high school and into my first years of college, I did not know my dad was gay. It was never talked about. My mother just kept him away from us. She would call the police if he tried to come see us at our home.

During the year after he left, I continued to go to school - although I changed my class schedule to take easier courses. I continued to show up at the Peninsula Bible Church and sing with their choir - (where John Fisher, the guy who wrote It Only Takes a Spark, was playing his guitar and singing with us). I continued to participate in YoungLife and go to Bible Studies, and I tried to help my mother in her grief, a grief that I did not understand.

However, I was grieving as though my father had died. He had been my rock, my mentor, my hero. He had also challenged me about my new found faith and encouraged me to be watchful of people who used their Christianity to exclude and hurt people. My YoungLife leaders told me God never gives us more than we can handle…ha, that seemed pretty daunting. I cried out to God saying I no longer wished to go forward in my life if my dad was not there. I felt abandoned and terrified by the world I was seeing around me. My excitement and enthusiasm for living, and all the hope and love I had felt since Mt Hermon disappeared. My dad was gone and I eventually just went fishing, back to my life before hearing about Jesus.

But, as Crystal Gayle sings, “when I dream, I dream of you. Maybe some day, you will come true.” And I secretly continued to dream a dream of connection, acceptance, kindness and community. Over the years, I did a bit of “church hopping”, looking for Jesus to appear, and for the “love to come-a-tumbling down”.

I consider myself a Way Follower. I have never quite understood the need for a “church building”. I accept that buildings can hold gatherings and are helpful to create space for hosting some good works in the community. However, I question the funds required to maintain these structures.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says to Simon Peter: “...you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my “church”….” I recently discovered that this was not only the first reference to the word “church” in our English New Testament, but that the word “church” is actually not a translation of the original language, but rather it is a substitution. It is a derivative of the German word kirche, which was substituted for the original Greek term ekklesia throughout the New Testament. William Tyndall had the audacity to point this out in 1522. He was declared an outlaw, condemned by the Holy Catholic Church, bound to a beam, strangled with a rope, had his body burned and his ashes scattered. This was because by 1522 the “church officials” had abandoned Jesus’ model of leadership and replaced it with the top-down, imperial model. Officials did not want commoners to have access to the scripture to read for themselves.

However, in Matthew 18:20 Jesus said: “when two or more are gathered, I am with them.” The word ekklesia means congregation or gathering. It has nothing to do with a building. Jesus was not interested in “churches”. His life started a movement which eventually carried his message beyond the borders of Judea and Galilee. It captured the attention of the entire world. It was known as the Way. It did not exclude people, in fact it purposefully included many marginalized people. Jesus was a radical who believed things needed to change, and knew how that change could happen. That change included getting out of the temples and buildings and meeting with people where they were, on the road, at the well, at a wedding, on a hillside… and in peoples’ homes.

So it surprised me, after all the various “churches” and places of worship I had been to in an attempt to find that sense of love, safety, kindness, and community, when I actually found it here in this amazing community gathered in this building, underneath The Roof for All. The church that is home for the Pocatello First United Methodists.

These last few years have felt like a circle bringing me back to knowing the stories of Jesus that I first loved. I have learned things listening to Pastor Mike that have rounded 5

out my immature understanding of the Bible, and taught me more deeply about God’s great love for us. I have felt the initial wonder and excitement that happens when two or more of us are gathered, and Jesus really does arrive, and suddenly things seem different, clearer, kinder, more open and amazing.

Driving back through Eastern Oregon a couple weeks ago we drove through a sudden fierce storm. It was a bit frightening as there was hail hitting the windshields, the wind was blowing and the lightning was striking. All we could do is slow down and drive very carefully as there was nowhere to pull over and get out of the storm. Then, suddenly, the smell of sage permeated everything as the rain and hail pounded on the new growth and I was completely separated from any fear or concern and felt absolute wonder and joy. I wished I could just sit in that rainy scented air and go no further. It changed my perspective about that stretch of highway forever.

You, my community, are like that sudden change in the air around me. We have been through some storms together and seen new growth pushed by the rain and hail of the challenges we have faced together. You are the reason I am no longer afraid to call myself a Way follower out loud and to talk about God, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. You have restored my faith that I am loved and forgiven. You have reminded me of the importance of sharing Jesus’ stories and God’s love with others. You have calmed my storms and righted my boat. You have helped me overcome the fear of the outside world that made me want to hide my faith.

No one I met in other churches understood my love for my gay dad or the devastating impact caused by their hurtful words about gay people in general. Everyone said gay people were going to hell. I had decided I would rather go to hell with my dad and the people like my dad, than be a part of any heaven where he might not be welcome. It’s lonely wondering what Jesus might really have said. It’s lonely having people who claim to be followers of Jesus recite words from the Bible to support their hatred. It is terrifying wondering if Jesus is gone, or if God has stopped loving you, and if those who you have loved are going to hell. Why not just go fishing, and hope the storms don’t simply capsize your boat, smash your windshield, and remove the responsibility and challenge of living with what seem like insurmountable obstacles without God.

And how did the disciples act when they thought Jesus was gone? When they lived in a world of fear due to hatred? They went back to their earlier lives, they went fishing. Then suddenly, Jesus showed up, saying be at peace!

And when Peter grew fearful while trying to walk on water? As soon as Peter asked for help, suddenly Jesus was physically pulling him from the water.

But he also helped Peter grow by pinpointing the problem: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Jon Ortberg in the book, If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat, points to the fact that Jesus makes this comment to Peter when they are alone on the water-before getting into the boat—and that perhaps Jesus did not want to embarrass Peter in front of the other disciples. So in the privacy and safety of holding Peter up on the water, Jesus gently addresses the source of Peter’s problem.

The single command in Scripture that occurs more often than any other — God’s most frequently repeated instruction — is formulated in two words: Fear not. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. You can trust me. Fear not. Fear is the number one reason why people refuse to get out of the boat. So we need this command all the time. Lloyd Ogilvie notes there are 366 “fear not” verses in the Bible—one for every day of the year, including one for leap year!

My experiences here have been like Peter’s. When I have been fearful, you as a community have shown up. You have pulled me up and reminded me to keep my focus on Jesus. And yes, some of this was my direct experience of being counseled and mentored by Pastor Mike. However, you as a community have been my experience of Jesus showing back up!

Jesus has shown up consistently in these last five years, during which time I have come to know many of you deeply and personally. I have felt welcome here in spite of some of my pain around my experiences with churches. I have been shown grace when dealing with conflict and differences. I have come to see how a truly loving and welcoming community works when modeled after Jesus’ most simple and profound teachings. Be at peace, love one another, go forth to serve others. I have felt the Holy Spirit in this place, shining from each of you.

Jon Ortberg goes on to say that whether Peter sank or water-walked depended on whether he focused on the storm or on Jesus. I am learning to live more focused on Jesus than the storms that rage around us and threaten our boats. I am excited for the changes we are heading into because they require us to remember that God is in charge, and Jesus is with us in every storm and when we gather in this place.

The quote I chose to go by my picture in my high school graduation yearbook was “behind me, even as before, God is, and all is well.” Looking back over my life this year, I can fully relate to Psalm 139 which says that God has searched me and known me, he has hemmed me in behind and before, and I have been unable to flee from His presence even when I have felt completely disconnected and thought the night could hide me. This community has renewed me and provided a safe and loving home to restore my faith in our great God, the ground of our being, the source of love. And as we go through change, I don't want to lose you.

We are headed into summer. This is historically a time when programs take a break, folks go on vacations, and the community seems to shrink for a bit. This can also be a time when our minds focus on what we think may be wrong in the world or in our community, we get caught up in fear and loss, and we drift away and perhaps do not return. Someone once asked a desert father named Abba Anthony, “What must one do to please God?” The first two pieces of advice were expected: Always be aware of God’s presence, and always obey God’s Word. But the third was surprising: “Wherever you find yourself—do not easily leave.”

The idea was that community is hard, authentic friendship is hard, patience in work is hard—so leaving will always look more attractive in the short run. But over the long haul, leaving easily has a tendency to produce people who live in a pattern of giving up. Do not easily leave.”

Ephesians 4:34 reminds us to “put away from you all bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling and slander together with all malice and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

I want to challenge us all to continue to show up, to put away any bitterness, wrangling or slander, and to be kind to each other as we navigate change. I wish for us to remember when two or more are gathered Jesus arrives. I believe we have been anointed by the Holy Spirit, and there is work to do. My hope as things change is for us to continue to be a refuge for people who have been harmed by “religion”, and a home for safe, open conversations. We can continue to be actively kind, bravely evolving, and prayerfully serving.

Proverbs 26:20 says: “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer quarreling ceases.” We are the wood needed to keep the fire burning and muffle disgruntled whispers. As part of that burning, I want to continue to hear your stories and know you more deeply.I want to continue to do projects together. I want to go fishing with you with Jesus in the boat. I want to have breakfast with you and Jesus on the beach every time we are together and also as we walk in our daily lives.

We have received the Holy Spirit and we should Be at Peace, not afraid of change. We must not go back to simply fishing. Even in the midst of change we must be willing to step out of our comfortable boats and trust Jesus to be present guiding our steps and lifting us onward.

Isaiah 43:1-3 says: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. . . . For I AM the Lord your God, your Savior . . ., and I love you.”

Jesus said:

As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

“Receive the Holy Spirit.”

“If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.”

Jesus wants us to know we are sent, we are to forgive and assure people they are loved and valuable. We are to continue to do the work!

AMEN

May we all go from this place with the Peace He gives, knowing the Holy Spirit is in us, that God is with us, and that we are to forgive and live our lives as only those who truly feel forgiven and know Jesus can do. Go in Peace and serve as you go!