Not long ago, medical researchers performed a fascinating experiment.

They took a large group of women who needed MRIs, those brain imaging machines they slide you into horizontally, and they rigged these machines with 2 faint lights that the patient could see peripherally. The green light meant everything was ok. But when the red one went on, it was followed by an annoying sound, not painful, but eerie and uncomfortable.

Then researchers split these women into 3 groups. In the first group, the women could go through this procedure holding the hand of their spouse sitting next to them. The second group could hold the hand of a stranger. And the third group of women would hold no one's hand.

What researchers found as they logged the patient's brain activity during these procedures was fascinating.

While all the women previously registered high levels of fear as that red light was activated, those holding no one's hand or the hand of a stranger, saw that fear unabated - there was no change in their feeling scared and vulnerable.

However, the levels of fear experienced by those women who were holding on to their spouse's hand was much different, it was practically non-existent: leading researchers to conclude that the power of the presence of someone who loved them and who was committed to them, made a dramatic difference.

This Sunday, you and I will hear the account of Jesus' first, and most popular sermon: The Sermon on the Mount. This is that monologue you remember when he says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God, blessed are the meek, blessed are the persecuted, etc. And what we see is Jesus's foundational ambition to be with those feeling the most vulnerable, the abandoned, the fearful. It's as if Jesus is coming alongside them, sitting with them, holding their hand, and not as a stranger, but as someone who loves them and is committed to them.

This is Jesus' vocation.

This is our vocation.

We are called to do likewise.

All around us are fearful, lonely, and abandoned,- people needing encouragement, understanding, and hope - in the markets, in our offices, in our neighborhoods, and in our homes.

How are we being called to identify with their fear and discomfort, to come alongside them and hold their hands?