We all have a picture in our head of perfect community – perhaps a BBQ or holiday setting surrounded by friends and family. You’ve seen the ads capitalizing on those desires – everyone laughing, smiling and enjoying a good time. We are fortunate if we have experienced that and should soak it up. But should that be our pursuit? I heard a Rabbinic saying warning that the Greek looks for community, but the Jew looks to love his neighbor and he finds community.
Similarly, Dietrich Bonhoeffer notes[1], “The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.” We can love the idea of something more than the actuality. When it is so idealized it becomes illusive, unobtainable. This unrealized pursuit then destroys the true community that is possible.
Tim Keller said that the Church is made of people who would be natural enemies but have come together unified in the love of Christ. Community is not about people who are like us in any way other than they are fellow Christ followers. The Spirit is what binds us, motivates us and empowers us to live together, however imperfectly, in harmony.
True community is messy because we are still learning, still becoming. We annoy one another, hurt one another, and misunderstand one another. We can blow it and be selfish or just be clueless and let someone down. But we can also be selfless, caring and unconditionally loving. We can invest in the community before us and learn to rely on one another to help when needed. Building community means stepping out of comfort zones and taking risks. Being in community means making uncomfortable sacrifices and allowing others in to do the same.
Rarely conforming to those picture perfect ideals, what has it actually meant for me? Sitting together while we cry, giving up sleep to offer aid, volunteering at a memorial, sharing stories of loved ones, picking up groceries, listening, giving a hug, dropping in for dinner, praying for one another, celebrating victories and giving encouragement after a loss. And yes, dining around a table full of gratitude and joy as we laugh, cry and solve the world’s problems together.
Let’s be brave and just love those God puts on our path, whoever they may be - for He is building a community, true Community. And we may just find ourselves in the midst of it.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:2-6
