Community

Community

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.[1]

In my mid-twenties, I became obsessed with trying to live a hermit-like lifestyle. I wanted to distance myself from others as much as possible because I felt their interests were too materialistic where mine were more spiritual in nature. In the verbiage of the time, they were dragging me down. Of course, I was delusional about my own motives and overly critical of those of others. Regardless, I eventually purchased 10 acres of remote woodland, moved a trailer onto it, and began my quest for nirvana. It was uniquely mine; it was beautiful; it was enlightening (in a self-revealing way); it was isolating, and it was lonely. At times it was frightening. Over the course of a few years, my heavenly paradise became a hellish prison of my own making. As it turned out, the largest barrier to my spiritual growth was me, not others. The experience was one of my most vivid lessons in the importance of community to spiritual growth.

Too often we act as if being a follower of Christ is an individualistic endeavor. We convince ourselves it is about what I believe. If I get my beliefs right, if I profess with my mouthwhatever creeds or oaths my religious leaders tell me I should believe, then and only then am I assured a clear path into a heavenly paradise when I die. And many Christian churches and church leaders, particularly in the West, are more than happy to perpetuate this gospel of individualism. They assume that some persons will be saved and some will not, never mind the vast differences of opinion regarding what it actually means for an individual to be saved. It is as if Christianity encourages us to look out for number 1. Whatever it takes for my salvation is what I must do. Once upon a time I thought my salvation was in distancing myself from others. I was wrong.

Granted, most people are not that self-indulgent, at least not overtly, but staunch individualism still underlies many of our behaviors. Some would call it the American Way, but it is not the Way of Christ. The teachings of Jesus, which should be a primary source of direction for Christian practice, are focused much more on how we treat and interact with others than on what we believe or profess as individuals. As such, many community-minded atheists live far more Christ-like lives than self-absorbed Christians. Jesus was a person of action on behalf of others, and he directed us to follow that lead.

I daresay, if we are not practicing Christianity in and with a community, regardless of whether it is a church community, we are probably not a serious follower of Christ. We might be a good person. We might be extremely devout. We might be able to recite key parts of the Bible and spend large chunks of our days in prayer and worship, but if we shun others in order to keep ourselves “holy” we miss the point of Jesus’ teachings. The religious leaders of his day, the scribes and Pharisees, received his harshest criticism for arrogantly professing holiness with their mouths but not with their behavior toward others. He called them hypocrites, and we are no better when we profess to be followers of Christ with our words but not our actions.

An ever-expanding awareness of who we welcome into our community should be cultivated. There is no record of Jesus rejecting anyone from fellowship in his community, including the scribes and Pharisees of whom he was so critical. Foreigners, lepers, widows, those possessed by demons, Roman soldiers, tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners and outsiders of every nature were welcomed and adopted into community with Jesus.

Jesus emphasized the importance of living with and for others in a number of his teachings. For example, “…where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”¹ Or in what we call the Golden Rule, “…do unto others as you would have them to you…”[2] Or in his discourse with his disciples at dinner on the night before he was crucified, “…the greatest among you must become…like one who serves.”[3] True, Jesus needed his alone time in order to center himself and commune with God, and so do we, but his primary work was done in community with those close to him: his disciples, his followers, and others who would continue his work following his death, which includes us today. There is a collective, expansive spirit that emerges when we are in community with others. Outside of a community we are likely to fall prey to our own egoism and self-interested natures. In community, we come to realize that being an active part of a good community is one of the best things we can do for ourselves and others.

This is the 31^st in a series titled Crucifying Christianity, Resurrecting the Way.Life Notes are my explorations into mysteries that interest me. They are invitations for readers to explore more deeply into life’s mysteries. Engage with me or explore contemplative spiritual direction at ghildenbrand@outlook.com.

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[1] Matthew 18:20

[2] Matthew 7:12

[3] Luke 22:26