Occasionally, God hits me upside the head. There’s no
booming voice, but a theme arises from my daily reading - Bible study, blogs
and devotions. I can’t miss the repetition and reiteration. This past week the
significance of community was obviously a Heaven sent message…via these three
authors:
For most of my life, I practiced a private faith. I prayed
mostly for myself or for close friends and family. But in college a friend
pointed out to me that in scripture God speaks to people as a group as much as
God does to individuals. Jesus too speaks, not only to individuals but to
crowds and the disciples as a group. Paul’s letters are, all but one, addressed
to communities. As Americans, we tend to imagine that our relationship with God
is individual and personal and hasn’t much to do with our neighbors, coworkers,
or wider communities.
…we don’t live in isolation; our lives intertwine with the
lives of those around us.
Rev. Heidi Haverkamp, Chicago
Disciplines 2014
We are not meant to live as self-reliant, independent
operators. God created us for community and interdependence, with him and with
others.
Following Jesus means moving out of our privatized,
isolated, and self-enclosed worlds into a compassionate engagement with our
suffering neighbor.
Trevor Hudson
A Mile in My Shoes
Upper Room Daily Reflections
Upper Room Daily Reflections
This theme of community and connectedness and compassion and
interdependence informs my volunteer work with United Way. It’s an intersection of the sacred and secular - Spirit inspired.
The author and Trappist monk Thomas Merton sharpens the point:
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen
awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part
of one another, and all involved in one another.
I have written several prayers related to this subject…
