I was struck by this concept because, ironically (or
coincidentally), in the same week that I read Forgione’s thoughts I also came
face to face with the concept of what community means today on two different
occasions. In one of them, my friend Fr Martin, a Catholic missionary, explained to me that living
in community has become fashionable today…and all you have to do is look around
you at the many award winning virtual television shows that can be found in all
the countries (a trend mainly started by Big Brother and its clones, through
Facebook and similar websites). Yet at
the same time society deprives us of this very community spirit we long
for. So while people desire to live
together it seems that technology hasn’t made this possible any more. The
family concept is losing out…computers, IPods, MP3s, Blackberry or similar
i-phones, cut us off from each other on a daily basis while at the same time
keeping us in touch. Yet people want to be really touched, to be cuddled, to be
loved. It seems that the culture today
has been contaminated with this technology…. and our youths breathe it daily.
We all sit in the same boat, so to speak. Yet when I, not feeling part of the boat’s
community, decide to drill a hole under my seat, then my action will affect
everyone in the boat…. we will all sink with it. That is how our involvement –
or lack of it - in a real community, family, work, mates, club, group, will
leave its mark on everyone in it. Yet
when we go to church to pay homage to our God we often act in the same way….as
if we are drilling a hole under our seat and not caring about the
consequences. We go there in the
knowledge that we did our duty but we are often praying alone, ignoring those
around us, without even properly acknowledging those in the seats next to us.
And woe to you if you happen to stray into someone else’s seat in the
pews!
A church should be a real community. It is not the priests;
or the Popes and Bishops; nor the building itself. A church is US…so we are the community that give the church its
life. Christ himself lived by the
concept of community – he was never alone, always surrounded by people and
disciples, men and women, a close knit community. So, therefore, we cannot be Christian without knowing Christ. And
if we do not experience Christ then our actions are nothing more than
religiosity. We must connect with
Christ otherwise we become so subjective.
Fr Martin pointed out that Jesus loved community life. He loved Peter and John and the rest of his
group. He sent the Holy Spirit to the whole community not to those he might
have had any preference for.
My friend Pauline, well versed
in things psychological and its dynamics in our life, told me that nowadays
people tend to anchor their sense of belonging in their families, in their
friendships, in their professional identity, in their chosen lifestyles, in their shared interests with others and possibly in their nationality.
This belonging is not necessarily identical in all these areas and we can
belong in four spaces: public, social, personal and intimate. So when people
want to generate a strong sense of community, they may find themselves
adjusting their relationships within that community, moving up from the public
to the social and personal and then to a more intimate space when this is
deemed appropriate.
When people feel they belong, a strong sense of connectedness is
developed: persons become more inclusive and welcoming, they become more active and more willing to share their gifts, they become more involved,
engaged, sincere, creative and committed, their sense of care for the others
develops and becomes more genuine and authentic.
The community is also the place where strong feelings can develop: in
growing communities feelings of anger, guilt, shame, contempt, anxiety and fear
are acknowledged and dealt with in order to allow them to make way for safety,
hope, compassion, gratitude, trust, empathy and meaningful relationships.
In a real Christian community we should
be drawn together in response to God's love and by our belief in the beauty of
developing an intimate relationship with the Lord. Clearly God's intention is
to “draw all men to Himself” (John 12:32), to draw them to an even more
intimate relationship with Him. A real community helps one to grow. It tells
you how to live, to dress, to act, to be correct. So what better way is there to be able to do this than by being
drawn and belonging to a community that really seeks to fortify and nourish
this intimate relationship?
