The Beauty of Community
My husband, Greg, and I were listening to a podcast the other day as we drove in the car for a bit. The podcast conversation was wide ranging and for part of the episode, one of the hosts was telling us that she had just delivered her third child recently. (I remembered when we had our third child, some fourteen years ago.) The host talked about the transition from two to three kids, and how that was unfolding in their lives. (I remember that transition being a harder one for us, since Greg and I suddenly became outnumbered by small people.) The host went on to say that while it was a tough change, she also thought it had been made easier by the community they had cultivated around their family.
At this point in the podcast, Greg turned to me and said, “Well, there’s your next View article: community!” And as it happens, he was right.
My own little family has been embraced, held up, prayed for, and generally supported by this larger church family we have at St. Andrew’s. When we had babies or serious illness come into our family, people also came to us with food or prayers. When we have passed milestones (birthdays, confirmations, graduations, etc.) people have celebrated with us with hugs, cards, and wide smiles. When death has visited us, so did the tangible love of this church community.
I do not think we are unique by any means. From my vantage point in the front of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, I have seen one of us begin to weep from the heartache of losing a loved one which was quickly followed by people nearby scooting over to hold the one grieving. I have answered countless queries for contact information so that you could draw near to one of our beloved community members who needed support for one reason or another. As a church, we have loved each other through most of the highs and lows that life thrown at us.
We are not yet to Palm Sunday or Good Friday this year, but as I think on the wide embrace of this church family for one another, I am reminded of the following verses from John’s gospel about Jesus’ crucifixion. (John 19: 25-27)
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
I think Jesus knew that his mother and his disciple would need someone they could trust, someone they could grieve with, and someone to be near to. They would need a community to be a part of as they walked through the next phase of their lives. What a gift Jesus gives each of them in the presence of the other. And what a gift you give when you show up for one another.
I overhear conversations on the patio that start with an introduction and end with an invitation to coffee or lunch. That conversation becomes the seed of a new friendship. I see those with joys receiving high fives and those with heartaches receiving hugs and I see the bonds of connection becoming stronger. In all of these actions and interactions, I see God weaving the strands of our lives together to create the most beautiful fabric of a beloved community.
May we continue to weave our stories together, allowing God to draw us near to one another in all times, and in doing so, may we continue to build the kingdom of God.
