Community

Reading today from Henri Nouwen’s Making All Things New:

“To create space for God among us requires the constant recognition of the Spirit of God in each other.”

My first reaction is that no one told me it was going to be THAT difficult, but Nouwen persists.

“Community has little to do with mutual compatibility.  Similarities in educational background, psychological make-up, or social status can bring us together, but they can never be the basis for community.  Community is grounded in God, who calls us together, and not in the attractiveness of people to each other.  There are many groups that have been formed to defend their own status, or to promote their own causes….  Instead of breaking through the walls of fear and creating space for God, they close themselves to real or imaginary intruders.  The mystery of community is precisely that it embraces all people, whatever their individual differences may be, and allows them to live together as brothers and sisters in Christ….”

It is easy to perceive that community is gathering with like-minded folks who can, conveniently, share thoughts, complaints, and points of view.  It occurs to me that if this were true, looking in a mirror would be community.