community or nothing
"So well disposed were we to you, in fact, that we wanted to share with you not only God's tidings but our very lives, so dear had you become to us." —1 Thessalonians 2:8
Do you want to share your life with the people in your church? Do you even know the names of your church's members? Do you want to know the names of your brothers and sisters in Christ? If not, how true is it to say they are your brothers and sisters?
Christian community is the missing link in modern Christianity. The Gospel lifestyle of the early Church is mistakenly called merely an ideal, since we don't see it working in the modern world. Yet the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles really do work, if we would only build Christian community. All the king's horses and all the king's men aren't able to put the Church together again until we commit ourselves to love one another in Christian community.
"The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common" (Acts 4:32). "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members share its joy" (1 Cor 12:26).
Prayer: Holy Spirit, give us a new Pentecost and form Christian community.
Promise: "First cleanse the inside of the cup so that its outside may be clean." —Mt 23:26
Praise: St. Monica was one heart and mind with Jesus in that she could not rest until her son came to know Jesus.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our leaflet, Introduction to Small Christian Communities or our tape What is Christian Community? on audio AV 76-1 and AV 76-3 or video V-76.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 4, 2013
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