I ended my last blog with this sentence: “One of the great lessons of St. Anthony’s life was that faithfulness, that seeking of God, is best lived in the context of community.” And in our time, in this cultural and political moment, there seems to be no greater need than to learn how to live together in community with one another.

This is easier said than done. Throughout history, all kinds of people have learned to live in community. It is a natural human need as it provides safety from enemies or wild animals; shared responsibility for gathering, growing or hunting for food; even basic health care - as limited as that might have been.

So there are many good reasons to live in community. Many good, practical reasons.

When you look at the world’s great contemplative traditions, they all share the common practice of calling people into community with one another. These traditions may have begun as a solo endeavor or one with a very small group of people, but eventually they all seem to land on the fact that it is very important, even essential, that human beings seek God together in community.

This is certainly true in Christianity. St. Paul put a theological argument to it by naming the Christian community the Body of Christ. But it is Jesus who puts it most plainly and most directly when, in chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, at the climax of his earthly ministry, and in the tension of the hours before he will be arrested, he prays: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”

By this point in John’s Gospel, Jesus is fully aware that he is going to be arrested and most likely murdered. Even with all of that, he continues to care for, comfort, and guide his followers into learning to love each other, learning to work with each other, learning to pray together – as one, as community.

Community is the very essence of a Christian life. In that context it is not simply a gathering of like-minded people. It is, rather, a gathering of people who have one thing in common – the willingness to seek God. And what John makes clear in this chapter is that oneness with God is the goal of life and that cannot be done alone, rather, it must be done in the context of community.

Community

Seeking god

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