Community: Both Gift and Task
by Jennifer Melke-Marks, Administrative Coordinator
I have many good memories of gathering with my Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Associate local faith-sharing group. Along with the associates, a couple of sisters would join us. We would pray, read scripture and other spiritual writings, and then share deeply about what was happening in our lives, viewing our experiences through a spiritual lens. We also shared our talents with one another. One of the associates was an accomplished pianist, and when we gathered at her home, we would enjoy listening to her play. There was such a sense of joy, belonging, and warmth in those gatherings that I often found myself recalling Peter's words at the Transfiguration, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Yes, community is certainly a gift.
Over the years, I realized that, while we come together to receive spiritual nourishment and camaraderie, there is much more to community. The gifts we receive in community are not meant to remain within the community. They are meant to be shared with the world.
Washed in the waters of baptism, we become members of the Body of Christ and are called to share in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and (servant) king. We must consider how we live out this mission in the larger Church community, in our civic communities, and in the wider world. As part of this, we are called to embody the Word. We seek to bring the Good News of the person and message of Jesus, not simply by speaking about the Gospel, but by embodying it wherever we find ourselves: in our workplaces, in our homes, and in our neighborhoods. We are called to bring Jesus to others, and in our own imperfect way, be Jesus to others.
Living this call requires an attentive reading of the signs of the times. It also calls us to remain prayerfully open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, who often surprises us, challenges us, and invites us beyond our own agendas and assumptions. Community helps us do this. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we discern together, listen to one another, learn from one another, and allow ourselves to be challenged to see the world through perspectives different from our own. We receive the wisdom that emerges from this shared discernment and allow it to shape how we live out our mission in the world.
Community, then, is both gift and task. It is a gift because it offers us belonging, nourishment, friendship, wisdom, and joy, a place where we can say with Peter, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." But community is also a task, because what we receive within it calls forth a response to carry what we have received beyond ourselves and into the world.
We must therefore invest creatively and wisely in building community, especially as our communities change and age. We may need to discover new ways of gathering, connecting, listening, and sharing our gifts. The form of community may change, but its purpose remains, which is to nurture one another so that we can go forth, build community, and share the Gospel message wherever we are. The gift of community is ultimately given for the sake of the Church and the world. We gather so that we can be sent. We receive so that we can give. We are nourished so that we can become nourishment for others. Community is both where we experience God's love and one of the ways we are called to make that love visible in the world.
