The Bible says we’re made in the image of God. Part of that means we’re made for community life because God is triune. He exists as three in one. Within this community of the Godhead, there is fellowship and love. I guess this is part of the reason why we don’t like feeling alone because we are suppose to be with others. I love community, but I also understand why we sometimes run away from it; why we shut people out of our personal life and avoid community. The difficulty with community is that it makes us vulnerable to pain, it exposes us to disappointment. When we are part of a community, there is the expectation that we will find love and acceptance there all the time. The disappointment occurs when that community fails to deliver on those things, and we feel betrayed. We get angry and bitter. We run. We have been hurt by the very community that is supposed to be there for us. We got too close and got burned. I think experiences like this cause us to be wary about community and sharing our life with others. In a sense, it is easier to be a recluse. There is less of a chance of getting hurt. But, that’s not how God has made us. We were made for relationships, and life feels incomplete without them. Even monks or nuns, who have taken vows of celibacy, live together in communities. Another reason why we avoid communal relationships is simply because they are hard work. It takes effort and time to build relationships. It means entering into other people’s stories and seeing their dirt as well as exposing our own. But there are also good things that come with community. For one, we don’t have to go about life alone, because we have a group of people there to help and encourage us. And second, these are people like ourselves, sinful and messed up. With them, we can find sympathy and grace. Community is a vital aspect of life, and disappointments are bound to come. We should not run away from one in order to protect ourselves from the other. Our Lord himself is our great example in this respect. Jesus, at his moment of greatest need, was abandoned by the very community with whom he had shared love and fellowship, including his divine community. For Jesus, what hurt more was probably not the nails, but being forsaken by the Father. Jesus knows hurt more than any of us. At the same time, he did it for us. He went through the cross experience in order to bring us together, to create a community of faith and love.
