OK - its been while since my last post, and my mind has been many place since then - so this may seem a bit disjointed, and I apologize in advance for that.
In my previous post I asked the question re: our American tendency to 'overplay' the community at the sake of the individual - despite the mask of individuality that we play. And while those of you who know me, may think I am not the same person - for I value and thrive in community and with others. But really, I think there is a piece missing in ourselves.
Bonhoeffer writes, "Christians too who cannot cope on their own...hope to experience help with this in the company of other people. More often than not, they are disappointed. They then blame the community for what is really their own fault. The Christian community is not a spiritual sanatorium....In reality they are not seeking community at all, but only a thrill that will allow them to forget their isolation [Vereinsamung] for a short time. It is precisely such misuse of community that creates the deadly isolation of human beings. " (pp. 81-82 - DBWE "Life Together)
Do we use community to mask our own sense of aloneness and isolation, loneliness and solitude? Why do these things scare us? God calls us first as individuals INTO community, not as community into community.
Some other quotes from Bonhoeffer that illumine this for me:
"We recognize, then, that only as we stand within the community can we be alone, and only those who are alone can live in community." (p. 83)
"Whoever cannot be alone should beware of community. Whoever cannot stand being in community should beware of being alone...The day together of Christians who live in community is accompanied by each individual's day alone. That is the way it must be." (p. 83)
I am working on a paper with this right now, and as can be seen, my thoughts are a bit jumbled and rambling right now. But I think we, especially western Christians, need to pay a bit attention to our selves. For how can we serve, if we ourselves are not well, and not healthy? Aren't we called to love others as we love ourselves? And if we don't love ourselves individually, how then are we loving others????
I would love to hear your comments, thoughts, challenges, questions....we live and grow in dialogue.
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1 comment:
Jumbled thoughts can be a blessing...and a place to write and express these things until they fall out into a coherent picture. This is the creative process of thought, and I really appreciate what you're doing here today.
You are talking about community and the individual in ways I'm not used to though I can see your vector. Community, like any other thing, can be used to mask the internal pain of our aloneness and finiteness. This IS too true.
And yet, it is God who creates our community, who takes the "I" of the earth-creature "Adam" and makes him a "we," that he might not be alone. And so community is a holy thing, though through the reality of sin can be abused like any other part of our lives.
As a pastor I spend most of my time deconstructing the pathological USAmerican individualism that has grasped our church. Through these lenses we've lost the ability to read salvation as a "we," and healing as a "we," and restoration and reconciliation (what Jesus brings us in the Kingdom which can be cound "among us") that is fundamentally communal.
When we talk about the Imagio Dei, the image of God we reflect is a "plural" image. God is not an "I," but a "we." Look at the etymological roots of the word "Elohim" and beyond this the creedal assertion that God is triune...and that the most important affirmation of this is not the persons of the Trinity but their inter-relationship.
Sociologically and psychologically, we as human individuals define ourselves through our relationships. I am a father, husband, pastor, colleague, leader, sinner, teacher, son, and brother.
There's a lot to work with in your direction of inquiry. It will be interesting to see what you come up with, especially in light of Bonhoeffer who writes not only what you've quoted in your post, but a rule for communal life together.
Peace Kim! Hope this finds you well.
Nathan Swenson-Reinhold
leadingfrombelow.blogspot.com
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