Community...

Romans 12.4-5 (RSV)
 
For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
             
A community is critical to a maturing faith.  Time and time again, God has brought people
together.  Adam and Eve helped us see companionship is important.  The people of Israel found strength to be a blessing through which God would bless the world.  The twelve disciples discovered challenges to their own thinking as they followed Jesus.  The early church found a way of living, worshiping, praying, and sharing all things.
 
Church is a community where we learn to entrust our lives to one another.  I know community can be a bit of a challenge.  There are people that don’t see eye to eye with you.  There are people that have hurt you. Yet it is the church where we develop into a community.  In the church, we seek justice, learn to love kindness, and find ways to walk humbly with God.  As we see familiar faces and are reminded of sacred words, we witness to the good works of God together.
 
Worship is a great time to embody being a community.  As we turn our hearts to God, we reorient and remind ourselves we are followers of Jesus.  Each person present is a special child of God.  Church is the special place where we can find peace, share mercy, and receive forgiveness.  Being church takes practice, commitment, and through it all, God’s help. 
 
Grace and peace,
 
Rev. Brian