Transforming Community

What is community? It seems like at the moment people talk about it a lot, or the perceived lack thereof. The irony is that we probably have more ways than ever to communicate with each other and to build community – even across distance, continents and national and cultural boundaries. In the New Testament, the basis of community life is set out very clearly. There are four main points:

·         The Gospel must be our focus.

·         We must persevere in obedience to God’s will.

·         Take on the armour of God.

·         Persevere in prayer and pray with confidence.

Prayer must be the basis for all that we do. Prayer releases God’s miraculous power and also grows our faith. There is the lovely image in Ephesians of stirring to the sound of God’s voice. It is only a community that is centred on prayer that will be able to do that. The world and the church need prayer so much at the moment.

The practice of silence is an important part of that – getting to that place of silence within oneself, that point of complete surrender – that one is totally open to God. In that process we have to let go of all of those things that we can fill silence with in order to avoid encountering God. Those things that we hold onto so tightly that it feels like if we let them go we will have to encounter the very essence of who we are with our struggles and our shortcomings – but in letting them go before God, we find our identity in Christ and most importantly we find life in abundance. We also find that God accepts us completely for who we are even if we feel completely unworthy of such acceptance.

This process of healing transformation is about a gradual change - a transformation in Christ. The Benedictines call it conversatio morum. John Wesley called it sanctification. Very complex sounding theological concepts but the essence of it is about this process of healing is in prayer, drawing near in a mystical and loving relationship with God, prayer that flows from living simply and close to the earth. It speaks about bringing peace in the midst of chaos. It serves as a reflection of how we need to create an oasis of calm and simple refuge within ourselves – not only for ourselves but that those around us can encounter the peace of God. 

Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 5:8-20

Romans 12:1-8

Nehemiah 8:1-18

Matthew 28:16-20

1 Kings 3:1-15

Psalm 42