community

So, tonight was the first 'youth group' meeting at my new job. FUN! It is so great to be back working in ministry. Part of what I loved about tonight was that I got to share about a topic that I feel passionate about. Community is an idea that I've been thinking about a lot lately. It began about a year ago when I started working on my big senior writing project during my last year of seminary. What follows is an excerpt from that paper.
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"Community is the essence of Christian life and faith. Modeled by the Trinitarian God, community is humanity’s divine example of how to faithfully live and love in relationship with God and others. It is a mutual togetherness of two or more beings that are united in purpose and vision. As Christians, we have been created for, and called into, a life of love for God and one another. Community is the context in which this happens.

There are precisely three dimensions of community. First, there is Trinitarian Community. Essentially, this concept describes the reciprocal relationship amongst the members of the Godhead. While the word “trinity” is not used in Scripture, the triune nature of God is implied throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament. (Gen 1:26, 3:22; Isa 6:3,8, 11:2 42:1; Mt 28:19; Lk 3:22; Ac 2:33; Ro 1:3) The unified plurality of the Trinity has eternally existed, with each member communing with the others. In this way, community exists in the context of perfect divine love.

The second dimension of community may be referred to as Transcendent Community. This refers to the fellowship that we, the created, have with the Creator. It is fellowship that transcends the human realm and enters the Godly. This communion is only possible because of God’s initiative throughout human history to restore broken humanity. Because of his love for us, we can be united with Christ in community. Therefore, through the Word, sacrament, and prayer, we are able to have a relationship with God.

The third dimension of community may be referred to as Human Community. This concept describes the strong unified bond that forms between believers out of their common devotion to Jesus. This type of community is oriented toward God and shared amongst human beings. It is the community described by the Psalmist in his words, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (Ps 133:1)."