Community
Today’s Daily Word is “Community.”
We all live in many communities: the global community of mankind, the local community of our home town, the community of our circle of friends, and the community of our family. Another such community is our spiritual community, a place where we are fed spiritually. What is it about a community that is so important? It is a support system that helps and guides us in our own development. And as much as we may get moral and emotional support from our family, friends, and neighbors, we can find comfort in our spiritual community.
Traditionally, we may see a spiritual community as a place we go to once a week to see like-minded people and devote an hour or so together in recognition of our Divinity. However, there is more that can be gained. Similar to how we learn from each other in a worldly community, we may find that our spiritual home is also a wonderfully effective place of learning. Our interactions with each other, our willingness to serve as volunteers, our engagement in the vision and mission, and our contributions for the good of the group and the local community in outreach, all provide us with a virtually infinite number of opportunities to spiritually grow and prosper as we take in the learning from the interactions we choose to have.
Every moment we spend together in service, book study, fellowship, classroom, or outreach projects is a moment for us to realize more of the spiritual Self in us and in others. It is the interaction that allows us to practice the principles we learn about. It is the discussions, agreements, and disagreements that show us where we truly can grow. Often it is understood that true spiritual growth can only happen in isolation. And yes, Jesus Christ occasionally spent time by himself and away from the crowd. However, he always came back and engaged in the community in order to be the example of what he saw in each and everyone of us. He did not tell his disciples to go away and be by themselves for the rest of their existence. He told them to take the Good News and spread them amongst the world with joy and conviction. Such is the power of a community, and such is the importance of providing a foundation of love, open-heartedness, friendliness, and opportunity for those who would like to join and feel ownership of their new home.
Maybe today you ask yourself what it is that you appreciate about your spiritual home? What makes it special in such a way you feel that you are an integral part of it? What about those who just recently joined? Are they being welcomed into the community and given opportunities to become part of it themselves? What can you do to embrace those still new so that they may find a home of comfort and wholeness for themselves? Be the brick that builds the community and the mortar that holds it together, in Oneness with God and all.
And so it is. Amen.
Jean-Marie
Rev. Jean-Marie Schweizer
Senior Minister Unity Fort Worth