This week in my online spiritual formation course, we are talking about the importance of community, and comparing it to the element of water (nurturing, collective, cohesive, running to the lowest places). Here is what I wrote for my assignment.I often wake up thirsty. There is nothing like the first drink of the day (I am talking orange juice, of course). I love all kinds of drinks: water, chai tea, fizzy diet Dr. pepper, a cold cider, orange juice, wheat beer, green tea, and the occasional cappuccino (all of which have a large element of water in them). Communal life is also something that I thirst for, in the many shapes and forms that it takes.
Two words from Gregg Finley’s talk on things Celtic [1] stood out to me: availability and vulnerability. They apply both to drinking orange juice and to the intentional and interactive elements of being in community.
Availability: do I lie in bed and think about how thirsty I am or do I get up, stumble down the stairs to the kitchen, and open the fridge door? Do I whine when I run out of orange juice or do I put on my shoes and walk to the store? Do I stare longingly at the juice on the store shelf or do I reach out for it, pay the cost, and own it? (get out of my comfort zone, go where people are, reach out, willingly pay the cost, take ownership)
Vulnerability: do I open my mouth wide and let it pour in? Do I hurriedly gulp it down or savour the richness of it? Do I insist on a particular brand/kind of orange juice (Tropicana no pulp) or will I try something new, give others a chance? Will I go back and again and again, every day, for more orange juice, knowing that my body needs it on a continual basis? (be open, enjoy the experience, be inviting and take a risk, be consistent and faithful)
Let the answer be “yes” every morning, Jesus. “Yes” to you and your friends.
This is a picture of a close community of fresh croissants in the bakery in St. Donat.
[1] Gregg Finley, The Celtic Way of Worship, online lecture from http://www.worshiptraining.com/.
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