We often think of the early Christian community in Jerusalem as being a model of the ideal Christian community. How is that community described in the Acts of the Apostles? “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. (Acts 4:32-37).”
Acts describes a community that had compassion for one another. This was a community filled with joy. It was a community that attracted great numbers of people. Even those who opposed the Christians commented on their love for one another and their joy.
I’ve been blessed to know many wonderful and saintly people over the years and to a person they have been joyful. Many people were surprised to learn of the lack of consolation and decades of spiritual dryness experienced by Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta because throughout her years of spiritual desolation she was a joyful person.
So, if it is part of our vision as a Christian community to help young people and parents to encounter Jesus in a personal way, how can we realize that vision?
First, we need to recognize our frustration and dissatisfaction as a spiritual hunger for relationship with the divine. We are made in the divine image, so that hunger for love-to give it and to receive it–is built into us. It is part of our human nature.
Second, as a community and as individuals we must be careful not to be an obstacle to that spiritual relationship in ourselves or others. Many ways of experiencing faith that may have worked in the past are no longer effective in this media soaked and skeptical era. The close association of partisan politics and religion is a poison tearing communities apart rather than building relationships of love.
Third, many young people acknowledge their spiritual hunger but seek to assuage that hunger through technologies. There is an attempt to draw on the ancient spiritual disciplines, as well as more contemporary developments. The difficulty is that the focus is on the technology, rather than on the relationship with the divine. However, this is a starting point for many, a way to discover a relationship with the divine and deepen that relationship.
Fourth, community provides a context in which relationships with others nourishes our relationship with God. It is in our relationships with one another that God reveals himself, our profound value, and God’s divine love for us. This isn’t an issue of having a membership card in some community. Community is a context for experiencing a personal relationship with God only when we enter what it means to be community. Community is the realization of kinship. It is the realization of love at a practical and interpersonal level. It is mutual respect and mutual service. When it is real and operative a community rooted in relationship with Christ is characterized by joy. It is this joy that attracts others and that strengthens our faith.
So, whatever we can do to deepen our personal relationship with Christ, build true Christian community and to radiate the joy characteristic of our faith will contribute to the fulfillment of this aspect of the Pastoral Plan. This part of the pastoral plan involves organizing projects and activities for young people and parents but more, it involves deepening our relationship with Christ. Our ability to fulfill this part of the pastoral plan depends upon the extent to which we can give witness to a relationship with Christ that is alive, well and fundamental in each of us.