“When I am with a group of human beings committed to hanging in there through both the agony and the joy of community, I have a dim sense that I am participating in a phenomenon for which there is only one word ... glory.”
—M. Scott Peck.
This morning I think of groups I am in, especially a Wednesday morning book group which has met for more years than I can remember. We started in one church as an Education for Ministry or EfM group, and later morphed into a Disciples of Christ in Community or DOCC Transforming the Literature of the Bible study group. We moved to other churches as the bishop reassigned me, and each time collected different members. We continued to read contemporary literature and Scripture, and looked for patterns to follow in the lives of those who share our Judeo-Christian heritage. Very few members now attend the same congregation, and we are always enriched by people of other faith groups. We are now back meeting at our home, next to our fireplace in the den. My husband always puts fresh flowers on the coffee table. There is something about being in a home, as well as meeting with an eclectic group of people who have learned to accept each other deeply and lovingly—so that our discussions can easily ignite into “God moments.”
Another amazing image of such a community is a mosaic of pieces of cut glass of different shapes and colors. Each individual may be beautiful in his or her own right; but when we are together, a truly glorious multicolored image emerges.
I think of the story that I often tell children, given to me so many years ago by Dean McMillin, another spiritual friend. God wanted to give part of God to God’s creation. So God took a huge mirror, looked into it, and broke the mirror into many tiny pieces, sending them down to earth. God gave to every one of us a tiny piece, a reflection of God. We spend years trying to find that piece of God within ourselves; and when we do, we get so excited, we cry, “I have found God.”
That is where the journey stops for so many, who try to prioritize their piece, their image of God, as the only one that is truly of God. But God calls us to another task. We are to fit our piece in with those of all others. As we fit together more and more pieces of God that we have found in others, our image of God becomes deeper and fuller.
We sometimes meet people whose image of God is so foreign to us, so different from ours. Sometimes these people are even our children! As we piece together more and more facets and see so many other parts that represent God, we come closer to their part—perhaps on the edge of our own God image.
This is a journey of a lifetime: finding God in ourselves, connecting it to the God in others, and enlarging our image of God. A beautiful mosaic. It is called community.
Joanna joannaseibert@me.com