Mark 7 is Nurturing Common Life Among Members of Intentional Community. In terms of Hyaets, that means that community members try to share Christian life with each other. To clarify what sharing Christian life means, at Hyaets it takes the outward form of eating dinner together on M/T/Th and praying together in one of our living rooms M/W/F mornings and Thursday evenings. Inwardly, "nurturing common life" takes the form of being intentional about attending to others in our community. By attending to others, I mean anything from spending time with others to be willing to lend others a helping hand. This ethos of life together stands in contrast to mainstream life, which sometimes takes the form of "life apart." Going home to North Raleigh land this weekend reminded me that life together represents a major departure from the norm. Not only do men and women not generally live intentionally in community, but families don't always eat together or make time for one another, much less pray together, as their time is often occupied by other pursuits. I don't think being busy or living life "apart" are regrettable or balmeworthy modes of being. Moreover, I really have not provided, read, or heard ANY convincing normative arguments for living in intentional Christian community in the 21st century. Rather, the point I'm trying to convey is that living together is at its core opposed to living apart.
Today I was reminded (in a roundabout way) that as Christians, we are called to orient at least a part of our time and energy towards life together and with God. The readings at Mass today focused on how worldly concerns can pose as distractions from devoting oneself to doing God's will. (I believe they were Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23, Col 3:1-11, and Luke 12:13-21). In his homily, Father mentioned that he had recently acquired a BlackBerry that he finds to be useful and good, although he did make the joke that he is now maybe too available. He did not decry worldly objects and concerns such as BlackBerries as evils separating us from devotion to God and each other. Instead, he took the more nuanced position that we ought to be sure that we possess objects rather than allowing objects to possess us. For when objects do possess us, they present a grave obstacle to life with God and with each other. Along this line, even when we do live busy lives "apart" from one another, we can be diligent to ensure that our the sources of us being busy and "apart" do not possess us to where we cannot remain faithful to God and each other. I think this caveat is an article of faith worth living by for those whom, like myself, think we live in a world and amongst people that are good and worthy.
I know I posted on the Sabbath, but hey, I'm a busy guy. What can I say?
Until next time,
Pax et bonum
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