One day I may look back on this blog entry with a twinkle in my eye and a sense of how naïve I once was. I have only been retired since February 1 but I have been surprised by what I miss. There is a long list of what I don’t miss but as I started to list those things/people I decided that might hurt someone’s feelings. So I erased that list and will focus on a couple of things that remain the same and what I miss the most.
Monday mornings will always be Monday mornings, even if there is not a string of meetings to attend. Just getting back into the weekly grind is difficult whether or not one is working for a paycheck. There are always problematic people to deal with, either at work, online, in the neighborhood or even at the grocery store. Those things do not go away. I did not expect them to but at some level I thought it would be a bit different.
As many of you know, Julie and I are watching our Grandson while the calendar marches toward the time he goes to pre-school. Many of our days begin at 8 am, others at 10 am and then the occasional noon start. Since it’s been so cold, we usually stay at our daughter’s house all day, making the day seem so much like going to work. Of course we love him and are happy to be such a big help but one day does seem the same as the past one.
So with these similarities, what is it that I miss? Community is the bearer of Christ’s image in this world. It is in community where we struggle and soar, sometime at the same time. God is not experienced “out-there.” God is found both within, and without. God is in us. This means if I am to have a clear experience of God, I will discover God in the other. This is not only significant and meaningful, it is crucial to understand. Some theological bents will claim a rather gnostic sense of God. God “speaks to me” and tells me about you. God “told me” we should do this or that. I have seen this theological error too many times and find it to be both dangerous and deceiving. God is experienced within community. With all the messiness of people doing life together; in the midst of hurt feelings and agendas; God is there. If you have ever been part of a Church community you know only too well how difficult it can be. Yet it is the very place God is discovered. I suppose that’s the attraction of going it alone and hoping God can just reside in one’s own pocket. It would be cleaner, easier and without challenge. But God is in the challenge.
That is what I miss. I miss the community. I have a new one emerging but I was instrumental in shaping the last one. God only knows we were not perfect. I could go back and start listing the issues but as I mentioned, there is no real purpose in that. Even among the most problematic people and the most outrageously silly concern, God was there. I hated meetings but God was there. I shook my head at lengthy and critical emails, but God was there. Even in budget meetings, God was there.
God is still with me. My community is much smaller now. But my God is not smaller. My task is to remember that because God became flesh, humanity has changed. We all have been created with the Imago Dei. But because of the Incarnation, God becoming flesh, not only do we look around to see the Image of God, but we can now look within and without and find an incarnational community where God loves, shares and calls us all to love others as we are being loved.
What about you? Do you find God in community?