Humans need community. Christians need community. We are social creatures, as much as wolves are, elephants are and dolphins are. We need each other.
The first thing that Jesus did, after his baptism and forty days in the wilderness, was to draw a group of people around him, a community of people who would learn from him, work with him, and support one another.
The first thing that the followers of Jesus did after witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus was to gather together in the upper room, to hold each other in their fear, their sorrow and their devastation.
The first thing that the followers of Jesus did after they discovered the resurrection of Jesus was to gather together, to hold each other in their joy, their wonder and, yes, their disbelief.
That is where the Spirit found them, fifty days later, gathered together in the upper room, sharing bread, sharing community. The wind blew, the flames of the Spirit’s energy danced among them, and they became something more than they had been before. They went out preaching, teaching, sharing and living the good news, with no regard for the danger to their lives because of what they preached.
The first thing the followers of the Way of Jesus did as they arrived in any city or town was to look for community, an already established ecclesia or group of followers of Jesus, or to gather new followers of Jesus together to create a new ecclesia or community of Jesus.
Christians, by our very nature, are part of a community. To be a Christian is to belong to a community. Now, it is possible to be spiritual alone. It is possible to reflect on the teachings of Jesus alone. But to be a Christian, to commit one’s life as a follower of the Way of Jesus, means to be committed to community. If you consider carefully the teachings of Jesus, they are really all about how we live together as community, and then how as a community we relate to the rest of the world. The Way of Jesus from its roots up to the present day is a Way of community, of partnership, of human beings being called together in faith.