Alone and together
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, and Advent/Christmas soon after, I’m reflecting on my complicated thoughts on gatherings.
I’ve been delighted and eager to attend weddings and cultural events this fall, after the terrible distance of the last 18 months. But, as a people-loving introvert, being among lots of people also drains my energy. It’s tempting to run away and retreat into aloneness. I’m sure many of you can relate. Undoubtedly, one of the reasons we appreciate contemplative prayer is the few moments of quiet and aloneness with God. This aloneness is critical. But like so many other parts of Christian living, we have to hold it in balance - in this case in balance with the call to community.
In Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes of the importance of time alone:
Alone you stood before God when God called you. Alone you had to obey God’s voice. Alone you had to take up your cross, struggle, and pray and alone you will die and give an account to God. You cannot avoid yourself, for it is precisely God who has singled you out.
But then he offers a critical warning for those of us who may be tempted to retreat too far:
Whoever cannot stand being in community should beware of being alone. You are called into the community of faith; the call was not meant for you alone. You carry your cross, you struggle, and you pray in the community of faith, the community of those who are called. You are not alone even when you die, and on the day of judgment you will be only one member of the great community of faith of Jesus Christ. If you neglect the community of other Christians, you reject the call of Jesus Christ, and thus your being alone can only become harmful for you.
As you head into the weekend, I hope you are able to find that delicate and delicious balance of celebrating God-given community and standing alone with God.
Blessings,
Ope & Rebecca
Weekend Recommendations
On community and belief: “For good or for ill, we believe what we believe because of our particular encounters with people and human communities. All systems of belief and practice are handed down in ordinary ways by people with particular names, faces, languages, traditions, limitations and longings.” - We Remember Saints Because They’re a Lot Like Us (NYTimes, Tish Harrison Warren)
On learning to be alone peaceably, and the difference between loneliness and solitude: - Stephen Batchelor - Finding Ease in Aloneness (On Being podcast)
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