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I don’t know about you but I’ve been planting in the last few weeks. So far the only thing I’ve gotten to grow are green beans. The seed came from my grandmother, and I’ve had it for a long time. I’ve made my own seed from the plants I’ve grown in the past from the original seeds grandma handed down.
I’m trying to work on a hydroponic garden of sorts. Right now it’s just cukes and zucchini. If it works I’ll be surprised, because beyond the grass in our yards, we usually don’t have green thumbs.
I tell you all of this to remind you that we need to be thriving where God has planted us. And we need to remember to be growing gardens, building homes, increasing our families all in spite of the circumstances of this pandemic. The People of Jeremiah’s time were in the midst of exile – having been moved from Israel, to Babylon. We can feel as if we are in exile even today.
And to remind you , there aren’t many things in this life we can do by ourselves. Community is how we operate on a day-by-day basis. God designed us, and created us to live in community with each other. We need each other to survive.
1 Corinthians 12:24b–27 (NIV) But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Paul explains that the body of Christ is made up of many parts, but functions as one. Therefore, each part needs the other no matter how different. There is no body part that has the right to be prideful and assume it is most important in order for there to be a fully functioning, healthy body. Each part must do its part or everything else becomes vulnerable.
As Christians, we must refrain from elevating certain roles – pastors, government officials, and celebrities are not any more important than the local baker, florist, church small group leader, Sunday School teacher – or greater. All these people have jobs and titles and they serve a certain purpose in the community. All are needed for the community to progress forward together, to prosper.
Even though this passage is dealing with spiritual things, we can see that having equal concern for each other can extend to the way we act as one in our communities. We can take the initiative to buy from the local farmers market, or to purchase gifts for others from a local artist or craftsman. Because loving our neighbors also includes being concerned for their livelihood.
We could care for our neighbors by organizing a neighborhood watch. If one neighbor’s house is vandalized others’ homes might be too. Wouldn’t it be great to watch out for each other. Our lives are part of a circle of life that relies on us, as well as others to all do our part and to help when we can. And in the midst of living life in community like this, it also means to wrestle with what the message of the Good News is today, in the context of this time and place.
This Is Our Community.