The Communion of Saints, or a Collection of Strangers?

While we are a vastly more connected society, our connections seem often to be shallow, impersonal, stilted and, worst of all, actually isolating. While creating the impression of intimacy, they can in fact breed an insidious alienation and loneliness. Instead of presence, they offer a facsimile which may actually lack the incarnation of grace which presence, experienced in community, affords us.

One of the greatest challenges for the 21st century Church, especially in cultures with deeply embedded social media and advanced communication technologies, is remaining true to and effective in cultivating communities of deeply rooted, spiritually vibrant, and intimately connected saints, rather than a mere collection of devoted strangers. This task, the task of discipleship or, spiritual formation, is central to our calling as the Church.

God’s grace flows freely among the humbly interdependent who are enjoying communion with the Triune God, in union with the risen Christ, through the Spirit. In recognizing their great need and “so great a salvation”, they love God and each other with wholesome devotion, humble thanksgiving, and joyful recognition of their shared reliance upon His grace. A grace which flows to us through His Spirit, His Word, the sacraments, and the communion of saints; a communion strengthened through presence and embodied reconciling love. These are the elements and practices which create the fabric of discipleship or, spiritual formation.

Devoted strangers, on the other hand, while also responding to God’s loving kindness and grace with thankful hearts often rely, though, on anonymous, cautious, distant, and guarded interactions to shield themselves from exposing their failings and foibles; fearful that their exposure will define them or, worse, lead to rejection and shame. Or, perhaps their reluctance in simply rooted in introversion, or a practiced indifference to the rewards and challenges of bona fide social interaction, or perhaps an unwillingness to be pressed into service. Social phobias, ranging from Anthropophobia to Social Anxiety Disorder may also lay behind their unwillingness to engage in true social intercourse.

Whatever the motivation, these individuals often remain at the margins of social groups, never really enter into anything approaching authentic community. This phenomenon has grown far more common with the growth and permeation of social media and communication technologies that were only dreamed of a generation ago. While we are a vastly more connected society, our connections seem often to be shallow, impersonal, stilted and, worst of all, actually isolating. While creating the impression of intimacy, they can in fact breed an insidious alienation and loneliness. Instead of presence, they offer a facsimile which may actually lack the incarnation of grace which presence, experienced in community, affords us.

The question before us then is how do we effectively beckon Christians into intimate, trusting, and joyful community where real growth, as Christians and humans, can be nurtured? How do we cultivate true and rich discipleship in which we both engage the Word of God and allow the the Word of God to engage us at the level of not only our daily lives and experience, but as a formative element of our identity (one which encourages the fruition of our true self, in Christ, rather than stifling conformity)?

How do we foster a community of saints which provides a medium in which spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and psychological good health can flourish and bear fruit?

How do we effectively communicate a compelling invitation which resonates with that latent, though often deeply internal and even obscured unnamed yearning to join others in the worship of God, and in intimate friendship with each other? And, because fruitfulness can reveal itself in a variety of manifestations, varying from person to person, we must also learn to accommodate and even encourage not only conformity to Christ, but learn also to celebrate dissimilarity in personality, gifting, and callings if we wish to create an inviting experience which encourages life in community. Simply put, personalities can differ wildly because they are often shaped through wildly different experiences. Creating an elastic enough embrace of those differences, while also encouraging the formation of the image of Christ which is then given powerful witness to through our lives is an imperative, especially in our current social and cultural context.

So, again, how do we navigate the passages this time and space now require? It’s a question worth pondering, answering, and living.