Community Shows Up

Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:23

Community is where it’s at. We are made to be in the company of each other. I was reminded of this at the Family Day kick-off on my first time visit to the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction. People were everywhere! The crowds were filled with people of every age from across the globe and the country. There were kids and parents, grandparents, and couples, friends and first responders, strangers and Boy Scouts all talking in different languages and accents. But we all had one thing in common. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy to be there united in a common interest. No matter who you were, where you were from, what you believed, you could all gather around a 1988 Lamborghini and appreciate it together. You could comment, ask questions, wonder, and reminisce while differences mattered not.

I marveled at this gathering of people and regained some faith in humanity. With all the ugliness, violence, and division we see all around, community still shows up. Community gathers to celebrate, eat, drink, listen to music, have fun, appreciate, and enjoy vintage cars and supercars and muscle cars and corn dogs as big as your head and 80’s music and popcorn and thrill rides on the track and in the dirt.

The common spirit of joy gathered around our fascination with technology new and old united everyone there in peace. It showed us that we can still be at peace. We can still unite around a common interest despite our differences. We can still appreciate each other with smiles and common courtesies like “excuse me’s” and “after you’s” in a massive, milling crowd. This is God’s dream for us, for the world: Peace to the whole community and love with faith that overcomes difference.

Community shows up in unexpected places at surprising times. Sometimes we just have to step out of our cocoons of familiarity into new experiences. Where does community show up for you? May you experience the peace of community which brings hope to our hearts.

In CommUnity, Pastor Andrea