We have a page published in the Together Paper each month. You can always read this article via the Wagga Wagga Diocese website, or read below:
Rod Dreher’s 2017 bestselling book The Benedict Option turned the Christian world on its
head. Seven years later however, we’re still grappling with the concept of community.
I’m not going to lie. I devoured this book early in the piece. I thought it was both insightful
and provocative. The implication being, of course, that once you had read this book you
would approach community in a different way.
And that was certainly the case.
Communities based on the premise of The Benedict Option were more visible – some of
these communities were more organic than others. However, for those not located close to
these ‘Benedict options’, or able to pack up and move, there was discontent. The
communities were at best unrealistic, at worst utopian.
There was further criticism of the Benedict model – critics considered it insular, self-
referential and, ultimately, isolated. How could one evangelise if they never left the safety of
their option?
In other words, the Benedict Option is not for everyone. Nor should it be.
But what is it that we’re actually seeking from communities in the first place?
What is community?
A community is defined as a ‘unified body of individuals’. The unifying factor could include:
locality, personal or professional interest, common history, social, political or religious
interests, and so on.
It is not unusual then, for us to belong to several communities at the same time. I might be at
one time a member of the local parish community, as well as being a member of the
diocesan community, a school community, a professional community and online
communities. I won’t get started on the latter though, which I feel is more of an oxymoron.
We are drawn to community because we are made for communion. God saw that it was not
good for man to be alone and made him a helpmeet (cf. Genesis 2:18).
Communion, defined as “an act or instance of sharing; intimate fellowship or rapport”, is a
central part of the Christian life. We desire to be in communion with God, with each other,
and to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion.
To put it plainly, we desire belonging. To belong to something greater than ourselves.
In an increasingly secular, and militantly anti-religious, society it is understandable that the
idea of community has increased; we don’t feel as though we belong.
And this, this is what motivates us to create our own.
What makes community?
Communities do not just happen. They are born out of human initiative, formed by hospitality
– welcome and invitation, and maintained by interaction and intimacy.
Yes, you’re reading this correctly; they require effort. And a change of mindset. After all, the
goal of community is just that, a goal.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer explains: “The person who’s in love with their vision of community will
destroy community. But the person who loves the people around them will create community
everywhere they go.”
It might be true that you love the idea of a Benedict Option. It may be equally true that this is
not your current experience of community and, it may never be. But you live in community
now. It’s not perfect, its not always easy, but it is worthwhile. And you can, and should, still
love the people around you.
Perhaps it’s time for all of us to pause: “It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian
brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us,
that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let
him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other
Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees
and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with
Christian brethren.”
Bonhoeffer’s words, not mine. But he’s right.
Once we cultivate a grateful heart for the grace of our Christian community, the more we
realise that to have even that is a privilege, the more we are open to true communion with
others.
Written by Emily Shaw
VM Writer and Graphic Designer. Wife of one, mother of 8. Tackling growth in virtue one (baby) step at a time