“If two of you will agree in the earth about any matter which they will request, it will be done for them… For where two or three are assembled in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” – Jesus from Matt. 21:19-20, Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Community is powerful because it affirms the unity between us. And when we agree on “any matter” in community the “I AM” is in the midst of us. The “I AM” is God, the ultimate source of power in the universe, it is the power of love. When we create conscious agreements, or intentions, together we are harnessing this God-Source-Power for ourselves, our community, and the rest of the world. When we choose to evolve consciously we remove power from the principle of survival of the fittest, because we are agreeing to survive and indeed thrive together.
Survival of the fittest claims that competition, greed, and rugged individualism are the evolutionary imperatives of our planet. Yet, the actual motto of the United States is E Pluribus Unum, “from many, one,” and our pledge declares that we are “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Friendships, marriages, families, intentional communities, schools, churches, non-profit organizations, small businesses are some places that continue to affirm this unity, love in the collective sense. Any place that that mounts a real challenge to this notion of separation, segregation, and individual survivalism at any cost qualifies. These are the groups that we are thinking about when we use the word community, a group working toward common unity.This is the idea of community we are working to cultivate in Praxis Communities.
Margaret Mead reminds us, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
This is our idea of community and communion. What’s yours?