A Living Alternative

St. Francis pursued a life of genuine discipleship. And yet, his example stands in stark contrast for what we so often call discipleship today. Francis embraced a spiritual formation that called him into a community. Community is a popular topic these days, especially as individualism continues to prove itself empty.

Francis, however, was drawn to a very particular kind of community, one of shared participation in the life, suffering and resurrection of Christ. This requires that we realign our lives around entirely new values, often counter to our culture or even our own "self-interest", for it draws us to a community of service to Christ, especially Christ in the other. It means that we do not live our lives for ourselves, but for Christ and for our neighbour. Let me repeat that and truly consider the implications: We do not live our lives for ourselves, but live entirely for Christ and for our neighbour.

So what does this look like? Here are only a few points to consider:

-Genuine community must daily wrestle with the tension between the individual and group as a whole, for neither is more valued than the other. While community rejects the excesses individualism, it is the true champion of individuality. More than a mere democracy, it seeks to move with consensus, recognizing that, at times, the lone voice is that of Holy Spirit. This is one of the most rewarding and demanding battles you will ever engage.

-Genuine community faces the challenge of pursuing unity without escaping into uniformity. This does not mean that we will have nothing in common- in fact, the common patterns of living we share are critical. Rather, it recognizes that the stresses that diversity bring, when embraced, transform into the richness of encountering Christ in the other.

-Genuine community is not built in a day. It is a slow, intentional process of building of hospitality, mutuality and trust. However, as we resist the impulse to use power to achieve our "goal" of community, it means we will have to learn to relate in and through the inevitable (even necessary) tension and conflict that will arise. As David Augsburger pointed out: "This process is not accelerated by coercion, facilitated by persuasion, achieved by seducation. It is create through invitation."