Theologian, Elizabeth Johnson, once said that at the root of all our Catholic doctrine is an encounter with the holy mystery that is God. Our doctrines are not just speculative mental acrobatics but rather an attempt to express a truth we have experienced.
The Trinity is an image, a concept of God that developed historically out of our collective experience. In the doctrine of the Trinity God has shown Godself to be a community of three persons, equal in every way, living together in loving, mutual relationship. So, if we believe, and God has revealed, that God is a community of mutual love and equality, then whenever we find ourselves freely giving or receiving love we are actively growing in knowledge and discovering the truth of the Trinity in the most potent and powerful way…not through our limited reason and words, but through our graced experience. "Hope is a dynamic at work in a community, finding expression in a community's imagery, rituals, and stories. It arises in individuals insofar as they partake of this social reality.”
So, community is deeply grounded in the nature of God. It flows from who God is. Therefore, we can’t regard the creating of community as an optional endeavor for us but rather a compelling and irrevocable necessity; a divine mandate of sorts. Sharing our stories and building community is God’s prescription to heal our broken world.
There is no question that Eucharist is essential to our life as Catholics. However there is something powerful and unique about an intimate gathering in a living room or a small classroom or around a dining room table that forces us to think differently than when we are worshipping as the larger church at Mass. Small groups, as the early church discovered (Acts 2:42-72) is where the rubber hits the road, where we genuinely care for one another and our theology begins to be fleshed out in conversation and action. There is tons of research that shows that small groups are absolutely crucial to the life and growth of any church. God calls us to love, not in an abstract or superficial way, but in a deep, face to face, transformative way…and this happens profoundly in small groups.
We currently have many small groups that meet: FIRE groups that have been meeting for decades, Scripture Study, Moms groups, Books studies, etc. Our hope for Lent is to nurture and tap existing small groups for their wisdom and insights as well as encourage the birth of a bunch of new small groups to better join our lives together and grow the kingdom of God.
In short, our Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Our doctrines point to the deep truth that God is to be found much more in the “WE” than in the “ME.”
Ash Weds is Feb. 10th. We are going to train our facilitators and begin gathering small groups all through January (all shapes and sizes: couples, singles, men, women, kids, no kids, workplace, under 20, over 40…the list goes on). We invite you to think about participating in a small group as part of your Lenten devotion (three or more people who gather each week for prayer, study and sharing). Need not be a parishioner to participate, so invite your friends, family and neighbors too if you like.
Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b48aaaa2fa2f85-ctrsmall
Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: http://crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.
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