We get really good at programs, scheduled activities, and the trappings of a spiritual/religious life, so much so that even when our hearts aren’t in it, we can keep the machine going and no one (besides God) is the wiser. Sometimes we even fool ourselves. So when it all get dismantled, what is left? That is what I find myself interested in more and more. When we strip away Sunday programming, when we take away imposed structures, what does our faith look like? This year has been masterful at removing all of it and in some ways I have found myself grateful.
This summer we focused on building community by getting together as the church in different ways and in different places. We gathered in public parks and at people’s houses. We ate together, talked about how we’re really doing, and encouraged one another. We prayed for one another, took off our cloth masks for a minute, and shared a smile.
Personally our summer was reflective of this need for community. Our “vacation” time was spent with friends, at their houses (or friends’ houses), at the beach or under the stars, and it couldn’t have been more restful. The secret to getting said rest was actually getting to spend time with them, to see where they grew up or where they’ve recently moved to, eating together and talking about the hard things, meeting their friends and family members, and letting each other be themselves without any sense of obligation to be otherwise. Even our daughter wasn’t expected to be anything other than a normal 8 year old who wants to play and explore and eat familiar things.
Greg has been gardening with our neighbors who we’ve known since the day we began moving into our current house five year ago. They were the first people to invite us over for the “apero” (think ‘the meal before the meal’). They came when we tried to launch a series of apologetics discussions on Sunday mornings 3 years ago - it ended up being scrapped because eventually they were the only ones coming. We’ve discussed and shared ideas for years now. But now we’ve been getting to know them personally. The times we share right now, the chats about birds and gardens and tensions between family members, they are rich. We are learning how to show love to these particular neighbors.
Another neighbor who we’ve been praying for for years because he worked hours from home which meant he wasn’t very available to his family just began working across town. He can probably drive to work in six minutes or less. He and his family were really our first friends that we made when moved in. They’ve had some tough things come their way as we all do and sometimes all I could do was bake a favorite cake or we’ve watched their kids. But we’ve been learning how to love our neighbors.
Sometimes our neighbors have been the ones doing the giving and the loving. They’ve had us over for special meals, given our daughter chocolates for Easter, and have invited us into their lives. We’ve had to learn to accept various unexpected kindness when we’ve had nothing to give back. We’re learning how to love our neighbors by honoring their gifts.
In French, the phrase we translate as loving your neighbor is more precise. It’s not the word for someone you literally live close to (un voisin) or even someone you feel close to (un proche), but simply a fellow human being. “Love your fellow human as yourself.” Maybe it starts with the person next to you, but the challenge is much bigger. Are your actions and words showing that you love your fellow human as much as you love yourself? Every single person? Have you learned how to disagree while still sacrificially loving the other person? These are hard things. Jesus has called us to do hard things.
Our challenge to our local body of believers this school year is to put faith into action, to honor the fact that acts of service are a way to worship God. We hope to set aside one Sunday a month to do something concrete either collectively or in our individual towns and villages to clearly serve those around us.
Pray for openness to this idea, that God would continue to work on the hearts of all of us as well as the people around us, that He will open up ways for us to serve (because it’s quite difficult for churches to do this without going through certain hoops), and that people would be receptive to the love we hope to share.
Continue praying for our fellow Christians scattered around France that we would continue to love others well and for those who are seeking Jesus that they might find Him and not us.