Fr Alex Swain
Beloved in Christ,
Today’s reading from Proverbs has a lot to say to us about the fundamental importance of community.
Well, quite frankly, it has a lot to say about a lot of things.
It encourages us to be humble, and to resist being overly boastful of ourselves. It reminds us that “wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming” and of the sneaking, overwhelming power of jealousy.
But then, we are told, “Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parents.”
The author encourages us, in times of trouble, to reach out to our nearby neighbors—not to people physically far away from us—in times of emergency. We are encouraged to be wise in our dealings in the world.
The book of proverbs has portions likely written in the 900’s BC (almost 3,000 years ago), portions written in 700 BC, and then in the 500s BC. And despite the cultural differences of thousands of years, there is still profound wisdom in what these divinely inspired texts tell us today.
“Do not go to the house of your kindred in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is nearby than kindred who are far away.”
This begs the question: Who are our neighbors? Quite literally—who are the people who live next to you?
More often than not, in the busyness of our lives, we may not make time or space to meet the people who are directly closest to us. If you don’t know your literal neighbors, why not go over and say hi? Get to know one another, establish some relationship and rapport!
And of course, the question of “who is our neighbor” is an expansive one that is posed to Christ in the Gospels. So then, we may ask, who are the people we are called to be in relationship with?
God does not ask us to be islands unto ourselves. Rather, the Christian life is one wrapped up in the midst of many different community commitments.
To know other people, made in the image of God, is a primary commitment of the Christian life—and Proverbs encourages us to get to know people proximal to us. What a blessing it is to be reminded of this!
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Alex
