CIA--Community In Action

Snow!  The South got snow!  (And the North, etc.  In fact, on Tuesday of this week, the news reporter said all but one state in the United States had snow somewhere in it. I bet that's a record.)

I love snow!  I love how it falls through the sky.  I love how it blankets the earth.  I love to sled, to make snowballs, to make snowmen, and snow angels.  I love to watch others do the same.

Snow is pure.  It's pristine.  Its whiteness covers all the leaves, the dirt, the roads, everything.  Everything looks fresh, bright, and new.  Cleansed.  This reminds me of two verses in the Scriptures that show we are cleansed whiter than snow:

Isaiah 1:18 (NIV)

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
   says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
   they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
   they shall be like wool.

Psalm 51:7 (NIV)

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
   wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow.... how can you get much whiter than that?!?!  Being cleansed is a different topic than I started out on, but when I think of snow, I can't help but think of these verses.

Snow covered streets and yards make for fun sledding.  The roads aren't great for travel, however.  And once the slush refreezes, the ice is even more dangerous for driving.  That has been our situation here in the South.  Our area was blessed with 8 inches of snow.  Our neighborhood has several hills. 

On Tuesday afternoon, I observed several neighbors out shovelling the slush in the road.  We live on top of one of the hills.  About 6 people were out there moving the snow and slush to the sides of the roads.  CIA-- community in action.  Folks working together to serve one another and the rest of us.  As snowplows don't come into our area, we either had to wait it out or drive it away.  These folks took the time and the energy for the 3rd option-- to shovel it away.  As I had overdone it Monday helping my husband with our driveway so he could get to work (shovelling is a tad painful for already pained frozen shoulders), I went outside to say "thank you" to my neighbors.  I'm not sure that "thank you" is enough, but it was all I could offer at the moment.  Their sacrifice of time, effort, and energy made it possible for everyone else in the neighborhood to travel safely.  Plus, they demonstrated an excellent example of community in action, of people coming together, working together for a purpose.

I heard about another example of community in action as I listened to our President last night at the Tuscon Memorial Service.  He shared about how two men wrestled down the shooter, how a lady wrestled away the ammunition, how husbands shielded their wives from bullets with their own bodies, etc.  Examples of sacrificing, one for another.  Examples of people in community putting others before themselves, reaching out, going out of their comfort zones, risking their lives, working together. 

It is wonderful to see community in action.  Community is how we are called to live.  However, it seems that these days, it takes something out of the ordinary (like a blustery snow or a senseless shooting) to bring us together into community. 

We have become very private and independent, even in our neighborhoods.  When is the last time you've had a block party or borrowed tools or sugar from a neighbor?

What would it be like to live daily in community?  Intentionally serving one another, reaching out to one another, putting others before ourselves.  Some people do this.  In fact, there are even communities of people living in such a way sharing their finances, their garden tools, their homes, etc. 

Shane Claiborne talks about community in action (among other things) in his book The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical (Zondervan: 2006).

This is one thing he says in the book about the community in which he lives:

"We are not even trying to spread a model of community.  We are just trying to discover a new (ancient) kind of Christianity.  We are about spreading a way of life that exists organically and relationally and is marked by such a brilliant love and grace that no one could resist it." (348) 

If you'd like to learn more about the community in which he lives, check out their website: http://www.thesimpleway.org/.

 Maybe you can't do what Shane is doing.  But, what can you apply to where you are now?  What can I apply?  Do we wait until the next snowstorm or shooting or other out of the ordinary event to reach out to those around us?  Or, can we find a way to start showing love and grace to those around us now?

What would it be like if we were all to live intentionally as communities in action?

May there be joy in your journey!

~Debra