Contemporary Americans are, on average, disconnected from one another. Psychological surveys have shown that the number of close friends the regular American possesses has decreased during the twenty-first century, with many saying that they have no friends to confide in about personal issues. Political rhetoric and dialogue has become increasingly polarized, with both the right and the left demonizing the other for both having the “wrong” ideas and questionable moral character. The age of respecting one another despite our differences has long been over. All that remains is obstinance and hard feelings.
It is for this reason that fellowship with one another, especially in the Orthodox Church and among Christians, is of the utmost importance. We need friends to help us with our problems; the American ideal of pulling yourself up by your own boot straps is an illusion. We are simply not capable of being self-sufficient. Only through knowing Christ and His Church can we come to know ourselves and each other.
When Jesus ascended into heaven after conquering sin, death, and hell by His resurrection, He did not only leave behind certain ideas and teachings. He left behind a physical and tangible community of believers that were struggling to, in the words of St. Paul, “work out your own [their own] salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12). He promised to send them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who would lead them into all truth. And He assured them of His own continued presence among them: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20). In other words, He left us not by ourselves, but with each other.
And it is of the greatest importance to live and function in communion with one another in the community that Christ has established on earth. Each one of us is made in the image of God and given the grace to become unto His likeness. Therefore, when I learn something about my neighbor, I am ultimately learning something about God. And when I show love to my neighbor, I am showing love to God. St. John the Theologian expresses this idea in his first epistle:
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20)
Of course, loving one another takes great effort, struggle, and the setting aside of our own pride. It is only in and through this struggle that I can learn to appreciate who my neighbor is and how he/she reflects the image of God. May God grant us His grace to and love each other truly.
