If it is my duty to get something done, I prefer it to be done with my neighbor’s advice, even if I do not agree with them and it goes wrong, rather than to be guided by my own opinion and have it turn out right.

A lot of churchy words and concepts start with the prefix “com-“. Communion, compassion, community, commandments, common, comfort, comely, commentary… I could go on, but the essence of the meanings all focus on the simple concept of “with.” Our faith is a shared reality. Oh, many people try to make it personal, private, and secretive, but all this represents is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be Christian. “Where two or three are gathered,” Christ is there. We are the body of Christ, together. Jesus sent the disciples out two-by-two. Jesus taught groups of people and the word we translate as “you” was in the plural much more often than the singular. It is impossible to celebrate communion all by yourself. No individual constitutes a community of faith. Compassion requires relationship.

Dorotheos of Gaza lived a lifetime of faith with – faith with family, faith with others in brotherhood, faith in fellowship, and faith in community. What is absolutely wonderful is that he is 100% honest about how difficult, irritating, challenging, annoying, faith-testing, and aggravating it often is. And he wouldn’t have it any other way! Some of his brother monks were real jerks. They did some terrible things to one another. And the only response Dorotheos ever gave was tolerance and forgiveness. He did not just benefit from community. He needed it, and he taught others that they need it as well, if they truly want to be faithful to God. In every significant way, Dorotheos was a 6th century communist (in the very best sense of the word).

I am a baby boomer. I grew up during the Cold War, in the shadow of Communism, taught to “duck and cover” and to put a newspaper over my head to protect me from nuclear fallout (yikes!). The absolute worst insult you could launch at an opponent was to call them a “commie.” Communists and communist sympathizers were considered a human cancer. Now, there are as many different “brands” of Communism as there are breeds of dog, but that did. not. matter. And I find it fascinating that it is back in vogue with some to label some others Communists today.

<Extra credit assignment: spend some time playing with AI and ask about the politics of Jesus. I visited a dozen programs and learned that Jesus was/is: a Socialist (5 times), a Communist (3 times), Liberal (2 times), apolitical (without a bias) (2 times). I cannot find any program that automatically aligns him with conservatives or nationalists.>

So, avoiding the politically charged idea that real Christians are Communists it is unavoidable to understand that Jesus, Paul, and Dorotheos define Christians as communalists. Unless we are with, we are not fully Christian. The Christian faith demands relationship and Dorotheos goes on to make it even more challenging. As Christians working to form and support strong community, we should be seeking the opinions, perspectives, and advice of others – even when we don’t really need it. And we should set our own agendas aside to honor consensus, even when we know it won’t turn out well. This simply echoes his deep commitment to humility – not demanding our own way, not being know-it-alls, not adopting “my way or the highway” mindsets, not feeling superior to others. We so often enjoy relationships with others… on our own terms. But the strongest relationships are those that are built upon mutual respect, regard, listening, learning, and forgiveness.

Where is it within your power to be more open in your relationships? How do you feel about asking the advice of others? When do you find it most helpful? When do you find it least so?