EXERCISE 32: Living in the New Community
Two Gospels record Jesus’ call to living an ideal life in God’s New Community. This Exercise invites you to meditate on how you might live out this new understanding of human existence in your own relationships with others.
After you have stilled yourself, read the following passage Matthew 5:1-11 slowly and carefully.
Imagine what life might be like – what your life might be like – if everyone behaved as these Beatitudes suggest. What would be different? What would you miss from your present life-style? What advantages would Jesus’ suggested life-style have, for you, for others?
Can you imagine what the ‘Kingdom of God,’ or “God’s New Community’ might be like if it was based on these life-style choices?
Now read Acts 2: 40-47. This is a description – albeit perhaps idealized to make a point – of the lifestyle of the early followers of Jesus after his death, and after the moment of enlightenment which has been called “Pentecost.” What are your reactions and feelings to reading this way of life?
Journal your responses.