Being Real and Having Community

Rev. Tim Travers

May 19, 2025

Reading

Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are important when they aren’t, they’re fooling themselves.
Galatians 6:2-3 (CEB)

Reflection

Pastor Brandon stated in his sermon, “Deep in our hearts, we know that none of our coping strategies can set us free.” We all have something that binds us—some perennial struggle that hinders us from fully living into the kingdom of God. It’s okay to admit that. In fact, unless we can admit it, we’re unlikely to experience the healing and freedom God intends for us.

As we mature in faith, we come to understand that we never outgrow our need to surrender ourselves to God. When we own our struggles, we find deeper connection with others. We feel welcomed. We feel like we belong. That’s when we begin to experience true community.

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen wrote, “Hospitality becomes community as it creates a unity based on the shared confession of our basic brokenness and on a shared hope.”

Reflecting on Nouwen’s words, I thought about how much damage is done each day by people using social media to appear admirable, wealthy, confident, or popular. Social media has the potential to create community, but all too often it does the opposite. Don’t get me wrong—I’m grateful for the ways it helps me stay in touch with family, friends, and colleagues. But I’m also saddened by how often it’s used to curate perfection or tear others down.

Too many posts either glorify the self or devolve into rants about others’ behavior or beliefs. The result? Readers are left feeling inadequate—children, youth, and adults alike.

Let’s face it: none of us are perfect. That’s why I so appreciate when someone shares a story about the kindness or support they’ve received from others. I’m drawn to tributes to beloved mentors or teachers, or to honest stories of personal struggle and the grace that followed. These are the stories that witness to real community—and help create it.

Social media can’t replace small groups or face-to-face connection, but it can be a place of welcome when people choose honesty over image.

Renouncing the impulse to impress others with filtered perfection is a liberating act. Being real with one another creates bonds that enrich life. As Nouwen wrote, it creates “a unity based on the shared confession of our basic brokenness.” When we’re honest with God and with others, true freedom becomes possible.

Do you have someone in your life with whom you could share deeply? If you speak honestly about your spiritual struggles, it might give you the support and accountability you need. And you might become the support someone else has been longing for.

Prayer
Almighty and loving God, we can’t do life on our own. We find endless ways to distract ourselves, but if we want abundant life, we must be honest—with ourselves and with others. Lord, guide us by your Holy Spirit as we seek to live in your Kingdom. Help us be real with one another, that we might strengthen the bonds of Christian love in our homes, our churches, our communities, and our world. Amen.