The apostles reported everything to Jesus. But they also did it in community. My mentor, Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, taught me long ago to pay attention to the pronouns. In Mark 6:30-31, the pronouns are plural, indicating that what is occurring was happening to all of them.
One of the grave concerns in classic Christian spirituality is isolation, independence, and individualism. The ancients would agree with Three Dog Night: “One is the loneliest number.” It is also the number that cuts us off from others, leaving us extremely vulnerable to temptation. From this conviction, the earliest Christians went on to denounce such things as secrecy and duplicity.
It forever amazes me that I share things with others that I shouldn’t and withhold things from others that I should be sharing. The criterion for doing this is simple: I share things about others and withhold things about myself. This is actually a reversal of the way things should be. But I am guilty of it, and I know a lot of ministers who are as well.
We cannot leave this point about reporting without noting that the apostles shared their lives with Jesus, but did so with one another as well. Transparency is a major weapon against Henri Nouwen’s concern that too many of us are “lonely ministers practicing lonely ministry.” It is the weapon by which we slay the dragons we named above.
Community begins as soon as we connect our lives to the life of another. One trusted spouse and/or good friend is not only a precious gift; it is a hedge of protection, without which we are “sitting ducks” for the Evil One.
Oboedire 