The essay gives voice to something many people sense but struggle to name: that obligation, resistance, and shared time shape us in ways creature comforts never can.
One need not be religious to observe that human flourishing requires commitments that do not optimise for immediate preference. Christianity, at its core, is less about assent to propositions than trust placed in a reality that confronts us from beyond ourselves. The Christian claim is that meaning enters the world through incarnation, presence, and costly attention rather than frictionless affirmation.
Communities formed around that pattern endure because they ask something of us, and in doing so, form people disposed toward sustaining one another. The potlucks and post-service coffees are the sundae: convivial, unnecessary to the structure, yet oddly convincing once you’ve tasted it.
This essay is such a great synthesis of so much that’s been on my mind. Lately I’ve been trying to have people over for dinner on a regular basis to try and build community. People often react to my invitations with surprise, like it’s such an unexpected thing. But it’s such a great, anti-consumer way to spend time together.
This was absolutely excellent and deeply resonant. I read it twice! Thank you for writing. Sharing it with many of the people I know now!
The essay gives voice to something many people sense but struggle to name: that obligation, resistance, and shared time shape us in ways creature comforts never can.
One need not be religious to observe that human flourishing requires commitments that do not optimise for immediate preference. Christianity, at its core, is less about assent to propositions than trust placed in a reality that confronts us from beyond ourselves. The Christian claim is that meaning enters the world through incarnation, presence, and costly attention rather than frictionless affirmation.
Communities formed around that pattern endure because they ask something of us, and in doing so, form people disposed toward sustaining one another. The potlucks and post-service coffees are the sundae: convivial, unnecessary to the structure, yet oddly convincing once you’ve tasted it.
This essay is such a great synthesis of so much that’s been on my mind. Lately I’ve been trying to have people over for dinner on a regular basis to try and build community. People often react to my invitations with surprise, like it’s such an unexpected thing. But it’s such a great, anti-consumer way to spend time together.