Koinonia

It’s that time of year – the clock has struck midnight – the old year has gone and the new year has begun.  Everyone is taking stock of their lives – making plans to do things better – searching for the word that will define their new year.  I usually abstain from this kind of activity because it tends to lead to frustration and discouragement when things don’t turn out quite the way I hoped or expected.

However, this year, I do have a word that I want to permeate everything I say and do in 2019.  This word has been percolating in my heart for months now.  And, as I’ve pondered it during the last weeks of the old year and the first week of the new, I have a better understanding of exactly what it means.

I thought that my word for the new year was “community.”  However, after some prayer and reflection, I realized that this English word doesn’t really capture what God has been stirring in my heart.  But, there is a Greek word that does:  koinonia.

Koinonia is sometimes translated as community, but it means much, much more than this single English word.  It is one of those rich words that doesn’t have a pure English equivalent.  As I’ve studied this word, I’ve found that “koinonia” can be translated in many ways:  community, communion, joint participation, sharing, and even joint contribution.

Koinonia is used to describe the state of the early church in the 2^nd chapter of Acts where it says that “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Or, translated another way:  “They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together (koinonia), the common meal, and prayers.”

Koinonia is also used in Romans 15 to describe the way in which believers in Macedonia pooled their resources to help the poor in Jerusalem: “ The Greeks – all the way from the Macdeonians in the north to the Achaians in the south – decided they wanted to take up a collection (koinonia) for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.  They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty.  Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty.”

When we think of community, we usually think of a group of people who live in proximity to each other and who occasionally hang out together and who occasionally call each other when something good (or bad) is happening in their lives and who occasionally worship together.  But, koinonia is more than that.  Koinonia implies deep relationships – communal experiences – collective worship – shared resources.  It represents lives that are interconnected and intertwined in a beautiful way.  It means that someone always has your back.  It signifies looking up to God and reaching out to others – together. 

I think that this is the kind of community that God intended for us to experience as believers.  But, sadly, most of us never achieve this in the context of our local churches.  It’s not for lack of trying on the part of church leadership.  It’s a by-product of our overly-scheduled, excessively-busy, checklist-oriented lives.  Developing a koinonia type of community takes time and energy.  It requires commitment and investment.  It means slowing down and spending time talking and eating and worshipping and praying together. 

My pastor always says that “Lone Rangers are Dead Rangers.”  This statement is so true!  But, many of us have fooled ourselves into believing that we AREN’T Lone Rangers simply because we check in at church on Sunday morning or show up at small group occasionally.  And, while these things are good and necessary, they aren’t enough.  They can sometimes give us the false illusion of having a community.  Because, when it gets right down to it and things start to go south in our lives, we often realize that there’s no one to call – no one to help – no one to encourage us or walk alongside us or pull us out of the pit.

Koinonia (community) doesn’t happen by accident.  It is the result of intentionally sharing life together with others.  So, that’s my goal for 2019.  Anyone care to join me?