Crowds

As Megan McKenna reminds me, a crowd does not become a community until there is sharing.  In the gospels for instance, a crowd follows Jesus, but they do not become a community until they share food, as in the feeding of the 5000+. Pot Lucks are all about building a community.  If everyone comes with nothing expecting someone else to provide, then you have a crowd, but not a community. When there is a soup kitchen or bread line, people are fed, but they remain disconnected from one another.  A community is strong when all the pot lucks work out just right for everyone.  The skid row person is alienated from everyone until they begin to share something, what little they have, with another skid row person.  A shared bottle of cheap wine is an attempt to relate.  So the next time you find yourself with a large group of people, a rock concert, for instance, or going to see the Pope, ask yourself if you are part of a crowd or part of a community?  What did you bring to share with another?