The Importance Of Community Life In The Old Testament

“Community, the genuine union of beings, is created out of the depths of promise of my being. It is not produced. Community is meeting; and that meeting which calls to the other from all that I am is essentially creative: something new happens, I become something that I was only potentially before, and in this connection I must think in terms of gilt or grace” . "Community, Martin Buber writes, "is where community happens” . There is something in genuine meeting which extends beyond calculations, plans, and projects. In other words, community is a gift. Each member is a gift to the community. Being gift to the community means that “each member of the community is not a part-time member but actively participates and shares in the life of the community such as time, talents, love, views and

“Right from the very beginning – creation story till date, the Christian tradition holds it that believers were called to community.” Upon freeing the people of Israel from Egypt, God enters into a covenant with them on the Sinai Mountain addressing them through Moses promising to make them a kingdom of Priests, a holy nation only if they keep his covenant. God wanted his people to share in his love and presence. From the book of Leviticus we read “how holy God dwelt in the midst of the Israelite community” . The Covenant that God made with his People was sealed by the blood of communion sacrifices and contained two fundamental laws: Love of God with all their heart and love of their neighbour as themselves. “The neighbour in question was a fellow country man, your brother. Of this the covenanted people sing in (Ps 133:1-3). How good it is where the people dwell as one.” From the beginning of time, God created man to live in communion not as an individual, to love each other as he loved them implying this sense of