One Another: Summer Series

"One another"

Think about that phrase for a moment.  When you think about it, it's a bit of an odd phrase, isn't it?

"One" is just one person, normally me!  We know ourselves and look after ourselves.  But if all of my attention is only focused on myself, that's not healthy.  Relationships, community, they are part of being human, part of how God means for us to live.

"Another" is somebody else, not me.  It's good to be aware and caring and considerate of others.  Mind you, if I never take care of myself - to rest, to exercise, to eat healthily - and if I never accept care from others, well, that's not really healthy either.

"One" and "another" are kind of opposites.  And then here we are, mashing them together into a single phrase - "One another"!  Me plus others, at the same time.  Now go one step further, and imagine a community of "one anothers".  Imagine if, instead of there being a deficit of care - not enough to go around - there was a surplus.  Picture the flow of love, going backwards and forwards, as people in a community, aware of each other's needs, and their own, give and receive care and support.

In the Bible, Paul describes Jesus' church as a body that "grows and builds itself up in love", because the body is full of "one anothers".  It's an inspiring vision of healthy and full community.  It's one we aspire to, even as we're all on a journey to discover more about it.

The Greek for "one another" is allélón, and it occurs exactly 100 times in the New Testament – that’s a lot!  Each occurrence is rich in meaning for some aspect of community.

This summer we're going to look at some of the "one anothers" of the Bible.  Sadly we won't get chance to look at all 100!  But we will see some of them,  discover fresh aspects of community, and be inspired to put “one another-ing” more into practice.