One in Heart & Mind
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Consider your belonging to the web of life. Consider your place in the family of all things. Consider the gift and delight of participating in God’s co-creation.
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession… Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which one must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs one his life, and it is grace because it gives one the only true life.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Acts 4:32-35
The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, ‘That’s mine; you can’t have it.’ They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them. And so, it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.
Food for Thought
In the book of Acts we are told the story of the early church who were “one in heart and mind” (4:32, NIV). Their unity was created by their praxis—the combination of their communal mentality and their mutual aid. They claimed no possessions as their own, neither land nor gold. They sold and shared their wealth, and “not a person among them was needy”
(4:34).
What a hope and vision for our modern life.
The bustle of the holidays may leave us wanting to hyper-consume, and the turmoil of politics may leave us wanting to take care of me and mine. But the holiday season is also an invitation to remember the one whose birth introduced a new kin-dom based in relationality not hierarchy. The one who connected the commandment to love God with the commitment to love neighbor and self. The one who blessed the poor. The one who fed thousands with a humble offering of two fish and five loaves of bread. The one who inspired an alternate economy to that of empire, where his followers shared all they had according to each person’s need.
Each of us possesses skills, talents, and resources to offer for the building up of a community in which there is no need among us. We each have a role to play, and we need each other to discern our gifts.
I recently became acquainted with a practice that speaks to this kind of communal discernment and mobilization—community asset and resource mapping. This exercise counteracts a social negativity bias, where we can often be conditioned to first look for problems within neighborhoods and communities. The questions we currently ask might sound more like, “What is wrong with this area?” and “What is wrong with us?”, and in turn our conversations and public discourses spiral into blame and punishment.
Community asset and resource mapping starts with a different set of questions: “What is right with this area?” and “What is right with us?” As people of faith, we might also add, “How is the Spirit already moving?” As a collaborative exercise, asset and resource mapping involves everyone in a neighborhood or a community taking inventory of our diverse strengths: individual (skills, experiences, interests), communal (cultures, networks, associations), institutional (buildings, providers, services), and geographical (landscapes, plants, and animals). Community mapping shows us our interconnection and potential. As a practice, it identifies people as gifts, not problems, and it cultivates our personal and collective agency to build a more just world.
I’m reminded of the Appalachian communities who are sharing resources after the destruction of Hurricane Helene. The neighbors on my parents’ street who are supporting a widow in her financial distress. The folks in my circle who are providing food and childcare to a friend after their recent surgery. The people who will spend the upcoming holidays at soup kitchens, shelters, and detention centers.
Their way of caring for each other is much like the early church who claimed no possessions as their own but shared everything they had among them.
Jesus said the kin-dom of God is both here and not yet. It is made flesh among us as we use our gifts for building systems that support the flourishing of all life—humans, plants, animals, and earth. In this holiday season, may we turn toward each other in gratitude, recognizing each other as gifts, not problems, and affirm each person’s strengths as offerings to God and community. Like the early church of Jesus, let us be one in heart and mind, seeking to embody practices that are rooted in mutuality and unity, helping us to grow communities that are grounded in care for one another.
Take some time this week to reflect and journal about some of the ways we may have internalized the norms of our society, like individualism and consumerism, over the values of our faith, like interconnectedness and generosity? How can we better align the practices of our daily life with our deepest held values? What gifts, strengths, talents, and resources do you have to offer the community? How can you affirm the gifts, strengths, talents, and resources of those around you?
The holidays are upon us and maybe you are finding yourself slightly nervous. On the heels of the election, it can be hard to know how to navigate or approach all that might divide us if brought up in conversation. To help our readers navigate this season, our team created a short resource to provide you with Five Things to Remember When Setting a Welcome Table for the Holidays! We hope it will help you set a welcoming space before your guests even arrive!
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
God who provides,
Spirit who creates life and nurtures gifts in each one of us—
Let gratitude well up in our spirits as we contemplate your great love. Help us discern our unique contribution to the community. Lead us in affirming the strengths of others. Guide us as we reorient our lives around your kin-dom. May we share what we have. May there one day be no need among us.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Take some time to identify personal and collective strengths of a group you are a member of. What are your gifts, strengths, talents, and resources for building up God’s kin-dom?
Can you think of a time when you worked together with others toward helping someone in need? What was needed in that effort and how did everyone bring their unique and shared gifts to the task?
What unique opportunities do you have for identifying and affirming the gifts of others?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your kiddo: What is your favorite thing about yourself? What are your strengths? What are your interests? Help your kiddo think about how these strengths and interests can help the community.
Ask your child to name the gifts and interests of their friends. Remind your child that when we bring our gifts and resources together, we can offer more to our world than any one person can alone.
Think together about what items (toys, clothing, tools, etc.) you can donate or give away? As the holiday gift-giving season approaches, consider working with your kiddos to give something away for every new thing you bring into the home.
Meet This week’s writer!
Dr. Keith A. Menhinick is Lecturer in Religious Studies at Georgia State University. Keith is also a certified teacher of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® through the Trauma Resource Institute. Keith’s research focuses on lived religion, spiritual care, and trauma resiliency in marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ+. Prior to joining the GSU faculty, he taught spiritual care at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and worked as a Managing Editor of Practical Matters journal. He also has experience as a healthcare chaplain, children’s home chaplain, progressive church minister, and high school English teacher. Keith is an ordained minister in the Alliance of Baptists. Outside of work, Keith enjoys poetry, cartoons, dancing, and back porches.
To hear more from Keith throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!