Essential to everyone — any Christian, any believer, any non-believer — is community. In a community one finds support and strength through participation in a group. The Saint John’s Bible provides this rich depiction of Life in Community. Let’s focus on two main aspects; Mary, mother of Jesus, who is seen in the center; and a table that is set. One can assume that the main message of this picture is that the church is made of all types of people. While this statement is true, there is more to the message. We see the people seated at one table, this is a call for us to invite everyone, including those who are on the margins of our society, to one community.
Let us sit and break bread with those who Jesus served. This cannot be accomplished if people are left outside the banquet hall begging for their next meal. This image invokes the call to work towards a society in which the poor and marginalized become our sisters and brothers. A call to build community where all life is supported and accepted, in a space where all of creation can live in solidarity with one another. Mary seated in the center reminds us of the call and our duty to answer it. Through her fiat at the annunciation, she invites us to also to lay our life down so that others may have life. Her example is a reminder that believers need humility and openness to God’s will. The first step to building this community is in complete acceptance and openness to Providence. Let us accept that call to break down the walls of inequality and inequity, inviting and allowing everyone to share in this feast.
This commentary was contributed by James Gumataotao, a senior Theology major and a member of the Library’s Research Desk team.