Outside Reading #3

Our class discussions and the trail journals I have read about the Camino de Santiago reminded me of the community in Acts 2:

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2: 46-47

The Camino creates a unique environment that promotes community. People of different race, nationality, age, religion, etc. join together in their shared experience and create bonds with each other. They become joyful when they see people they've met before, and they are eager to know those they haven't. One recount of the trail said that even with people you did not necessarily like, you felt a sense of joy when you reunited. On the Camino, people travel together; share their personal stories, reasons for walking the Camino, and experiences so far; provide motivation and aid to one another; and regularly dine together. This seems to reflect the atmosphere of this Acts community, being vulnerable with each other, sharing in each other's joys and sorrows, bringing new members into the community daily. I long to experience this sense of unity among those I would not otherwise know and with whom I may have nothing in common.

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