Cheers

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.                                                     John 13:34-35

Cheers was the name of a popular comedy show in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. It had a great cast, excellent writing, and it had a recurrent theme – a welcoming community- that resonated with a country that was increasingly becoming less connected socially.

The theme song of the show had a refrain that went:

 Sometimes you wanna go
Where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You want to be where everybody knows your name

I always thought that the things that hooked people about the show were the relationships of the quirky characters, the care that they had for one another, and that in a world that often felt uncaring and impersonal, where people felt increasingly isolated, at least at Cheers, “everybody knew your name”.

We seek community, yet we are embroiled with social isolation that often looks like pseudo community. The silos of social media and various news media that have a particular slant on news (both right and left), tend to drive people into competing camps.  

The early church thrived on a sense of community. They could survive persecution and privation because they were together. We need community more than ever these days as the political environment becomes increasingly bifurcated. A return to the simple commands of Jesus that Christians will be known for their love of one another can be a beacon of hope in a time when again we want that sense of belonging and acceptance that everyone needs.

Prayer: Remind us again of your commands to love one another, Amen