All Things Common

Remember that verse in Acts? Chapter 4 verse 32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."

Jury duty. I spent last week and have the pleasure of spending next week with a room full of strangers. None of us knew each other, and that is something they look for in a jury. There is a young lady that works at Mcdonald's. A young man who is a student at the fashion institute of technology. There is a golf pro, a church secretary, and an aircraft machinist. A retired lady who has a horse farm. A criminal justice student. A school teacher and a bank manager. They are great people. I have laughed harder in the jury room than I would have imagined, as we are not allowed to talk about the case, and we are learning a lot about ourselves. One lady brought fudge and another brought donuts. Looking forward to what is going to happen next week. Of course, we do have things in common. We are all residents of Sedgwick County. We are either registered to vote or have a drivers license. Interestingly enough, we are all white Caucasian on this jury, but since that matches with the plaintiff and defendent, it is okay. There are a few of these ladies that I think I would have been friends with had I met them anywhere. But without jury I wouldn't have met them. I have been thinking about how you can put a group of strangers in a room, the future of other individuals in their hands, and how quickly they bond. Will see what happens when it goes to deliberation, but right now, there is a camaraderie that surprised me. It took three days before a couple of the women were feeding the group. One offered a ride to another next week because she was gong to have scheduling difficulty. There is one young man that always holds the door for everyone. Kindness from strangers. It has made an interesting experience a positive experience, the kindness of people I don't know towards me and towards others any time, but especially at this time of year is a true blessing. Juror 13. That's me. Weird number, there are 14 on this jury.

I believe the early Church was like that, when it said they had "all things common", it was a choice to look after each other, to share. Do we choose to get along? To look for what makes us common to each other? Wouldn't we all be better if we looked for good and things to enjoy about each other?