When he was twelve years old, they went up to the feast according to the custom.

Luke 2:42

It is no secret that millions of Americans are suffering from loneliness. There has been an increasing sense of isolation for many since the COVID-19 lockdown. In 2024, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that 30% of adults reported feeling lonely at least once a week. Perhaps you have felt lonely at some point, maybe you have not, but many around you continue to struggle daily with the search for meaning in their daily lives.

One of the main solutions for loneliness is community. But where does one find community when community has become so diverse, so complex, so ridden with tension? When Jesus was twelve years old, he went up to feast according to the custom. Jesus went to participate in a community gathering. It was customary for the Jews to make this annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Jesus went to be with community; a community that had shared customs, language, habits, but most importantly shared faith practices. Jesus went towards those with whom he found some commonality. This is a good starting point.

Perhaps this is part of the solution for loneliness. It is this intentional and purposeful moving towards each other rather than away from each other. For believers, community is founded by God through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Paul puts it, we are all members of one body, “If one part suffers all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” (I Corinthians 12:26.).

Are you lonely? Are you suffering? Go out and find community. Better yet, build one. Find those people with whom you have shared values, interests, culture and faith and then seek to grow together. It is within the bounds of community that Jesus grew in wisdom and favor with God and man, and we can too.