As a part of our Making Room worship series, last week I preached on Paul’s second letter to Corinth, where he recalls the shift we undergo in faith of seeing Jesus no longer “from a human point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16). He calls us to apply the same change to how we experience one another, to move beyond our divisive limitations and instead participate in the ministry of reconciliation. Of renewed, holy connection.
It must have still been in my head on Tuesday morning when, speaking with someone, they hesitated to even say the word “diversity”. Asking what was behind it, they acknowledged that it’s a charged word these days. And it is, but, I said to her then – and it’s been ringing in my head since – that to be faithful to the God of creation, to the God that came to die for all, to the
God whose Holy Spirit is present for all, is to acknowledge, celebrate, and live into diversity.
On the one hand, it’s simple… right? We believe God is creator, and we see diversity. So diversity is intentional, a part of God’s plan. We recall that Jesus’ life and ministry was marked not just by those he chose to be with outside of the expectations of his faith, but including those very people that his faith had excommunicated. And you can practically summarize his first sermon in Luke 4 – though with less patience, nuance, and poetry – by saying, “get over
yourselves; it’s not about you” as he reminded those gathered that God has and will continue to work through people like the widow at Zarephath in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian… you know: people who don’t look like you. Sound like you. Even believe like you.
But of course, it’s not that simple, and like many of you I know that from looking at my own life. Where the makeup of most of my family and friends would not be called diverse. Like a lot of people, familiarity, common experiences and the like, provides comfort. And that’s not likely to
change overnight.
The risk is the warning Paul gives us: be a part of reconciliation. Don’t see one another any longer from a human point of view. In other words, acknowledge that we see things from our perspective, and avoid assuming it’s the only one. Or even, necessarily, the right one. Acknowledge the beauty of God’s diverse creation, and of our blessed place in it. And acknowledge the blessed place of others as well.
I don’t fully know what that looks like, except to note that our pride can get in the way of our participation in the diverse creation, the diverse kingdom of God. It reminds me of something I discuss with couples in pre-marital counseling, that they – being two different people – even in their beautiful, loving connection, will sometimes see things differently. And not just a little
differently, but sometimes a lot differently. And sometimes, they’ll both be right. When that happens to us, if our pride doesn’t allow for another’s experience, for a diverse reality, for differences, then we will miss out. Not just on learning from one another, but from a faithful participation in the kingdom of God.
I pray that we would make room for others, for the traditions and experiences and lives of others, in such a way that we would experience the joy of God’s beautiful and diverse creation.
Rev. Ben Richards
