Month: June 2017

I’m Rubber; You’re Glue

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 92; 149, Ezekiel 43:1-12, Hebrews 9:1-14, Luke 11:14-23

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

We hear that message from the time we are children, yet many adults don’t seem to get it. We divide ourselves into polarized tribes until what’s wrong and what’s right surrender to what’s won and what’s lost.

“My liberal candidate is corrupt? Well what about this conservative corruption over here?”

“My orthodox church acted hypocritically? Well your progressive church is intolerant of my beliefs!”

When our tribe sins, we rationalize away exactly the behavior we condemn our opponents for. An idea we loved when our side recommended it becomes toxic if the other side does. When Jesus cast out demons, the Pharisees accused him of doing it in the name of Beelzebub. Jesus countered by asking them in whose name they cast out demons. Too often we want “them” to lose more than we want to do what’s right. That’s just the way things are.

Or is it?

Let’s not be fooled into thinking there’s any such thing as a “typical” liberal or conservative, politically or religiously. Whichever camp you fall into (if you do), you know the tribe is not in lockstep. Internal divisions can be as spiteful as external ones. We allow the most extreme and loudest members of the “other” to define them, but dismiss our own extremists as aberrations. The truth is, people of good faith and intent can disagree on any number of issues but still find common ground and common good … as long as they remain one body.

Jesus said “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house.” It seems the first step to removing divisions is not to label other people, but maybe it’s to stop labeling ourselves. Once we embrace a label, we diminish critical thinking about our tribe and adopt antagonism toward the “other.” No label – even “Christian” – is definitive. We are limbs of the same Body. We can make slow, clumsy progress trying to force both legs to jump together, or we can stride steadily forward trusting both legs are working in opposition to get to the same place.

Comfort: The only label you need is Child of God.

Challenge: When you talk about or with someone you disagree with, try avoiding blanket words like conservative, liberal, etc. and describe the specific attitude or behavior you oppose.

Prayer: God, help us to remember we are one Body in Christ. Amen.

Discussion: What labels for people have you found to be especially harmful?

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Downstream

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 148, Ezekiel 34:17-31, Hebrews 8:1-13, Luke 10:38-42

When God spoke through Ezekiel, he compared the corrupt and powerful who exploited the poor to sheep who bullied other members of the flock:

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet? …[Y]ou pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide.

God promised to judge between the overfed and the starving – and it’s no surprise which side he favored. We can read this as a metaphor for spiritual corruption, but in a land where religion and government were the same, corruption and neglect left people starving in many ways.

Are we even aware when our daily activities foul the waters? How often do we look downstream to see how actions impact the people living there? The further upstream we are – in terms of wealth or status, or sometimes literally – the deeper our effect. The waste we generate goes somewhere, and it’s not landing in affluent suburbs.  The money we save by insisting on the lowest possible prices comes out of someone’s wages, but probably not the CEOs.  Luxuries like cell phones and electric cars include materials from mining processes that endanger children and poison the air and water of unprotected lands around the globe. Neither the pasture we trod and the stream we foul, nor the dignity and mercy God asks us to show each other, stop at state, national, or continental boundaries.

Ezekiel tells us God is not concerned with whether the overfed sheep feel they’ve been treated fairly, but with how brutally they wield their flanks and horns to fill their bellies. We’re all upstream of someone. Through conscious effort we can make more justice-oriented decisions about how we live so that those downstream have cleaner, more plentiful water. Less is more.

Comfort: If you are in need, God is on your side.

Challenge: Read this article on how wealthy nations are dumping toxic waste in poorer nations.

Prayer: Merciful God, forgive me for those I have harmed downstream. Grant me the wisdom and strength to do better. Amen.

Discussion: Do you know what happens with the hazardous trash generated by your community?

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“One of the good ones.”

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 47; 147:12-20, Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32, Hebrews 7:18-28, Luke 10:25-37

We all know one. A relative, friend, or co-worker who isn’t a terrible person but can’t completely shake off remnants of bigotry. When conversation touches on race (or religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, etc.) they make unkind blanket statements. And when we ask them how they can say that when they are friends with Sammy (who is Korean or Muslim or whatever), they say, “Oh he’s one of the good ones.”

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a story about “one of the good ones.” There was no love lost between the Samaritans and the Jews, so when one of them became the hero of a parable answering the question “Who is my neighbor?” many Jews probably considered him the exception rather than the rule.

What’s the difference between “the good ones” and the rest? Most of the time, it’s simply that we know them. When we eat lunch every day with Sammy, or when he helps us change a flat tire in the parking lot, or when he brings a casserole to our house because our spouse is ill, our conscience won’t let us lump him into a category of people we stereotype. But somehow, sometimes, we can’t make the leap to realizing Sammy isn’t an exception.

When someone categorically condemns a class of people we happen to belong to, based on the bad behavior of a few, we leap to point out, “Not all of us.” Historically (and ironically) we are less likely to be as understanding of other groups as we expect them to be of us. It’s only after we get to know people who are different from us that we recognize our similarities. Anyone who’s been in a high school cafeteria knows that’s not something we do naturally.

The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us God made Melchizedek a high priest not because he was born to the priestly class, but because he was righteous. God sees beyond categories and into hearts. Christ invites us all to the same table. We all live in God’s neighborhood, so why not get to know each other?

Comfort: Differences are not threats but opportunities.

Challenge: Rather than make assumptions about people different than you, befriend and ask them about their lives.

Prayer: Loving God, thank you for the beauty and diversity of your creation. Amen.

Discussion: What’s a stereotype you once believed but learned wasn’t true?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!