Tag Archives: Diversity

Spirit Within

Lent
March 28, 2017

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’ –Ezekiel 37:11-14

Life in the Spirit is life with God engaged. It is easy to get down on life, down on politics, down on the church. Life is hard at times and always a challenge. Living in community involves the give and take of humans striving together when each takes in the world around them in ways differing. I recently saw two pictures of the same thing one depicting the items as they are perceived by most and the other illustrating what the world looks like to the color blind. I was surprised to see the perception of what I would call blue instead of yellow. For some reason, I thought being color blind meant everything was black and white or shades of gray.

God created us in community and thus surely intended that communities of variances result in greater hope, faith and love. Let us celebrate our differences as we claim our roles living in the Spirit of the living God with all of God’s other critters.

Prayer: We thank you God for the gift of your Spirit and for the life-giving strength is provides. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States . of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Who Do We Trust?

Epiphany
February 17, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’,
and again,
‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
   that they are futile.’
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. –1 Corinthians 3:18-23

Who do we trust? Several years ago, when I was obese, I participated in a mandatory ropes course with my fellow executives to develop our teamwork skills. One of the tasks was to pick up and pass each participant through a steel web of randomly sized holes each of which could only be used once. It also had to be accomplished without the person being transferred touching the ground until they were completely on the other side. I was not sure I could fit through any of the holes and I was not too thrilled with being picked up by several people and handed over to the receivers. My transfer occurred in the middle of the process along with those who would require more than one person on each side to complete the hand off. While I hated the process, and would never choose to do it again, it did teach a vital lesson. We live in a diverse world including people with varying needs. We live in a diverse world with people of varying skills and talents. Our task is to find wholeness for all by meshing needs with appropriate skills and talents. Every human has needs as well as the ability to help others.

To be a part of God’s team working to bring about God’s Kingdom, we the people must thoughtfully consider the best and most productive ways to meet the Common Good and find or become the leadership that can and will implement them. Such actions require us to work with peoples of other faiths and people of no faith at all. It may require us to identify the practical and pragmatic sense of what it means to love our neighbors as we love ourselves so that the people with whom we are building this nation can feel comfortable working with us without concern that we are forcing our faith on them. God, it seems, is pragmatic so are God’s ways. In searching for openings too explain our values we may find that some of them are not of God at all. Likewise, if we can explain our vision in God’s universal terms, we may help others see the virtue of God who we love.

Prayer: God help us put our trust in you to guide our actions. Enable us to grow closer to you so that we readily recognize you in everything we do. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Wellsprings of Hope

Epiphany
February 9, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? –1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Because Abraham Lincoln quoted the phrase “a house divided against itself cannot stand”, many think it originated with him. Jesus initiated the saying as reported in both Matthew 12:22-28 and Mark 3:24. I am glad that President Lincoln used it as philosophical glue to hold our country together during the Civil War. I fear politicians today thrive on division. Paul realized the harm in taking sides, one follower of Christ against another, and strongly urged the new communities of faith to avoid such behavior. I firmly believed that God created diversity because no individual or single group has all the answers to life’s challenges. We all must work together to make the Kingdom of God reality.

Ruby Payne* in her work addressing poverty, particularly as it impacts education, points out that people at various income levels have markedly differing life views. I was surprised when I took the tests included in her work to realize I knew little if anything about surviving in poverty (even though I had worked with poverty programs for years at the time) and knew even less about being wealthy. I scored well on being middle class.

Robert Kennedy, raised in wealth, advocated eloquently for the poor. How did he gain the insights needed to champion the cause of the poor? He dwelt among them. He traveled through the worst impoverished areas in the USA, played with the children, talked with the parents, and got a gut full of the horrors of malnutrition and hopelessness.

It takes effort, persistence, and patience to work with diverse opinions, but unity, oneness is the only thing that does work.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the beauty in all your children, make us wellsprings of hope as we work to be one in your love. Amen.

*See A Framework for Understanding Poverty: A Cognitive Approach by Ruby Payne and Bridges Out of Poverty by Ruby Payne and others with information at http://www.ahaprocess.com/solutions/community/

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Making the Diverse One

Advent
December 1, 2016

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:4-13

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that thbilingual_speaker_2_by_getty_imagese Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name’ –Romans 15:7-9

Making the diverse one is easier said than done. Paul felt called to take the message of Jesus to non-Jewish people. People unacquainted with the rich, ancient traditions of Judaism. He walked a fine line as he helped Jews, steeped in the faith from the womb, equally welcome the Gentiles who in Jewish perception were unclean. Do we get a sense of the massive communications problems with which Paul dealt? He could not say, “It is like the Exodus or the exiles” with the expectation that his Gentile audience had any idea about what he spoke. Paul apparently knew the works of the ancient Greek philosophers and could weave them into his discussions with Gentiles but most likely not with Jews.

We face the same challenge today with an even wider canvass of differences in a world with instant communications. Millions can read an off-handed tweet sent in a burst of anger in a few minutes. We are quickly becoming a populace not trusting much if anything we read at least on social media. We are also being distracted by what is probably less than relevant in the long run, while important issues land at the bottom of the rubble of postings and responses. I do not see this as either good or bad. It is change. We will adapt to it, hopefully for the good. I once advised state employees never to send anything via email that they would not mind their mother reading on the front page of the local paper. I think that is even better advice today.

During this Advent season let us examine all our communications considering whether they support oneness. If they do not, how can they be changed to help us become one?

Prayer: Lord, may the words of my mouth, and my tweets and my emails and all my posts and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you*. Amen.

*Derived from Psalm 19:14

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Ethnocentric

EthnocentricityLiving in the Spirit
July 29, 2016

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! –Colossians 3:11

Ethnocentric*
1: centering upon race as a chief interest or end
2a: inclined to regard one’s own race or social group as the center of culture
b: exhibiting an incapacity for viewing foreign cultures dispassionately

I first discovered the word “Ethnocentric” in Sociology 103. A required basic college course taken in my first semester, it changed my life and my major. I came to school in pursuit of a degree in speech pathology, left with a degree in pre-social work sociology. The Watts Riots, happening in August 1965 a few days before I left for college, also had an impact. Fresh off the farm and small town life, entering a college world that challenged thinking was a going home experience. I found myself there.

I am the substance of my background and upbringing. I probably sang Jesus loves the little Children, All the Children of the World** by the time I could speak full sentences. Singing songs and reciting memory verses about doing unto others and loving our neighbors plants the seeds of Christ’s way. Most of us never realize when we have picked up cultural norms without even thinking. The realities of racism, elitism, sexism, and the other areas of life by which we take on our ethnocentric tendencies while subtly acquired, require intentionally expunging.

The lessons of the early church apply to us today. What is of God and what is of culture? Discerning the answer to these questions was necessary for the fledgling way of Christ to come to fruition. It remains necessary today as we journey geographically and culturally to the ends of the earth and perhaps even beyond.

Prayer: Lord, you call us to serve in a diverse world. We can see it either as a dangerous threat to our ethnocentric ways or as an opportunity in which we can see even more facets of your glorious love. Give us courage to discern your way and live it. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Ethnocentricity
**Jesus Loves the Little Children, words by C. Herbert Woolston. See at http://www.allaboutgod.com/jesus-loves-the-little-children.htm. An updated version.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Open-my-EyesLent
February 9, 2016

Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. –Philippians 3:20-4:1

Following the Christ, the Promised One of God, is our chosen task right now, every minute of every day. While we seek to walk in his way, we are actively being reformed and transformed in ways small and great. It is interesting to look back, say five years ago, and recollect the subtle changes in our ways. Take a few minutes to seek with God’s help how you are different today than you were then.

The United States is in the midst of a mighty population shift already present in most of our major cities but coming to small towns and rural areas too. For the first time in our history the number of persons of color is surpassing the number of persons who identify as being white. That demographic is forcing those of us who are white to recognize whiteness as having a culture of its own. When one lives in the culture that dominates a space of land, whether by sheer numbers or by power as in South Africa that culture is accepted or at least acknowledged as being the culture that all others must accommodate. It is not necessarily either good or bad, it can be either, or just neutral. It exists and it is very hard to see and it is thus even harder to change when it needs to change. It became glaringly obvious recently when the Academy Awards had few if any persons of color winning anything even when some of the best movies of the year included persons of color in all aspects of their making.

Our acknowledging our need for help in making this journey to equality in diversity is the first step in being reformed and transformed. Our placing that acknowledgement before God enlists God’s help.

Prayer:
Open my eyes that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me,
   Spirit Divine*! Amen.

*First verse and chorus of hymn Open my Eyes words by Clara H. Scott. See at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/807

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Worship Practices Differing

Sister%20Barbara%20Lum%203%20(1000x615)Epiphany
February 2, 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 34:29-35

When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him. –Exodus 34:33-35

The wearing of veils in our day and time is a controversial issued tied up in our ability to accept differing religious and cultural practices. I was hospitalized around the age of five for a short time in our local hospital which at that time was operated by a Catholic order of nuns. I had never seen a nun before, at least not one clad in a habit from head to toe. I remember not knowing what to make of them. My mother explained that they were nurses and all nurses, like the ones in my doctor’s office, wore uniforms. These nurses just wore a different kind of uniform because of their faith. It is a rare sight to see a nun in a habit anymore.

When I worked for the state, I did job interviews to fill an economist vacancy in my division. Two of the applicants were Muslim. One presented in an attractive business suit with a colorful blouse and had no head covering, the other wore a black scarf and an all-black pant suit including a black blouse. This is emblematic of the world in which we now live where cultures and religions intersect in all facets of life.

The story about Moses’ worship practices as they continued following his descent from the mountain does not say whether he chose to continue to cover his face because he felt that was best for the Israelites or because it was meaningful to him personally and his relationship with God. I believe this scripture suggest the latter and I believe it gives us guidance on how we should respect the practices people of all religions follow as they honor God. What is meaningful for one may not be meaningful to me and what is meaningful to me may not have any significance for another.

Prayer: Lord may all your followers worship you in spirit and in truth as they feel compelled through their relationship with you and grant us the peace we need to love them for their love of you as demonstrated in their practices. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Gifts Differing

you-belong-serving-Christ-body-churchEpiphany
January 15, 2016

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. –1 Corinthians 12:4-11

God intentionally created diversity. One would think that would be the only rationale we need to encourage us, even drive us, to make it work. Diversity has often been described as one of the greatest assets of the USA, if not the greatest asset.

Our scripture today talks about the diversity of talents. Most of us, who have been in the work force since Myers Briggs Personality Types were identified, have been trained to recognize that the workforce needs all sixteen types to flourish with productivity. And yes, that can result in differences of opinion. The fruit of the combined labor comes when people take the time to learn from the viewpoint of the other, put them together, and produce a better outcome. Why can’t we do that, not only in church, but also in government? We seem to prefer to model ourselves after prize fighters who go to and from their designated corners getting more and more battered and bruised until someone lands a knockout blow. It might be good for boxing; it is counterproductive everywhere else.

I don’t know whether If by Rudyard Kipling remains required study in school. It should be. If you haven’t read it for a while or ever, do:

If you can keep your head when all about you
   Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,…

Prayer: Lord, help us keep our collective heads and deal with the issues of our world. Amen.

*See If by Rudyard Kipling at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175772

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Together as One

negativityEpiphany
January 5, 2016

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

Do not fear, for I am with you;
   I will bring your offspring from the east,
   and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
   and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
   and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.’—Isaiah 43:5-7

Most read Isaiah as promising the regeneration of the nation of Israel. I cannot help but recall the book of Genesis when I read this scripture where Isaiah speaks of everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. God apparently glories in diversity for God surely created it. Why do you suppose it is so hard for us to glory in diversity?

Created as totally unique individuals, it does not take us long to cluster into like kinds: males on one side females on the other; red and yellow, black and white; athletes, scholars; working class, wealthy; conservatives, liberals. Apparently the world is easier to understand when we cluster and then create hierarchies of those clusters although it actually gets more complicated, when individuals from various clusters mix together.

One of the traits that Jesus modeled for all to follow was recognizing the uniqueness in each person with whom his path crossed. O, he knew about clusters. Had apparently learned about some. The syrophoenician woman was originally not on his radar. Lepers may not have been either, at first. He had this amazing skill to look past his predilections and see the image of God in each person. This is a skill we each need to hone, if we long for oneness and justice in our world.

Prayer: God, show us the treasure you planted in each human being and let us treat it as the gift of your grace that it is. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Let Me See Again

What do you needLiving in the Spirit
October 25, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:46-52

Many sternly ordered [the blind man] to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. –Mark 10:48-52

If we trace the events in the gospels that describe Jesus’ interactions with individuals he often asks the question, or some form of it, in our scripture today: What do you want me to do for you? It is the question he is always asking each of us. For most of us it is a really hard question to answer. The blind man already had the answer before the question came. He wanted to see again. What he most likely really wanted was to be self-sufficient again and to be whole but to attain such independence he had to see.

Jesus was a very practical mystic, I think. He understood the desires and dreams of the people. He did not condemn and he did not itemize sins. Most likely he knows what is separating us from God, but until we see the divisive parts of our lives we cannot turn away from them. Even when we face the truth about ourselves, it is very hard to change the habits of our hearts. God can enable us to change. I like to think of us as changing back to the person we were created to be in the first place before we allowed the world to reshape and remold us.

When I first read this scripture in preparation to write about it, I thought it included something about the man being blind from birth but that is in another gospel. Perhaps it was a different blind man in the other recounting, perhaps the authors just remembered it differently, or wanted to stress a different part of the story. We often run the four very distinct gospels together. I do believe it is important for us to also see that we are not called to discern what is separating another from God. The gospels’ variety of perceptions of Jesus are important to us today as we celebrate the beauty of God’s diverse world within the wideness of God’s love for all.

Prayer: Lord, I really don’t want to see my faults but I do long to be whole. Grant me the courage to see what I need to see to make wholeness a reality and make me a better conduit of your love for others. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.