Today's Scripture Reading (April 9, 2021): Ephesians 4
Sarah Silverman says that she is
politically homeless. She is fed up with the elitist structure of the political
system, but her complaint goes beyond that. According to Silverman;
You know, Republicans might hear an idea that they would
totally agree with, but if it comes from [Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez], then they hate it. And of course, you know, to be honest, when
I hear an idea that comes from a Republican, it's suspect to me. We all put too
much s**t on this stuff. We no longer are able to be a nation of ideas.
She's right. We are in a place where the
political left and right routinely put down the ideas of the other simply
because of who authored the concept, not because we disagree with the basic idea.
Silverman asks this question, and she deserves an answer. "Without a
common truth, how can we talk about it?" Maybe her words hit home with me
because this is often the way that I feel. I, too, often feel that I am
politically homeless. But more importantly, I also sometimes feel that I am
religiously homeless as well. The disease of division has invaded most of the
aspects of our lives.
Our culture is struggling with
division. I get it. This is the age of the echo chamber. We want to divide the
world up according to race, gender, religious beliefs, political party, sexual
orientation, and any other dividing line that we can imagine. We separate,
advertise what is wrong with the other, and preach about the evils of being
them. And suppose anyone dares to attempt to understand our struggle. In that
case, we explode with anger, screaming to anyone who will listen, complaining
that they would dare to tell us how we are supposed to feel, and in the process
deepening the division. But the reality is that we get what we see. If what we
see is what separates us, the result can only be division.
The Contemporary Christian Church
is divided against itself. We have focused on the things that separate,
resulting in one wing of the church arguing for the exclusion of the other. We
are wasting time and energy on the purpose of division, strengthening our echo
chambers, and making the pool of people with whom we can communicate smaller
and smaller. And we never hear the good ideas that might come from people who
are not like us. And that is a huge societal problem.
Paul's message to the Ephesian
church is the total opposite. He argues that we should "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit."
I believe that means that we need to celebrate the things that we agree on and
how the Spirit is working in all of us, rather than claiming that one side
possesses the Spirit that the other side lacks. And I am convinced that that
means celebrating the things that we hold in common as Christians. And politely
listening even to ideas on which we might disagree.
I
would describe myself as a part of the Christian evangelical movement inside
the church. Some years ago, I was in conflict with a pastoral colleague. But
the totality of our disagreement was around the term "evangelical." When
we sat down for a conversation, we discovered that we agreed on almost every
significant issue. It was the label that had caused the division and the
assumptions that went along with the brand. Maybe, as Christians, we need to
move toward a reality without titles. We are Christians, followers of Christ.
We are on a journey, and even if we are taking a bit of a different route, our
destination is the same. And part of our instructions is to celebrate the
similarities and recognize the presence of Jesus in each other, regardless of
whatever label might be applied to what we believe.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5
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