Why Can't We Live Together - September 11
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 40, 54; PM Psalm 51; Job 29:1,31:24-40; Acts 15:12-21; John 11:30-44
During a diocesan webinar yesterday with Dr. Catherine Meeks, Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing, I was reminded of a raw film from 2012, Beasts of the Southern Wild. The protagonist is a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy who roams around the wilds of Louisiana’s bayous, drawn to listen to the heartbeat of every living thing, for we all have hungry hearts. I thought about Hushpuppy’s gift for naming the things that connect us, rather than perpetuating division, when I read the excerpt today from Acts.
As we follow the ministry of the apostles of Jesus, we see deep and surprising healing in the struggle to find common ground and shared faith. Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and others have been preaching to the churches across the ancient Near East about the Good News to people of all faiths and exposures. There was this movement of two steps forward, one step back. People were hearing and accepting the messages of love, healing, and hope about the Lord God, though when they looked around to see who else would be a part of this community of believers, they began to back up and draw divisions and qualifications of participation.
We read “that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” (14:1b-2) We keep hearing this us-versus-them paradigm through the Holy Scriptures, don’t we? There was this tension between the Jewish people, who identify with the Israelites, and those called Gentiles, who fell into the “everything else” bucket.
As some of the apostles appealed to the elders in Jerusalem, Peter spoke up, clarifying the tension at play: “We believe that we [the Jews] will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they [the Gentiles] will.” (15:11) He set no condition to mandate circumcision among all males, though this marker of Jewish identity was the custom that had been put into place back to Abraham. This struggle of identity continued, though these people of faith wanted to move forward.
In the assembly, Paul and Barnabas took their turn, testifying to the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. There was not grumbling or unrest as they shared their story. The audience was quiet – and listening. James, brother of Jesus, spoke up, “…we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God” (15:19) and advise abstaining from things that will pollute the soul or body, like idolatry, fornication, and non-kosher meals. The audience did not respond by muttering, anger or dissent. They came together, assenting to act on this common ground for how people with differences could live together with mutual respect and love for God.
This model of finding ways to live together draws from the teachings of the prophets and the life of Jesus. The early Christians, and we today, are called to tell the truth, proclaim the dream that God has for us, mend the divisions between us, and practice following the Way. It is no easy work to become the Beloved Community. It has risks. It has great rewards. And if we listen and work to love one another as God has loved us, who knows what remarkable healing can come among our relationships with our family, neighbors, and ourselves.
-- Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
· When you hear a challenging message, one that goes against what you believe, what is your reaction?
· When have you been a voice of hope and togetherness?
Daily Challenge
Listen to yourself in conversation and internal monologue today. Who is in the we/us category for you? Who is in the they/them category? Pray about where God is calling you to find common ground and live in unity, rather than division?