We Are One. Now it's Obvious.
I hate to be repetitious, but it is true that good things can come from bad situations. We all know that. Tragedies produce the greatest opportunities for generosity and selflessness as we're seeing now in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The positive energy that is born out of the pain will go a long way toward healing the lives of those touched by it. The number of donation-related emails I've received in my company inbox alone is evidence enough that there are thousands of people mobilizing daily to contribute as much as possible to the relief and cleanup efforts. There is a great deal of power in this to be consumed not only by the hurricane victims, but also by those who give selflessly to the cause. The energy that is being created now will be restorative for all involved.
When tragedies occur, it forces us all to get back to the basics. The immediate concerns of the hurricane evacuees center around food, water, clothing, and shelter. The thousands of donation drives across the country are focused on exactly that. And the goodness that speaks to each one of us and asks us to forget ourselves for a moment and do something to help those within our reach is a very basic life force and the thread that runs through all of these efforts. It's rudimentary. The basics are the ties that bind.
It should be readily apparent to us now that many of the things we argue about in churches, in the courts, and in legislative chambers are incredibly petty if not altogether irrelevant. Homosexuality is the issue that is most personal to me so that's the one I'll address, but it's certainly not the only trivial issue we spend time and money dwelling upon.
Many churches have painted homosexuals into a corner. The abomination spotlight is on bright. But a tragedy the size of Katrina offers a renewed perspective by asking what difference it makes in the first place. If a rescue helicopter is about to pull a flood victim to safety, does it really matter if the rescue paramedic who drops out of the sky is gay or straight? Is the victim somehow more worthy of being saved if she is a heterosexual Southern Baptist? I hope these are ridiculous questions.
The point is when the basics in life are our focus, the complexities that we place upon one another in our society become glaringly inappropriate. The lines that we draw and the categories we create for entire populations speak only to our compulsion to organize the world into neat little pockets in an effort to make perfect sense of things. The resulting supremacy that abounds after some groups are assigned moral correctness and others are denied it is powerful, but invalid. We are one. And we should treat each other as such whether we happen to be in the midst of a monstrous humanitarian relief effort or in the middle of a conversation with friend, family member, or pastor. At our core we are all the same. Since we are connected, what happens to one of us happens to all of us.
If tragedy teaches us anything as Christians, it's that the identifiers we place upon others and the judgments we make about them are wholly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The same force of goodness flows through us all and prompts us to give of our time, energy, and resources. This force does not hold back and wait to work exclusively with the "true Christians." God is exhibited in each of our lives the moment we make the decision to allow the Spirit to flow through us. I wonder if the people who think homosexuality is an abomination also think that this goodness that flows through us is some sort of fluke. Or maybe they just think this flash of goodness is the lone highlight in a vast homosexual wasteland. Perhaps if they allowed themselves to learn more about the sum of us they would think otherwise.
I believe God recognizes the heart. This is the basis that connects each of us to one another and to God, and the vein that allows God to continually pump life and goodness into all of us. And if we view each person as part of this interconnected web of life sustained by God, the cumulative effect of what we can accomplish becomes that much greater.
When tragedies occur, it forces us all to get back to the basics. The immediate concerns of the hurricane evacuees center around food, water, clothing, and shelter. The thousands of donation drives across the country are focused on exactly that. And the goodness that speaks to each one of us and asks us to forget ourselves for a moment and do something to help those within our reach is a very basic life force and the thread that runs through all of these efforts. It's rudimentary. The basics are the ties that bind.
It should be readily apparent to us now that many of the things we argue about in churches, in the courts, and in legislative chambers are incredibly petty if not altogether irrelevant. Homosexuality is the issue that is most personal to me so that's the one I'll address, but it's certainly not the only trivial issue we spend time and money dwelling upon.
Many churches have painted homosexuals into a corner. The abomination spotlight is on bright. But a tragedy the size of Katrina offers a renewed perspective by asking what difference it makes in the first place. If a rescue helicopter is about to pull a flood victim to safety, does it really matter if the rescue paramedic who drops out of the sky is gay or straight? Is the victim somehow more worthy of being saved if she is a heterosexual Southern Baptist? I hope these are ridiculous questions.
The point is when the basics in life are our focus, the complexities that we place upon one another in our society become glaringly inappropriate. The lines that we draw and the categories we create for entire populations speak only to our compulsion to organize the world into neat little pockets in an effort to make perfect sense of things. The resulting supremacy that abounds after some groups are assigned moral correctness and others are denied it is powerful, but invalid. We are one. And we should treat each other as such whether we happen to be in the midst of a monstrous humanitarian relief effort or in the middle of a conversation with friend, family member, or pastor. At our core we are all the same. Since we are connected, what happens to one of us happens to all of us.
If tragedy teaches us anything as Christians, it's that the identifiers we place upon others and the judgments we make about them are wholly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The same force of goodness flows through us all and prompts us to give of our time, energy, and resources. This force does not hold back and wait to work exclusively with the "true Christians." God is exhibited in each of our lives the moment we make the decision to allow the Spirit to flow through us. I wonder if the people who think homosexuality is an abomination also think that this goodness that flows through us is some sort of fluke. Or maybe they just think this flash of goodness is the lone highlight in a vast homosexual wasteland. Perhaps if they allowed themselves to learn more about the sum of us they would think otherwise.
I believe God recognizes the heart. This is the basis that connects each of us to one another and to God, and the vein that allows God to continually pump life and goodness into all of us. And if we view each person as part of this interconnected web of life sustained by God, the cumulative effect of what we can accomplish becomes that much greater.
posted by Jen Austin at 4:04 PM
2 Comments:
I appreciated this post.
Jen, you are an amazingly gifted writer and I love to read your thoughts ... LOVE TO. I read your blogs every day and always enjoy them immensely! Keep doin' what you're doin' -- it MATTERS. Much love and respect ...
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