When the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, I imagine they hated the Babylonians. The Babylonian army had destroyed their nation, destroyed their temple, probably killed many of their people, and had then dragged a large cohort to be exiled Babylon. In our bible, especially in the book of Psalms and in Lamentations, there are many words expressing the anguish and the grief at so much loss and at being so far away from home. They had every reason to hate the people of Babylon with whom they were being forced to live.
In a passage from the bible in the book of Jeremiah, there was a letter sent from Jerusalem to the exiles with a message from God. (Jer. 29:4-7) Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Build houses and live with them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give daughters in marriage, they they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
I can only imagine this letter contradicting much of what the people were thinking. Not only were these enemies but they were different. Living and working with people who are different and not like you, in the best of times, is difficult. It’s not just about different foods, different clothes, and different religions. Differences would include the way people greet one another, the way they have arguments, the way ideas are shared, and even, the way people think and feel. Living with diversity means always being open to ideas and practices that are not like yours.
Let’s be honest. It’s much easier not to do this work. It’s so much easier to hang with people that are similar. There is less conflict, your thoughts and ideas always feel smart and true, and you don’t have to worry about offending anyone or hurting anyone’s feelings. So if one way is more difficult and the other is easy, why choose the more difficult path? Why would God want these Israeli people to mingle with these Babylonian people, marrying them, having children with them, and seeking their welfare. Why?
Sunday was the last day of our summer series, “You Asked For It,” a time when the congregation suggested the topic on which I preached. Our last suggested topic was, “Tolerance versus Whole-Hearted Acceptance. Elaborate please!” OK. Let’s look at definitions first.
Tolerance: Definition 2 in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary - “a sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own or the act of allowing something.” So you may not agree, you may not like it, but you sympathize with the belief or practice and “allow” it.
Acceptance in the same dictionary is the act of accepting someone. Accept, definition 1, is a favourable reception or approval. So you are receiving someone or approving their belief or practice.
Tolerance versus acceptance. Acceptance seems to be the better way to go. To tolerate is is to simply indulge or allow a belief or practice, which kind of sounds begrudging, but to accept, to favourably receive or approve, especially whole-heartedly, would be that much better.
Let me challenge both words though. With both actions, to tolerate or to accept, one group is being tolerated or accepted by another, which implies that one group needs to be tolerated or accepted; and that another group, usually the one with more power, does the tolerating and accepting. That is the issue with a lot of these words. If one group is always tolerating, accepting, welcoming, including, even affirming, they are always the group that gets to the decide who is in or out. The other group that is always tolerated, accepted, welcomed, included, and affirmed are always waiting for people to be good enough to do so.
In the 14th chapter of the gospel of Luke, Jesus is at the house of a Pharisee having been invited to a
meal. Now, like most societies, where you sit at a meal is important. At weddings, the bridal party gets the head table with close family and friends close by. Even in the family home, parents usually are the head of the table, and in some places, it’s the father. In Jesus’ time, there was always an order to where people sat, especially at a large dinner party hosted by a leader in the society. We are told specifically in this story that this was a leader.
Our story tells us that Jesus notices that the guests choose the places of honour. The places of honour were probably those closest to their host. Jesus first offers some helpful advice. You may not want to sit in the places of honour right away. It might be very embarrassing for you if your host asks you to move so someone more important than you can sit in your place. It’s better to sit in the lowest place and then have your host come and move you to a higher place of honour. Jesus says, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He has a message for his host. When you invite people to dinner, don’t invite your friends, you family, or your rich neighbours, hoping for an invitation in return. Instead invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. They cannot repay you, but you will be blessed and gifted in other ways.
Imagine this scenario. A wealthy and important leader in the community has a dinner party. A few family and friends are invited, but mostly it’s the outcast that are invited, maybe the poor, lame, the blind, but also the homeless, the transgendered person, the gay couple, the illegal immigrants, the schizophrenic, the Muslim family, the atheist, someone just released from prison…those people who aren’t always tolerated or accepted in a community. Not only are these people invited, they are given the places of honour, for the other invited guests have chosen to sit in the lowest places. In fact, maybe these guests are the servants, the lowest of the low, the ones hanging up jackets, serving food, and cleaning up. In this scenario, the host is not just welcoming all to the table; the host is giving up the place of honour and giving the places of honour to those who are usually offered the back of the room.
This is our struggle: to not only whole-heartedly accept, but to step down from the places of honour and let others fill them. When this happens, there will be change. This is scary for those with privilege and power. It’s not just about a loss of that privilege and power but it could change lives, change routine, change beliefs and practices, change the way things have always been done, and we might not like it. Do we then abandon ship or do we continue to support this changing community?
I asked earlier, if one way is more difficult and the other is easy, why choose the more difficult path? Why invite all these outcasts and give up our space at the table? Why would God ask of us to live and work with people who are so different from us, whose thoughts and ideas and practices are not understood by us, and clash with what we think and feel?
An article was shared with me from the President of the American Guild of Organists, Michael Bedford. He shared some powerful quotes in this article I want to share with you.
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr - “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford - “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou - “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and strength.”
Minister and longtime peace activist William Sloane Coffin Jr. - “Diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without.”
My friends, living and working with diversity is hard, but it is so sorely needed. Diversity is beautiful. It’s why the LGBTQ2 community uses the image of the rainbow. In the midst of the storms, the dark clouds and the rain, beauty, in all its diversity, can shine through. Diversity helps us all to learn and grow and only through open hearts and minds can we build the kingdom of God on earth, which, as Christians, should be our ultimate goal.
Tolerance is not enough. Whole-hearted acceptance is definitely needed but just doesn’t go far enough. We need to move from the places of honour and let others move up. “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” I believe that this is what needs to happen first before we can all sit as equals with no places of honour. I believe God’s kingdom has no places of honour, but, unfortunately, we can’t start there. We have to start with the exalted being humbled and the humbled being exalted.
May God give us the strength to step down and move out of the way when needed.
May Jesus be out guide as we learn when to be strong and courageous and when to be humble.
May the Spirit always be with us as we build God’s kingdom on earth, brick by brick. Amen.
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