Diversity

  DIVERSITY: Luke 10:27; John 13:34, 15:9-13

     Diversity is the latest craze.  Accepting others.  Appreciating diversity.  Respecting differences.  Inclusion.  Recognizing the achievements and contributions of others.  The world is getting smaller.  We are living in a global society.  What does this all really mean?  It means that now that we are actually smart enough to know that human beings come in all shades with a multiplicity of hair textures, languages and habits, we should recognize that we are all a part of humanity.  It is what we have in common that must first be celebrated.  

     Why not celebrate diversity?  Because we hardly know what that really means.  Let's face it: I might appreciate gumbo as a delicious contribution, while someone else might not consider it delicious at all.  And what about those human beings who make no notable contributions?  What if they are content to live in a jungle avoiding all forms of modern technology?  They are making no notable contribution to the world.  But they are still human beings.  If that is the first criterion for answering the question "who is my neighbor?" then when the choice is given whether to bulldoze the jungle or let it stand, fellows humans would without hesitation decide to let it stand.  

     The problem with the whole diversity discussion is that it is almost inherently imperialistic and divisive.   There is always a 'we' vs. 'them' element.  There is always an attempt to justify others, giving value because of what they have done whether than because of their humanity.  Accepting is not the same thing as loving.  Respecting differences is not the same thing as respecting humanity.  The discussion often leads some to thing that they have a real understanding of another person when in actuality the understanding is of a food or a language.  In America, this discussion often leaves the impression that the prevailing culture is somehow normative.  "Those people are not like us, but they are okay because they make great tamales and they are great dancers."  

     Jesus socialized with the neighborhood lepers, criminals and outcasts.  He was a Jew who frequently hung out with non-Jews.  He was a healer who practiced on the wrong day of the week.  He was a priest without any credentials, without a cathedral or a pulpit.  He was a king with a crown of thorns.  On the cross He was humanity's neighbor, a neighbor who suffered and died in a very human way.  Blood flowed.  Red blood.
     When the first Native Americans were encountered in North America, would it have made a difference if the folks had noticed the red blood flowing from the wounds that they had inflicted rather than focusing on the red skin?  How could the African slaves be mistaken for something other than human if the folks had noticed the eyes, ears and mouth, the shackled hands and feet tinged with red blood?  How could Jim Crow reign if someone had noticed the red blood from the dog bites and the billy clubs?  Would the vote change if we were all standing there when the back of the trailer was opened and the smell of human flesh, the smell of death and red blood turned black, begged our nostrils to see our neighbor?