Segregation

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8: 38-39

Aesthetics of Crisis     by Blu

Paul’s conviction that nothing can separate us from the love of God is a lovely conviction. But is it true? What of us? As human beings, do we separate ourselves from those who disagree with us or look different from us?  Do we cut off those who are not up to our standards?

In God’s economy, we are all children of God, made in the image of God. Jesus did not say, “Come unto me some of you who are heavy laden.” Jesus did not shut out strangers or ignore the disabled, or treat women and children as the society did. God’s way is one of love, unity and tolerance. Segregation is a human construct with troubling outcomes.   

• Building walls has been tried. (Think East Germany/West Germany.)
• Segregating schools has been tried. (Think Birmingham.)
• Concentration camps have been tried. (Think Auschwitz.)
• Segregated water fountains and bathrooms. (Think American South.)

All human attempts at separation must be called into question. It is not God’s way; it is not Christ’s way. “There can be no Jew nor Greek, no slave nor free, no male nor female;  for we are all one.” Galatians 3:28)

From whom, and from what situations, do we segregate ourselves?

The God of Our Dreams

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!”   Genesis 28:16

                                                        "Sulam Yaakov"                                   Geula Twersky

While it is easy for us to imagine God being with us at all times, in Jacob’s day, the people believed God was far less accessible. God was in a pillar of fire, atop Mt. Sinai, or behind the richly decorated curtains in the Temple, in the place called the “holy of holies.”

Jacob, having stolen his older brother’s birthright and having tricked his father into giving him a blessing, was on the run. He ran away toward Haran, the city where Abraham’s ancestors had once settled. He was road weary, and fearful of his brother’s wrath, so he lay down for the night in the middle of the desert, and rested his head upon a rock.

In his dream, God came to him and Jacob received God’s assurance that God’s mercy, grace, and protection would surround him for the remainder of his life. The Covenant was intact. While Jacob was running away from God, afraid of punishment for the duplicity with which he had defrauded his father and his brother, God followed him and reassured him.

What about us? Certainly most of us have acted in ways that fall short of the glory of God.  Some of us may have felt such shame that we have run from God or ignored God while intentionally choosing the wrong path.  This story reminds us that no matter where we have gone, and how far we have traveled, the gates of heaven are always open to us. There is no place beyond the reach of God, and no hiding place so secure that God will not find us there. 

Thanks be to God. 

Making Peace

Jesus said to the crowd, “To what will I compare this generation?  Matthew 11:16

                                        (Artist unknown.)

This 4th of July weekend 100 people were shot and 14 people died in the City of Chicago.    

Jesus asks, “To what shall I compare this generation?”  A generation who glories in snuffing out lives? Perhaps we have become a generation that does not think before it tweets, or shoots, or lies. Surely God weeps.  

The ministry of the Church is to follow Jesus Christ as we strive to respect the dignity of every human being, to shine a light on injustice, and to love one another. We are called to model this behavior, not only on Sundays, but everyday, in all sorts of situations.   

We, the church, can offer a peace-filled alternative to the hell that is breaking society apart by remembering the one who lives within us, and by being slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.   

We must resist the all too human urge to win, to make our point, and to glorify ourselves. Instead, we opt for the way of Jesus as we seek to make peace.