Intentional Diversity

Intentional diversity
Not many people naming Jesus’ twelve disciples from memory would be likely to include Jesus’ disciple Nathanael in the top five or six names. We all think of Peter and Thomas, James and John. Nathanael asks Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Nathanael’s question reveals much about him and by extension, us as well. Looking back, it is easy to laugh at Nathanael’s dismissal of Jesus the Nazarene. Yet Nathanael’s doubt was legitimate. Nazareth was so unimportant; it probably would not have shown up on any maps. If GPS had been available, it would have had a hard time directing anyone to the tiny city. In Nathanael’s perspective, it seemed implausible to consider that the long hoped-for Messiah would have come from such an insignificant town. Nathanael was speaking a pervasive assumption and bias out loud; one that would be turned upside down.

Jesus chose disciples from different occupational backgrounds, educational experiences, and personalities. The diversity reflected in the original twelve was not an accident, but rather a plan to model diversity. “To celebrate diversity is celebrate divinity, because each one of us was made in the image of God.” God’s image is not found in just one of us. We see more of who God is when we get to know one another. What keeps us from doing that? It can be uncomfortable.

Theologically, the families in our congregation span a wide continuum. From those who have a conservative expression of faith to those who have a progressive expression, West Grove has always put being a community church above need for one mindedness. Choosing to see the fullness of God’s creation in many ways of knowing and thinking about God is how Jesus in known here in West Grove. Our strategic plan reflects that fullness.

Do we reflect our community visually? Do we look like our community?

After the Israelites were sent home from the exile in Babylon, they realized their lives had changed. Our lesson from Isaiah captures that tension. Tribes from all around Judea and Israel had become part of the community they called home. The streets had changed. Stores had begun to go up in places they did not remember. And people who they once understood as foreigners were now next-door neighbors. The world they knew was changing. The prophet Isaiah calls the people to embrace those who look different from Canaan and Samaria, and those who think differently. Isaiah does not say, because you were not born here, go away you can live here, but rather urges the people of God to be a house of prayer for all people.

It is still true that Sunday morning worship is one of the most divided hours. Martin Luther King observed that in the sixties. And many of us look around see people who look and think a lot like us in our daily lives. We are surrounded by those who are similar ad yet, God’s world is not only filled with those who are like us. So, what keeps us from connecting with those who look and think differently from us?

Our General Board on Commission on Religion and Race has a wonderful resource on implicit bias(1). Implicit bias is unconscious thinking that evaluates one group and its members relative to another group even when that thinking does not align with our stated beliefs, values, or commitments. Psychologists, cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, and social scientists have all come to the conclusion that implicit biases are “shockingly normal.” To explain how this connects in our brains, I want to share this video. “Immaculate Perception” comes from a TED talk by Jerry Kang (2)and provides scientific research using easily accessible entry points for learning about how implicit bias functions in our brains. (Show video)
The connections in our brains run dep. No wonder reading red on green letters is so hard! We are retraining our brains. We are disciplining our very selves. Including those who are different from us takes soul work, brain work and encouragement.
So much of the work our brains are doing is whizzing by us without our full attention. Our brains process approximately 11 million pieces of information at any one time. Only 40 pieces out of 11 million receive our consciousness! That means approximately 10, 999,960 pieces of information are processed without our conscious awareness. Often our implicit biases live in the information that does not receive our conscious awareness. And once we are made aware, we are called to transformation. Like Nathanael, we then, seek righteousness and justice from God, planning the steps, so than God can lead us securing the path.
For most of us, this requires stepping out of comfort zone. Author Roy Bennett defines our comfort zone this way: “Comfort zone: simply means the routine of one’s daily life – it is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.” It is certainly understandable why we live in this state most of the time. As followers of Jesus, this stewardship series has highlighted how we are known – we are rooted in faith. Melanie reminded us last week that we are welcoming, that moves beyond courtesy. We are intentionally diverse, like God’s kingdom, including people, different from ourselves who look and think differently from us.
The writer of Proverbs knew that without plans, our paths were less likely to go forward. And without God’s presence in our plans, they were likely to backfire. Who has God laid on your heart to reach out to? Where are you being stretched to be in relationship? Where are you being called to start a relationship where you might have had implicit bias? Invite God to show you who you should reach out to.
Being open to God’s voice in others by taking a posture of listening and curiosity can help us to have the courage to come to and stay at the table of conversation as Christians. May we, like Nathanael, be willing to encounter the grace of the God who is among us in unexpected places. Our challenge today is taking our willingness one step further outside of our comfort zone. I challenge you to connect with someone who is different from you in someone way. Someone who looks different or who things differently. Spend time together. Have a cup of coffee with some of a different race or ethnicity at work. Take a walk with someone who thinks differently in your neighborhood. Invite someone you don’t know well to our Trunk or Treat with their kids and join them! Watch as God moves through these opportunities to reveal more about who God is. May God reveal more of God’s self as you step out of your comfort zone and onto faith!
This is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thanks be to God, Amen.

(1) http://www.gcorr.org/implicit-bias-workbook/
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VGbwNI6Ssk&feature=youtu.be

Old Testament Lesson: Proverbs 16:7-9 (CEB)

When people draw favor from the Lord,
even their enemies are at peace with them.
Better a little with righteousness
than great profits without justice.
People plan their path,
but the Lord secures their steps.

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 (CEB)
The LORD says:
 Act justly and do what is righteous,because my salvation is coming soon,
and my righteousness will be revealed.
The immigrants who have joined me,
serving me and loving my name, becoming my servants,everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure,
and those who hold fast to my covenant:
I will bring them to my holy mountain,
and bring them joy in my house of prayer.
 I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar.
 My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples,
says the LORD God,
who gathers Israel’s outcasts.
I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.

Meditations For Your Week
Sunday, October 20 ~ Saturday, October 26

Sunday: “When people draw favor from the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them.” Proverbs 16:7. Consider that God’s heart always showers love, justice, and hope on God’s people. Seek to live out God’s proclamations in your actions.
Monday: “Better a little with righteousness, than great profits without justice.” Proverbs 16:8. Stewardship is more than $5.00 in the offering plate. How are you seeking justice as a part of your stewardship?
Tuesday: “The Lord says: Act justly and do what is righteous, because my salvation is coming soon, and my righteousness will be revealed.” Isaiah 56:1. We are challenged to reach out to one person who looks or thinks differently. Pray for God’s wisdom as you seek intentional diversity to reflect God’s divinity.
Wednesday: “The immigrants who have joined me, serving me and loving my name, becoming my servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure, and those who hold fast to my covenant” Isaiah 56:6. God calls us to care for one another. How are your working to care for our neighbors, both in basic needs and for justice?
Thursday: “I will bring them to my holy mountain, and bring them joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar. My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples,” Isaiah 56:7. Pray for the safety and wellness of those who are temporarily without a home of their own.
Friday: “says the Lord God, who gathers Israel’s outcasts. I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.” Isaiah 56:8. Pray for those who feel like they are outcasts. There are no outcasts in the family of God. Listen for where God might call you into action to include your brothers and sisters.
Saturday: “People plan their path, but the Lord secures their steps.” Proverbs 16:9. Where is God calling you to wait on the Lord for the security of your steps?