Beyond Our Own

I just re-read my post from last week and am overwhelmed at the week that has been. My denomination’s General Assembly has nearly finished and far-reaching decisions have been made. A historic shift is taking place and we aren’t sure exactly where we will land.

Whether or not you agree with the decisions made, whether or not you are even Presbyterian, I’m proud of how the discussion was handled by those attending this first ever virtual annual meeting. While we are typically slow moving, we also reacted quickly to both the discovery of the mass burial site at the Kamloops Indian residential school of last weekend and then yesterday to the brutal attack on a Muslim family in London on Sunday night. We prayed and held silence but also took steps to acknowledge the suffering and to respond in meaningful ways.

It would have been tempting to gloss over this event involving people from a different faith. We had so many of our own difficult and divisive issues to discuss. Monday alone this included the treatment of Indigenous peoples, sex trafficking, the harm done to members of the LGBTQI community in our churches and ethnocentrism - the unwillingness to fully hear and include congregations and people of racial minorities in our denomination. That was all discussed in one day, with follow up yesterday and painful and vulnerable discussions.

We had enough tough stuff to slog through at our first ever virtual national gathering, happening due to the ongoing and exhausting global pandemic. I’m sure no one would have blamed us for trying to sort out our own disagreements first, to address what is happening within our own ranks, and to leave the Muslim community until later. I love my denomination but it’s not always sunshine and roses. We have issues threatening to fracture us and needing focused attention. And yet yesterday morning there were calls to action prepared and passed unanimously to ensure that the Muslim community senses our solidarity and support against a heinous crime that took four lives and left a boy without his family.

I am proud that we set aside our own stuff to express lament, to take a stand for justice and to care about people impacted by tragedy, not just those like us. We were willing to look outside our own circle and see our common humanity. We were able to respond nimbly perhaps helped by spending so much time being forced to pivot quickly in this pandemic.

As was mentioned a few times in the debate yesterday, Jesus was ready to go out of His way to engage with the ‘other’. In the gospels the ‘other’ includes the outsider, the one not part of the synagogue or temple, the one exiled or labeled ‘unclean’, the one not circumcised, the one without power. Dialogue across our differences and tolerance, greater understanding and dignity should be the hallmarks of our Christian life. We should not be responding with fear to the one not like us and outside our circle. We should be responding with a desire to meet and know our neighbour and to see in them the face of God.

My heart breaks for the senseless loss in London. My heart is cheered by the modeling of standing in solidarity with others who are suffering, regardless of their faith, race or identity. Jesus asks us to follow His example as we live out the words of Micah 6:8 - What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. May it be so within and outside our denominations, as we include and comfort those hurting and excluded, misunderstood and maligned. May it be so.