Justice and Diversity*

I’m the sort of person who enjoys regularity. I like to count on knowing what each day will be like. I know, it sounds boring, but it is how I work best. I find it jarring when things are out of the ordinary. Like when I plan to have guests in my backyard but it is so hot we have to stay in. Or when I plan to have a whole day with no plans at all, and I discover everybody el’ has lots of plans for me.

LGBT people understand about this sort of thing, except it takes a cultural form for us. We go through life expecting to be treated like everyone else. But then, all of a sudden some little thing just isn’t quite right; is it discrimination? is it my imagination? Let’s say you try a restaurant with your spouse, and the service is terrible. Now, is this a terrible restaurant, or is your server showing some attitude to a gay couple? Often it is, in fact, discrimination, subtle or otherwise. It’s jarring, it throws us.

God occupies a place that is unbounded by time or space. God is everywhere and in every moment. Scripture in general, has a lot of reminders about how to watch out for God, as though God might drop by at any moment and catch us by surprise. But the truth is God is already here, God is always already here. It is we who do not understand that God is not like a tv commercial that comes and goes and runs a couple of minutes and then it’s over; you know, you can fast forward over it. God is already, always, here. No fast-forwarding past God.

We find God by learning to walk in love. That expression is St. Paul’s, from his letter to the Ephesians [5:2]. It mirrors much of what we often hear Jesus say, constantly reminding us that the kingdom of God has come near.For example, waking in love reminds us that we find God when we learn to experience God’s love. Now God’s love, is shared experience; God’s love is mutual caring; God’s love is mutual giving— sharing, caring and giving, always mutually, God’s roads go both directions.

Isaiah tells us that this is accomplished by learning to do good, and especially to seek justice. We experience the presence of God when we share and care and give to each other. We experience the presence of God when we create justice for every part of God’s kingdom. We experience the presence of God when we let ourselves be open to each other. Justice means not just equality of being, but equality of treatment, and special attention to it.

Another important part, of course, is action; we are to “walk” in love, not sit about, not wait, but walk, go, and do. We discover God walking with us when we take loving action, sharing and caring and giving and creating justice.

Jesus often reminds us we have to be ready. He means, we need to boldly walk in love, we need to always create justice. And then Jesus says [Luke 12:40]: “the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” He means, God, in Christ, is already here. What is more unexpected than right now?

One more thing: we are told that God will not be keeping silence; [Psalm 50:3] “round about [God] is a raging storm.” It means we cannot let our faith fall into complacence. We cannot just take our faith for granted. We have to work at it, in every moment. We have to learn to push through life’s raging storms. We have to demand the kind of justice that leads to regularity within the diversity of God’s kingdom.

Regularity is not a bad thing. God loves regularity too. That’s why trees are green and the sun is yellow and the sky is blue. But then again, every day, the water in Lake Michigan is a different color of blue. That is God’s diversity. Just as each one of us is made in God’s image, as different as we all are, we all are the image of God; even LGBT people.

 

©2016 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.

*Proper 14 (Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24 Deus deorum Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Luke 12:32-40)