By the Way: Seeing equals, not rivals, in everyone around us
By Medicine Hat News on October 6, 2018.
I went for a walk in the dark last night. I was warm, dry and felt absolutely safe. I’m a grown man, after all. It’s been a long time since I was afraid of the dark. In fact, as a Caucasian man, living in a prosperous part of the world, it’s been a long time since I’ve had reason to be afraid of anything. I can’t say that my wife and daughters share my sense of security. Nor do my Syrian friends, or those members of the LGBTQ+ community whom I am privileged to know. My sense of security is a faded copy of the peace that passes understanding — that peace that is God’s desire for all humanity. And as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church of Canada, one of my tasks is to remind people that not only are we invited to know the peace that God offers, we are expected to share, nurture and encourage that peace in one another, in spite of our obvious, God-given differences. And yet women and girls continue to suffer — to disappear — to be dismissed and disgraced by the behaviour of individuals who do not see any problems with their behaviour. “Boys will be boys” is barely an excuse for pre-school pranks. It is an unconscionable excuse for sexual misbehaviour. People in the LGBTQ+ community are mocked, attacked, shamed and killed, for daring to have the confidence that I take for granted. The racism that takes the form of “protecting Canadian identity”; the sexism that wears the disguise of “traditional family values”; the fear that resides in those who possess arrogant privilege, and call it a “basic human right” — all of these habits are present in this country, and each of these habits diminishes all of us. And it doesn’t need to be like this. Over and over again, God’s people have been encouraged to “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). Prophets, judges and anonymous authors have put the story of God’s desire before us — and we have called it Holy. My tradition has formed itself in the light of these sacred texts and after the fashion of Jesus’ invitation to “Love the Lord your God É and love your neighbour as yourself.” Call to humility and love — to mercy and compassion — is clear enough, but we have allowed arrogance, certainty and exceptionalism to take precedence over Jesus’ instruction. For the sake of civilization, this must change. Using Jesus restatement of the “greatest commandments,” my faith tradition invites me to look into the wonderfully diverse world around me and see equals, not rivals. This call to equality crosses religious, political, social and gender barriers. It is a call to recognize the humanity of the person next to us — to recognize the God-loved, God-shaped, God-blessed folks whose existence we too easily dismiss, and whose mistreatment must be stopped. Rev. Jeff Lackie is minister of Word & Sacrament, St. John’s Presbyterian Church. 7-6
