Sunday Sermon Feb 16, 2014

Savoring the Gift of Diversity

by Marissa Conway

When Lee first asked me to preach in church today, I was just floored. What an honor! And then he told me the topic I would be preaching on was - diversity. Let’s face it - diversity is a pretty dry topic. It’s certainly not one I chomp at the bit to discuss when I’m out at dinner with friends. And who am I to talk about this? - I’m not too different than a lot of you - I’m Caucasian, college educated,  I grew up in a church, and politically, I lean left. Really, I fit right into the “status quo” at this church.  But we know that sticking to the status quo is not always a good idea.  So, my hope is that in the next ten-ish minutes, where I will probably say the word diversity about 100 times, I can shed a little light on why I see church diversity as of the utmost importance, and hopefully inspire you all to think about how we as a congregation, and you as an individual, can greatly benefit from diversity.  

Today as I talk about diversity, keep in mind that I’m talking about diversity in the broad sense - not just racial diversity, but also diversity in gender, age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, taste in music, political affiliations - anything that is different from you, or different from me.  So I think the first question to address with this topic is - Why is church diversity important? Why are we even talking about this?

When I first sat down to write this sermon, the first and most obvious answer that came to mind was: how boring life would be without it! If everyone lived their life like mine, we would all watch a lot of BBC, eat cheese for dessert every night, and have a very over the top obsession with cats. That might get a little overwhelming for everyone.

To see why diversity is so important in a spiritual community, we need to look no further than Jesus. Through him we have the best example of the benefits of inviting diversity into our everyday lives! Take a moment and think about the stories we know about Jesus - so many of them are of him on the road, meeting strangers, interacting with different people on a daily basis. If that’s not inviting diversity into your lives, then I don’t know what is. He welcomed all kinds of people with compassion and love - and often welcomed the ones with whom nobody else would bother with. He would hang out with the lepers, the prostitutes, the widows, the tax collectors. The ones people despised. So as we walk on this journey with Jesus and try and live by his example - not just talk about his example but REALLY LIVE our every day lives by his example - then we are called to live a life full of diversity.

So - I’ll ask the question again - Why is church diversity important? Church diversity is the physical representation of the heart of Christ and a statement that we are truly one body.  (source: http://churchdiversity.com/church-diversity-is)  A common slogan in the Methodist church is “All means all” - meaning that we welcome everyone.  Period.  But if we say one thing, and do another - that is to say, tell ourselves, within this congregation, that we welcome everyone, but in actuality make someone who has different political views than ours feel like they won’t fit in in this church family - then we are not living as one body under Christ.

Our Bible story today clearly outlines Jesus’s emphasis on diversity and acceptance of all.  Let’s look again at our scripture for today - Mark 11: 12-17 - this story is entitled “Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts”:

“12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.”

(Just in case you were doubting the validity of this story.)

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money chafers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.”

Alright guys, I’ve got to say, I feel more connected with Jesus in this story than in any other story in the Bible, because, I too, often get hungry to the point of wanting to destroy things. This story is a classic case of hangry. Hungry angry. Anyways, back to the story.

“And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.” (Repeat)

Here Jesus is quoting Isaiah 56:7. In Isaiah, the verse following this goes on to say “The Sovereign Lord declares - he who gathers the exiles of Israel: ‘I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.’” It doesn’t say “Once I’ve got the exiles we’re good.” It does not say “A house of prayer for some nations”.

Some of you may be thinking - “Alright cool Jesus this is 2014 and I can’t go traveling around and meeting new people like I’m in a Jack Keruac novel, thanks.” I’m right there with you. So how do we do this diversity thing?

Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to stick with what we know. Let’s call this the Bermuda Triangle of our lives - work/school - home - church. But you know what happens in the Bermuda Triangle? You get lost. And getting out of our personal Bermuda triangles is no easy task. It’s comfortable here. The cheese lady at Whole Foods knows your name.  It’s nice.

And diversity often has a connotation of “new” - which in turn can prompt feelings of anxiety, maybe chaos, or being overwhelmed - for many, new can be scary!  And we have evolved as a species to avoid scary.  You know, there’s actually evidence that fear of snakes drove pre-human evolution. Fear drove our evolution.  But diversity is not any of that. It’s an adventure to become a more tightly knit community and truly walk in the footsteps of Jesus - to become the community that he envisioned: a house of prayer for ALL nations.  When we live like humans, we can easily and accidentally let fear define us. When we live like Jesus, we embrace the new and make a home for it in our hearts and in our communities.

So back to our personal Bermuda Triangles.  I first heard this term through a sermon given by Jack Jezreal, the founder of a wonderful 30-week social justice themed class called “Just Faith”.  The church I was formerly working at was beginning to make a big push to become more diverse and outwardly focused.  They offered the Just Faith class, and after hearing Jack Jezreal speak so compellingly about the dangers of our personal Bermuda Triangles, I knew this class would the perfect opportunity to take a small step out of my comfort zone and educate myself about social issues I would otherwise not encounter in my day to day life.  And that’s how I found out about human trafficking.  

“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under U.S. federal law, victims of human trafficking include children involved in the sex trade, adults age 18 or over who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into different forms of "labor or services," such as domestic workers held in a home, or farm-workers forced to labor against their will. The factors that each of these situations have in common are elements of force, fraud, or coercion that are used to control people. Every year, human traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people around the world, and here in the United States.”

-The Polaris Project

To me, human trafficking represents the most degrading social injustice we face today.  People are objectified, dehumanized, and treated like property.  As I slowly began to learn more about this issue, I felt called to do something.  Again, through the church, I found out about a phenomenal organization in the San Francisco Bay Area called Freedom House -  it’s a shelter for formerly trafficked women.  I went through 40 hours of volunteer training and began working with the women in March of last year.  The main role of volunteers is to model healthy relationships for the women, most of whom have been in some type of relationship based on exploitation and manipulation.  I’ve had some wonderful moments with these women - my favorite so far has been karaoke night - but I’ve also had days where I go home crushed, with no hope for humanity.  My work with Freedom House has been more rewarding than I could have ever hoped for, and has also brought me to some terribly low places.  Human trafficking is a beast of a problem to take on, but I am constantly inspired when I see the women at the shelter come into their own and take back ownership over their lives.  

My work with Freedom House and the anti-trafficking movement - which has turned out to be one of the biggest passions in my life - all came out of a push to bring more diversity into the church. If we embrace diversity and make even the smallest of efforts to get out of our personal Bermuda Triangle, we will be enriching our lives, cultivating new passions, and empowering ourselves to go out into the world and heal some of the horrible injustices we see - or haven’t seen yet.  Bringing diversity into the church - whether that be new ideas, new people, new music, you get the idea - it isn’t just a strategy for church growth or even the right thing to do. It’s about challenging ourselves to move beyond “what is” to “what will be”. Diversity in the church will allow us to catch a glimpse of heaven on earth. 

I gotta tell you, there are some phenomenally hard working people in this church that are constantly focusing on “what will be”.  Since coming here, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the CATCH Team, which is our growth and outreach team at Napa First.  These people have long ago abandoned their personal Bermuda Triangles and, one small step at a time, are working to exponentially grow the invitational and relational culture we have here.  I have felt so welcomed and loved by this group of people, and am constantly humbled by their passion to ensure that we’re growing a thriving church not just for ourselves, but for generations to come.

So as you go about your week, I challenge you to do one thing that puts you out of your comfort zone.  Maybe that means walking up to someone you don’t know after the service and introducing yourself.  Maybe that means listening to the story of one of our homeless friends at the HOPE Center.  Maybe that means inviting someone you might not agree with completely to church next week.  But I promise you - one small step will lead to another small step, and another, and another, and before you know it, we will see heaven on earth right here in our own church.

Let’s close with a prayer:

Creator of all, help us see that a diverse community is the way to deepen our lives and to know you more deeply.

Guide us to see that entering into a vital and just relationship with others who are different from us is the way to make ourselves whole.

Guard us from fear of the other, from the fear that our own security is threatened if we become truly willing to make a place at the table for all.

Open us to live out what we profess to believe:

That our true security is in You and in your call to justice and peace,
That we are a part of your global family,
That, because of your Incarnation, the human dignity of everyone is sacred,
And that we are constantly called to an inclusive community.

Help us take the steps you call us to take, to build a more just community, where difference is respected and where we can all join hands and rejoice in the common good.

Through the love of God, we pray.

Amen.

(source: https://educationforjustice.org/node/1183)