States of BLISS & Yearning// Against the Monoculture

Go read Genesis 11.1-9 and Matthew 15. 21-28. The story of the Tower of Babel and that of the Syrophonecian woman. What could these possibly have in common? John Bell explains this wonderfully...

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To put it simply, God did not create this world to have a monoculture. Rather, God created us to be living in this world with each other, understanding cultural differences, and appreciating them. The Tower of Babel is an example of what God does NOT call for. This skyscraper that is only built because of pride and their own conceit... but God wouldn't tolerate it. "When any building, any enterprise, becomes an all-consuming passion, it displaces God and with God all those whom God shelters-- the poor, the weak, the marginalized" (65). I mean, this has been going on for centuries, right? People destructing parks and homes to build large buildings for their own satisfaction and self-aggrandizement. God does not call us to displace people or ruin creation just to serve our own needs. Around the Tower of Babel they spoke one language. God also does not call us to be one people, a monoculture. "The differences that exist among nations and cultures, that make other people hard to understand or attractive, are there by divine design" (66).

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So what does the Syrophonecian woman have to do with this? Everything. She is the example of diversity. Jesus makes it clear to the disciples after their exchange about dogs and eating the scraps, that " the grace of God, the love of God, the healing power of God, is not just for people who are like them" (69). You see, Jesus healed her daughter even though she is not from the same geographic region or the same religion as he. Using the term "dogs" was Jesus' way of challenging her. She challenged back and Jesus was happy. Bell seems to think he may have even had a twinkle of admiration in his eye. Nonetheless, the disciples weren't pleased that he had healed her daughter. He said "because of [her] faith" her daughter had been healed... because of her non-Jewish faith and your faith NOT in me... See, God calls us to divine diversity. God does not want us all to be one. That would be stupid.

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This goes along well with recent events on campus. Last week our giant pride flag was defaced and SAGE put it back together quickly. Because of that, they moved it and put signs by it, and called a rally together. We met Friday and created a human pride flag and then spoke out against hate. UCC Fellowship wrote a letter to send in to the Leader and we created signs for around the mall. The letter is below. It speaks to the unity AND diversity God calls us to. I think it speaks to this idea of being "healed and held together in Jesus Christ" as Bell writes.

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In light of last week’s defacing of the pride flag, we, the students of the United Church of Christ student fellowship have something to say. Elmhurst College is a school of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC is a Protestant Christian denomination that seeks to extend God’s extravagant welcome to all people as a united and uniting church. The United Church of Christ is built on the idea “that they may all be one” (John 17). We, the UCC students at Elmhurst College believe in a unified world beginning with a unified campus community.

The UCC is ‘Open and Affirming’ which means no one’s baptismal identity can be denied because of his or her sexual identity. We affirm all those who identify as GLBTQ as children of God. One of EC’s many core values is diversity. While we believe in unity we also value a “college community that honors, learns from, and contributes to the richness of human diversity” (College catalogue, 9). This includes students, faculty and staff of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

We recognize that while not all religious traditions affirm the GLBTQ community, all traditions affirm love and kindness. Therefore, we urge the entire campus community to denounce hate and all forms of hate crimes. We stand in solidarity with those who seek justice, love, and kindness (Micah6:8)

We extend our love and support to SAGE (Straights and Gays for Equality) and the rest of the GLBTQ community on Elmhurst’s campus and in the wider community. Know that we, the UCC students of this UCC institution openly welcome and affirm you because:

“No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey,
you are welcome here.”