The real nitty gritty

So much is being said these days about division, things that cause or lead to the separation of groups of people. In religion, politics, it doesn't matter, schism is the word. It appears that centuries of Utopian philosophy, wars to end all wars, even ecumenical movements and indoctrination have not been able to change this phenomenon which grips human beings so tightly that one group can just think of another and feel the burn of hatred. When one's first thought regarding another is rage, indignation or elitism, one is lost.

The problem here may be that of groups themselves. It is easy to vilify a group, it typically has no face, no eyes, no feelings. It is a thing. It is a thing that is often created to represent something that another group holds up as bad, counter cultural, or sinful, depending on one's perspective. That group, they say, is a threat to the future of our group because they.....!

Jesus did not minister to groups. He spoke to and showed love to individuals who came to him in faith. He did not require their membership in his group, but He did tell them what membership required of them as individuals. Many found those requirements too difficult and moved on. Likewise, St. Paul's greatest accomplishment was not to try and bring individuals into an established group, but to show people that, yes even they, who were not born into a specific group- even they were able to receive the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Groups serve their purpose, certainly, but when it gets right down to it, I want to know what being in the group means to the individual. Can we talk without feeling threatened, can we listen and understand why this or that is so important? Can we have a discussion over dinner and a glass of wine? Can we share fun stories of our children, our companions, our lives, and find things that we share as people who stand in God's love, and go away friends rather than enemies? Can we exist without fear that my way is steamroller coming down the ideological highway to crush your beliefs and vice versa? We all have such a small space and such a limited time to share on this earth. Is it really God's will that we do so in such a fractious, fearsome manner?

God's message is love, Jesus' message is healing, reconciliation. How can this not be a good thing? How can clinging to fear of anything be better than this?