Sunday, September 26, 2010

When did Diversity become a Value

When did Diversity become a value in the Church? It was something that was acknowledged - yes, we are diverse, just as the parts of a body are diverse, but the focus was never, "see how different our hands are from our eyes". The focus always was rather on our unity, that we who are many are made one in Christ. The true wonder is that we are united - that we confess not the Holy Diverse Christian Church, but the Holy [c]atholic Church - the Church that is not merely a collection of diverse parts, but the Church that is 1 in Christ.

I don't know if one can try to celebrate the diversity of the Church and still focus on Christ... we may be different, but Christ is One, and He draws us unto Himself, makes us become part of His body, joins us unto Him.

Focusing and celebrating diversity is sort of like celebrating the fact that you used to be single after you are married. This implies that something is highly wrong with how you few your marriage.

1 comment:

Rev. Thomas C. Messer, SSP said...

Great post! The catch-phrase (or theme, descriptor, or whatever you want to call it) "Blessed Diversity" was emphasized time and time again by the previous synodical administration, and that spilled over to the Districts (at least, to our District). I remember hearing "Blessed Diversity" repeated ad nauseum at the 2006 District Convention (wrote a newsletter article about it back then). It wasn't as bad at the 2009 District Convention, but still there. But, I am hopeful that our new synodical administration will be helpful in moving us away from an emphasis on "blessed diversity" (whatever that means) and toward an emphasis on the catholicity of the Church - the "blessed unity" we have in Christ! Lord, grant it, for Jesus' sake. Amen.