Avival Zornberg on Genesis 1 and the First Creation Story: From now on, the notion of the sovereignty of God will
depend on the differences and many-ness of His subjects. But the idea of
separation and difference has a tragic resonance: gone is the primal unity of
‘God alone in His world.’ New possibilities, new hazards, open up.
The primary image of such separation, the division of the waters and their
weeping expresses the yearning of the split-off parts of the cosmos for a
primordial condition of unitary being. (The Beginning of Desire)
I'm struck by this notion: that the sovereignty of God depends on the "differences and many-ness" of God's subjects. It's not an easy thing, to live in a world of such variation, such diversity and "many-ness." We're seeing this now, all over the country, all over the world. Our differences often provoke rage and invite callousness and pride. The terrible legacy of slavery is still playing out in our streets. Homophobia continues to harden hearts. In Laconia, I'm told, twenty NRA members showed up at a Black Lives Matter march with rifles and pointed them angrily at marchers. Talk about "tragic resonance."
Still, Biblical traditions keep faith with "differences and many-ness." It's precisely in this diversity, in these many variations (humanity-wise, culture-wise, earth-wise, plant-wise, you name it), that we begin to preceive the "sovereignty of God" and our own "yearning" for communion and reconciliation and justice.
This is interesting, maybe even timely, in my mind. Rather than beginning with "human rights," maybe the community of faith begins with a notion of "differences and many-ness" and a desire for communion. Which is not to say, of course, that human rights don't matter: they absolutely do. But we start with this notion of our relatedness--our "many-ness" and our relatedness. We are siblings of the same sovereign. We are related by spirit. Our differences are an urgent invitation to discovery, curiosity and communion. Can we commune, dance, collaborate as siblings--even through our "differences and many-ness"? Can we see in the differences themselves signs and shades of our unity, of our connectedness, of our interdependence? Communion is the practice of the people who celebrate the Sovereignty of God!
When I think about my years of experience in communities that embrace diversitiy (racial diversity, sexual orientation, gender diversity, ethnic and theological diversity) I'm filled with gratitude and wonder. Marching in a Gay Pride Parade each spring, I see my world more vibrantly. Protesting racism and confessing white privilege, I come to grips with my life, my world and the promise of something better for my kids. Listening to a friend who has a completely different image of who Jesus is, I find my Jesus getting bigger and wiser and brighter in my heart.
I guess, too, that this is where the church's commitment to human rights finds its particular edge, it's wonderful texture. We celebrate the "differences and many-ness" of our human community, not simply as a legalistic thing, not simply as a moral imperative; but also as a spiritual gift, as a divine blessing. And only as we honor and protect one another's freedom, only as we nurture one another's humanity, do we fully embrace the blessing of being human together. On the planet of differences. On the planet of many-ness. Which is good. Which is good. Which is very, very good.
DGJ 6/13/20
With thanks to a Thursday Circle of Conversation!
