Be One

John 10:22-30

I'm watching the inter-faith memorial for the Boston tragedy with great pride in being both an American and a person of faith. We've heard messages from different religions, government officials, and choirs. Even Yo-Yo Ma played his cello in only the way he can. Those delivering the messages represented different people, but the message they gave was the same: we will heal and we will move forward, and we will do this because we are united by one ideal; love.

I don't know what your politics are, and I won't assume you should be on the left or the right or somewhere in the middle on the issues which face our country, and to an extent the world. What I will say is that my hope is you will be open-minded enough to understand that the problem we face in this world is not that we should have less or more of anything, but that we should find a way to ensure that all people at least have enough.

The current debates surrounding issues such as guns, abortion, marriage, poverty, and so on all showcase exactly where the problem currently is. It's not in the arguments that we should have less guns, or more. It's not in the arguments that marriage is exclusive or inclusive. It's not in the arguments on when life begins.

The problems which face our society lay in the simple fact that we're too busy arguing and not busy enough listening.

In today's passage Jesus reminds us just that. The disciples want him to speak plainly, and Jesus says, "I have been, but you're not paying attention." I find these words to ring true today. People are too busy trying to prove their point-of-view to be the true one and not busy enough paying attention to what others are trying to say. Unfortunately, the arguing never stops and so the problem never gets solved.

Stop, if just for a moment, and listen to the other side. Try to find a way to work together and solve the issues which are pulling our society apart.