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Holy Diversity - A Sermon for Epiphany 3 - 26 January 2025

Writer's picture: St Georges MiltonSt Georges Milton

Upon leaving church one Sunday, a young boy took a loonie out of his little pocket and handed it to his Anglican minister. The priest, puzzled at first, then broke out in a little smile, thanked him, but told him he should give it to the poor. "That's why I gave it to you, Reverend, because my dad says you're the poorest preacher we ever had."

 

Perhaps I’ll take it as a compliment that I’ve yet to experience something like this! 



It’s been an interesting week to be Anglican. Many in my sphere are praising Bishop Mariann Budde for her courageous, articulate, biblical plea for mercy on Trump’s part towards those whose who live in fear now that he has taken office. The US Catholic Church followed suit by denouncing the inhumane executive orders signed on his first day of office. The MAGA movement might be seen as a hyper-Americanized version of old school populism – a perspective that prioritizes one country over-against all others, and one particular socio-economic and ethnic group against all others. These movements demonize minorities, look for ethnic scapegoats to blame for their ills, and delegitimize scholarship, the free press, education, even reason itself.

 

I didn’t think I’d ever see the day where a prominent person could give the Nazi salute in front of the whole world and get away with it. But I think that was Musk’s point. People of wealth, power, and influence ride the populist waves, believing they are untouchable, drowning anyone unfortunate to be in their path. And any who speak out, even if they are calling for mercy to those claiming to follow the God of mercy, are met with hatred. Bishop Budde is already facing threats, including at least one GOP leader calling for her deportation. By calling on someone claiming to follow Christ to show mercy. Mercy. She has followed in the footsteps of her Lord – how many of us would also follow in these prophetic footsteps?

 

St. Luke’s gospel has a sharp prophetic edge fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, Simeon, and John proclaim prophetic truth inspired by God’s Spirit in Luke’s opening chapters.  It is no surprise then to hear of the Spirit filling Jesus at his baptism, leading him into the desert, and then to his hometown synagogue where we find him in today’s story. 

 

We hear that Jesus has been preaching and teaching in the area – and he’s becoming quite popular, garnering praise ‘from everyone’ according to Luke. Perhaps the folks attending synagogue today are anticipating another inspiring message – hoping for brighter days, for hints of enemies being defeated, and for Israel to be made great again.  Jesus stands up, opens the scroll containing the words of Isaiah, and declares, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

 

All eyes are fixed on him.  I bet you could’ve heard a pin drop.  Into this silence Jesus speaks again, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Like you and I, Jesus’ audience might have a hard time understanding what he meant. But if we read past today’s section of the story, we see Jesus gives them more:

 

The worshipers are initially amazed and a bit perplexed by what they hear from the mouth of “Joseph’s son” (v. 22) – of someone they’d seen grow up. He assists them by recalling two events from Israel’s history. First, he speaks of the legendary prophet Elijah, who acted to save the widow at Zarephath (which is in southern Lebanon) instead of one of the nearby Israelite widows. He then references Elisha, Elijah’s successor, who healed the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian rather than the many Israeli lepers. Jesus is making it clear to them that the liberation of his ministry was not limited to insiders (the people of Israel), but was for everyone, even those outside their religious/ethnic people group. (Yes, even for Canadians, Mexicans, women, people of colour, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and the disabled!)

 

The crowd is enraged (imagine that), and they drive Jesus out of town and attempt to kill him by forcing him over a cliff. He mysteriously slips through the crowd to safety, but his point has been made. It is not the theme of liberation per se that offends the good folk of Nazareth, but the awareness that liberation includes those outside their own circle.

 

When Jesus talks about setting captives free and binding up the broken-hearted, we are invited to see ourselves in this group. For we all know hardship to some degree or another, we all have wounds in need of healing, and of good news to fill us with hope to carry on. But our minds should also readily go to those on the margins – those living in poverty and the victims of prejudice. And in doing see, I think Jesus is also drawing attention to the fact that we build prisons out of the walls we erect around us. 

 

Trump’s famous wall project on the US-Mexico border was controversial but welcomed by many wanting to shut out ‘criminals’ and ‘dog-eating’ immigrants, but I’m sure he can’t see that success would simultaneously mean he’s turning America into a prison. When we put barriers between ourselves and others, we not only keep them out, we entrap ourselves.  When we close our borders to refugees, ignore the cries of pain from coworker, or think of ourselves as better than others, we’re actually binding ourselves to our own prejudices.

 

Jesus’ ministry was characterized by breaking down divisions between people.  Luke’s gospel in particular is filled with stories of Jesus ignoring the social stigmas around woman, foreigners, and the infirmed.  He was living proof that God’s kingdom had come, and a new era had begun.

 

In a famous passage from Corinthians frequently read this Sunday, St. Paul uses the beautiful image of Christian community being like the Body of Christ – continuing the work of Christ by means of its own diversity.  It is comprised of many various parts, carrying out the necessary functions, but all are necessary for the body to be healthy and fulfill its potential.  We might think he’s speaking solely about the use of spiritual gifts, but really I think he’s speaking about diversity on the whole and the various ways in which we Christians wrestle with how to live out our faith in community. One person put it this way:

 

“Perhaps even more challenging for us is the accompanying diversity is the conviction about how the faith is to be lived out. In such disagreement, though, we find ourselves called to recognize that diversity helps us to keep asking what God’s will actually is, rather than trapping ourselves in the same old assumptions. Holy diversity is an important remedy for our tendency toward complacency.”

 

In other words, creating space for a full spectrum of perspectives based on the variety of lived experiences and schools of thought resists the idea that there are simple solutions to complex problems. The way to a better tomorrow is not by lending our fear-driven screams to the rallying cry of whoever is yelling the loudest – it is by welcoming the voices of the other, of discerning together the way forward.


Science has long shown us the necessity of biodiversity in an ecosystem, and in our planet. God has created the world with an intrinsic interconnectedness so we should expect nothing less in human community, and in the church. In fact, I think the church needs to bear prophetic witness to the power and beauty from cultivating diversity. This is no easy task.  It’s much easier for us to try to cultivate uniformity. It doesn’t take much effort for us to go up and chat with our friends at church – but to approach a stranger, or better yet, someone we already know we don’t feel comfortable around, that’s another story for most of us.  It’s easy for us to complain about things we don’t like with people we know share the same opinions as us, but what about gaining perspective from those of a different mind?

 

We’re having critical elections this year, not only as a nation, but here in Ontario. Political campaigns so often capitalize on people’s fears and so often scapegoat people of difference. In light of Jesus’ ministry to the marginalized and disadvantaged, what do you feel we need most as a nation moving forward? If we here today are people of privilege (being of the right skin colour, able-bodied, housing secure, and the right gender and sexual orientation) – do we privilege the policies that most benefit us? Or ought we to privilege the less-privileged? Is that one way of understanding the good news Jesus brought – and that got him killed? Will we bear the cost of such a mission?

 

My friends, God’s kingdom is characterized by holy diversity – rubbing shoulders with those of different backgrounds and beliefs is good for us.  It forces us to consider things from different perspectives, it challenges us to know and love people we never thought we would.  The call of the gospel is to know and love thy neighbour – so, let’s listen to the stories of others. To the trans teens on the brink of suicide, to people of colour who are continually passed over for promotions due to the colour of their skin, to immigrants struggling to find work and have their educations validated, to the unhoused desperate for security for their families, to indigenous peoples continuing to suffer under colonial systems of oppression. In doing so, do not back away from facing your own prejudices and presuppositions.  For the prisoners to whom Christ proclaims freedom might just be ourselves.

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