We Need Each Other
"The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," (I Cor. 12.29a NRSV)
Watching teams of horses or mules work together fascinates me. Whether it is a team of Clydesdales plowing a field or the huge team of Clydesdales which pull the Anheuser Busch Wagon around Busch Stadium, whether it is a team of Belgiums pulling a corn picker in the Fall or Percherons pulling a hayfork up a barn, it never ceases to amaze me how they can work together - and work together with the person driving them. In musing over that thought, it occurs to me that we may have lost that notion in these days, with the animals we raise and train - and with the people standing right beside us: We all have to work together and have need of each other.
Can you imagine how a field would be plowed if one of the horses told the other they weren't needed? Can you imagine where the horses would be if the person walking behind didn't hold and guide the plow? And, for that matter, where would the farmer have been had they not worked with their neighbors to manage the water on their properties, keep the weeds down, collaborate on marketing and combine their efforts with those dedicated to the science and research of advancement, both in technology and genetics?
In this COVID-19 age of scientists around the world working collectively and unceasingly to find a vaccine and a cure, it seems absolutely ludicrous that baseball players and owners argue over their millions to be made per game, while millions of the people who traditionally pay to watch their games are now on unemployment. Who needs who these days?
Black Lives Matter is a fact. That such a truth needs to be said is a sin. That it needs to be claimed on the streets of our cities and the highways of our countryside is a witness against the persistent racism and prejudice that continues from the beginning of time and which still finds its insidious root in the hearts and lives of some who say they can live without the presence of others. That is neither Christian, nor true. We all need each other, with the gifts we each bring, just the way God created us to bring them. And, before you nod your head knowingly in agreement, how have you reminded someone today that you needed them, not for what you wanted them to be, but for the person they are?
The Apostle Paul was one of the first truly radical Christians in history: He believed that we are all one in Christ, male and female, Jew and Greek, slave and free . . . regardless our skin color or sexuality. When we pull together, the plowing can get done. When we treat the other as a commodity or as inferior, injustice, inequality, hatred, prejudice and disdain are the only crops which will grow in our lives - and disaster will loom just around the corner.
It is time to remember Whose we are and in Whose Image we are made. We are created in the Imago Dei, the Image of God . . . if you know the Bible at all, those are among the first words. Female and male God created them, in the Image of God, God created them. Us. You and me. All y'all. Not some of y'all, All y'all.
Instead of negotiating the fair market value of our skills, perhaps it is time we spent a moment affirming the value of our fellow human beings, for unless we do, baseball players will continue to argue over ever-burgeoning contracts, while Rome itself burns with the flames of anger and death -and the support of fans will wither in despair over the average person's plight.
God, save us from the pride of self-certainty and arrogance in this journey of life. As prayers speak of needing You, so we need each other. For such as this, Christ was crucified. For Hope such as Yours, He is raised from the dead. Give us such Hope.
Something to ponder on the journey down on the farm.
Can you imagine how a field would be plowed if one of the horses told the other they weren't needed? Can you imagine where the horses would be if the person walking behind didn't hold and guide the plow? And, for that matter, where would the farmer have been had they not worked with their neighbors to manage the water on their properties, keep the weeds down, collaborate on marketing and combine their efforts with those dedicated to the science and research of advancement, both in technology and genetics?
In this COVID-19 age of scientists around the world working collectively and unceasingly to find a vaccine and a cure, it seems absolutely ludicrous that baseball players and owners argue over their millions to be made per game, while millions of the people who traditionally pay to watch their games are now on unemployment. Who needs who these days?
Black Lives Matter is a fact. That such a truth needs to be said is a sin. That it needs to be claimed on the streets of our cities and the highways of our countryside is a witness against the persistent racism and prejudice that continues from the beginning of time and which still finds its insidious root in the hearts and lives of some who say they can live without the presence of others. That is neither Christian, nor true. We all need each other, with the gifts we each bring, just the way God created us to bring them. And, before you nod your head knowingly in agreement, how have you reminded someone today that you needed them, not for what you wanted them to be, but for the person they are?
The Apostle Paul was one of the first truly radical Christians in history: He believed that we are all one in Christ, male and female, Jew and Greek, slave and free . . . regardless our skin color or sexuality. When we pull together, the plowing can get done. When we treat the other as a commodity or as inferior, injustice, inequality, hatred, prejudice and disdain are the only crops which will grow in our lives - and disaster will loom just around the corner.
It is time to remember Whose we are and in Whose Image we are made. We are created in the Imago Dei, the Image of God . . . if you know the Bible at all, those are among the first words. Female and male God created them, in the Image of God, God created them. Us. You and me. All y'all. Not some of y'all, All y'all.
Instead of negotiating the fair market value of our skills, perhaps it is time we spent a moment affirming the value of our fellow human beings, for unless we do, baseball players will continue to argue over ever-burgeoning contracts, while Rome itself burns with the flames of anger and death -and the support of fans will wither in despair over the average person's plight.
God, save us from the pride of self-certainty and arrogance in this journey of life. As prayers speak of needing You, so we need each other. For such as this, Christ was crucified. For Hope such as Yours, He is raised from the dead. Give us such Hope.
Something to ponder on the journey down on the farm.
