But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups ¬{Jews and gentiles) into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, Ephesians 2:13-15

It amazes me the lengths people will go to, in the name of “them and us”. I am not certain why we find it difficult to accept other people as worthy as us, or as important as we think ourselves. But that is very often the case. We confuse privilege and status with being human. Maybe the better way to say it, we believe that not having high status and/or privilege means that one should not be treated as a fellow human being. Only those of my grouping count and are of value. I sometimes wonder why we do the things we do.

There is a family I know who by their attendance at church, they consider themselves devout Christians. Others think they are too. Yet their behaviour says otherwise to me. As I understand Christianity, we are not to be divisive, but are to always seek to be builders of unity. Yet this family operates from the perspective of divide and conquer. Irrespective of how others feel, if they do not agree, they act divisively. They do everything to ensure that only what they want happens. I single out this family yet I know 3 other person in 3 different congregations who behave like this. I know a priest who behaves like this. In business organizations and institutions I know people like this. I see politicians who behave like this.

Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations for Thursday, January 16, 2025, shares a captivating story. It tells of a man named Nanak. He founded the Sikhs. After a period of separateness from his community and contemplation, he understood that ” There is no Hindu. There is no Muslim. This was more than treat your neighbor as you would yourself. This was more than taking in the stranger. This was: There is no stranger. There is no you-against-me at all. We constitute each other. “ [1]
Sikhs believe that there are no strangers and all of humanity is equal. We are all to be treated the same.
I do agree. I believe the divisions are of our own making to satisfy our own elevated egos. Our illusions of grandeur which does not allow us to consider, that we cannot be the best at all things. We will always find that we are able to do some things better than other people and vice versa. It does not change who we are humans. Our circumstances do not define who we are. In many ways one aspect of our personality complements the area in which we are deficient.
References:
[1] Adapted from Valarie Kaur, “Becoming a Sage Warrior,” Daily Meditations, October 28, 2024, Center for Action and Contemplation, video, 38:13. 

Sikhs believe in the following principles. These are no different from the teachings of Jesus

1. Equality: Sikhs believe that everybody is equal. Race, religion, or sex does not matter. And therefore tolerance of others.
2. Social justice: justice should benefit everybody.
3. Service to others: we should help those in need.
   The Richard Rohr devotion quotes Sikh wisdom as saying “All of us are part of the One. Separateness is an illusion: There is no essential separateness between you and me, you and other people, you and other species, or you and the trees. You can look at anyone or anything and say: You are a part of me I do not yet know.”
   This is great philosophy. It sounds like Ubuntu. “I am because you are”. I do believe we are all one. It is a teaching of Jesus that I hold dear. Jesus prayed that his followers would be one, yet our guttural (or is the word visceral?) need to be the greatest, to shine brightest, suppresses our humility to the point where we hurt ourselves, others and our community. This is so sad. What is even worse is that we cannot see that our own actions contribute in one way or another to this separateness. It is always the other persons fault and we feel not just hurt but opposed hated and unloved.
   There is so much in Life that we need to think about if our search is to be better persons and to serve Christ through the service of others. We cannot exist without other people. Jamaicans say “one han’ caan clap” May we understand that we need each other. may we see our way as Francis of Assisi did.
   Let us pray.
   Merciful God, to you we commend
   ourselves and all
   those who need your help and correction.
   Where there is hatred, give love;
   Where there is injury, pardon; Where
   there is doubt, faith Where there is
   despair, hope; Where there is sadness,
   joy; Where there is darkness, light.
   Grant that we may not seek so much to be consoled, as to
   console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to
   love; for it is in giving we receive, in pardoning we are
   pardoned and it is in dying we are born into eternal life. Amen.