{"id":1020,"date":"2017-05-15T02:01:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/15\/how-to-love-god-based-on-acts-1722-31-and-john\/"},"modified":"2020-02-15T19:02:45","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T19:02:45","slug":"how-to-love-god-based-on-acts-1722-31-and-john","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/15\/how-to-love-god-based-on-acts-1722-31-and-john\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHow to Love God\u201d based on\u00a0\u00a0Acts 17:22-31 and John 14:15-21"},"content":{"rendered":"

One
\nof the squeal worthy moments of my life was being asked to serve on
\nthe Board of Directors for the Methodist Federation for Social Action
\n(MFSA). \u00a0When the official request came in I was surrounded by young,
\nUnited Methodist clergy people, and the announcement led to an
\nimmediate toast. \u00a0The Methodist Federation for Social Action has been
\na justice leader in both the The United Methodist Church and the
\nUnited States for more than 100 years, starting with worker’s rights.
\n Calls for justice expanded, as they do, because any justice work
\nalways intersects with other justice work. \u00a0By 1940 Mary
\nMcLeod Bethune joined the board to help focus the work on combating
\nracism in the denomination.1<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Our
\n\u201cspring\u201d board meeting, in March, was outside of Philadelphia.
\n(So, it was our winter board meeting.) \u00a0Trainers came from
\n\u201cCrossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training\u201d to work with the
\nboard for two days. \u00a0It was very different training than I have done
\nbefore. \u00a0Almost all of the anti-racism training I’ve done has been
\nfocused on the personal. \u00a0That is, I’ve often looked at my own
\nbehaviors and biases with hope of becoming more aware and less
\nbiased. \u00a0Those trainings have all been a blessing. \u00a0Some educational
\nopportunities I’ve had have been important in educating me about the
\nhistory of race and racism in our country. \u00a0Those have also been very
\nimportant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nHowever,
\nthe training we did at the MFSA board meeting was different than any
\nof those. \u00a0We looked at institutional and structural racism. \u00a0In
\nfact, our training was really \u201canti-white supremacy\u201d training,
\nand we looked at the ways that white supremacy lives in our society
\nand its institutions. \u00a0One of the most useful ideas I brought home
\nfrom the training was the idea of the \u201ccenter\u201d of power and
\nprivilege in our society and its contrast, the \u201cborderlands\u201d
\noutside of power and outside of privilege. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n
I’m
\ngoing to offer here a very extended quote because I don’t trust
\nmyself to find the language to summarize these ideas quite yet:<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u201cThere
\nis a center<\/b> in US society that is considered normal:
\nwhite, male, heterosexual, married, Protestant (Christian),
\nAnglo-American, English speaking, upper middle class, able-bodied,
\neducated, middle-aged and embodying a particular standard of beauty.
\nIt is the standard by which all are measured. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Around
\nthis center exist the rest of us \u2013 at varying distances from the
\ncenter. Some of us are closer and some further apart. The borderlands<\/b>
\nsurround this \u201ccenter of normalcy.\u201d Power, time, place, and
\nposition dominate their interaction. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nborderlands is a juicy place. It is a place full of possibilities,
\nchaos, creativity, conflict, beauty. It\u2019s the place where harmony
\nand conflict exist \u2013 simultaneously. It\u2019s a place that transcends
\nand defies dualism, where rigid linear reality cannot exist; a place
\nwhere multiculturalism and diverse identities mix and mingle in a
\nconstant ebb and flow of mess, mediation, and mitigation. <\/p>\n

Our
\ninstitutions are structured to rein force and maintain the center.
\n<\/b>When
\ninstitutions \u2018embrace diversity\u2019 people of the borderlands must
\nassimilate in order to come in to the center, though they will never
\nfully belong there. The tension that results is troublesome for the
\ncenter. It creates conflict that the center is not structured to
\ntolerate. Thus, brining the borderlands into the institution means
\nforcing it to conform, contort, and homogenize. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There
\nis peacefulness in the borderlands but not peace. The power and
\nprivilege of the center causes separation, divisiveness, and
\nultimately destruction within the borderlands. The center demands
\nconformity and sameness, making scarce the resources required to
\ncreatively and collectively resolve conflict. This is the daily
\nexperience of the borderlands. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\npower of People of Color and other oppressed groups is in the
\nborderlands. Coming to the center disempowers the borderlands and
\ndestroys its spirit. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our
\ninstitutions are defined by rigid boundaries, which isolate both
\ninstitutions and the center. The challenge for anti-racism
\ntransformation teams is to make these boundaries more permeable<\/b>
\nand to move the institutions to the in-between-ness of the center and
\nthe borderlands. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Journeying
\nthrough the in-between-ness brings the center to the borderlands,
\nmaking permeable the walls and boundaries of the institution. It
\npushes the center out into the borderlands, making it part of its
\nchaos and creativity, conflict and beauty. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\ndoing this, the borderlands becomes what is normal, diversity and
\njustice become the standard. The borderlands becomes the Beloved
\nCommunity for which we all yearn.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

This
\nmodel of the world as it is, and as it could be, has been playing
\naround in my mind for 2 months, and I needed to share it with you.
\nIt has helped me to see more clearly. \u00a0Within this model it was
\nuseful to learn that one of the ways the center maintains its power
\nis through the control of resources and \u201clegitimacy\u201d which sets
\nup different groups in the borderlands to compete with each other.
\nIt was also helpful, if radically uncomfortable, to be confronted
\nwith the idea that charity is a means by which the center deals with
\nits guilt AND attempts to bring the borderlands into conformity.
\n(I’m still squirming.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After
\nthis training, when I was invited to work on dreaming an anti-racist
\nUnited Methodist Church at the Change Maker’s Summit led by the
\nGeneral Commission on Religion and Race, I was super excited!! \u00a0When
\nI got there and started listening, I realized that my newfound
\nknowledge of how white supremacy works and the language I
\ncould use to talk about it was ALREADY shared language among the
\npeople of color I was in conversation with. \u00a0I’d had this MAJOR
\nlearning experience that had reformed my thinking, which I’m still
\nstruggling to fully understand, and then I realized that I’m still
\nsuper far behind.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I
\nthink, perhaps, that knowing how far behind I am is an appropriate
\nplace to be, at least as \u00a0long as I don’t get comfortable and stay
\nhere. \u00a0Part of the way that white supremacy, and \u201cthe center\u201d are
\nmaintained are by encouraging white people NOT to see the structural
\nand institutional ways that they’re maintained. \u00a0From within the
\ncenter, things just look \u201cgood, orderly, and right.\u201d \u00a0As we
\nlooked carefully at the sorts of factors that impact how closely an
\nindividual lies to \u201cthe center\u201d, I realized that I share ALMOST
\nall of those characteristics, and I have been socialized to seek the
\nsort of power that \u201cthe center\u201d brokers, and move myself closer
\nand closer to the center. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks
\nbe to God, I’ve also been introduced to Jesus, the Bible, the vision
\nof the Torah, and the concept of the kin-dom of God. \u00a0The values that
\nI’ve learned in THOSE places are the values that led me to every
\nanti-racism training I’ve ever gone to, and are the values that give
\nme a way to counter the narratives and socialization of \u201cthe
\ncenter.\u201d \u00a0Now, to be clear, The United Methodist Church as an
\ninstitution operates with a confusing mix of the values of \u201cthe
\ncenter\u201d, the language of Jesus, and an occasional reflection of the
\nactual values of Jesus. \u00a0It is a very confusing place to be. \u00a0That
\nmix of values and language pervades all the levels of the church,
\nalbeit in different concentrations of each ingredient. \u00a0<\/p>\n

One
\nof the other take-aways from the anti-racism training is that no
\nperson, institution, or experience is truly free from the values,
\npower, and impact of \u201cthe center\u201d and we kid ourselves if we
\nthink we are. \u00a0Yet, together, we are able to make progress anyway, if
\nwe try.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So,
\nloving God and following Jesus offer us a way out of the center and
\nits values, into the borderlands to be part the Beloved Community in
\nall of its beautiful diversity. \u00a0God’s universal love for all people
\nleads to God’s dream of world where people are able to survive and
\nthrive together. \u00a0However, even in the Bible, that universal love of
\nGod gets held in tension with other values and ideas. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n
For
\ninstance, let’s take this brilliant speech of Paul’s in Acts. \u00a0He
\nmeets people where they are, and takes what they already know
\nseriously. \u00a0He is speaking to people who don’t share his experience
\nof God, he started out as a monotheist and was well educated in
\nJudaism. \u00a0He is speaking to polytheists, and he makes space for them.
\n I love that he notices to their humility in the altar to the unknown
\nGod, as uses it an opening to tell about the God he knows. \u00a0I also
\nlove that he quotes one of their well-known sayings, \u201cin God we
\nlive and move and have our being\u201d and applies it to God as he knows
\nGod! \u00a0I also think it is really funny that one of my favorite
\ndescriptions of God (\u201cin whom we live and move and have our being\u201d)
\nwas ADAPTED to fit the monotheistic God. \u00a0I think it is beautiful
\nthat Paul includes the people he speaks to as being children of God,
\nand indicating that in his faith God loves them all. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n
Of
\ncourse, then the passage comes to its end, and Paul tells people that
\nthey all have to do things his way, and follow his God while
\nabandoning what they’ve known, or his God will punish them all.
\nSIGH. \u00a0Paul thinks there is ONE right way, he knows it, they don’t,
\nand they should all do it his way. \u00a0That’s not so beautiful, nor so
\nwelcoming or respectful of the people he is talking to. \u00a0He changes
\nfrom accepting people as they are to telling them how they should be.
\n It is a switch from valuing the borderlands to demanding that they
\ncomply with the center. \u00a0His speech ends telling them that unless
\nthey think like he does, they’re of less value. \u00a0He requires unity
\nwith his ideas rather than joining with the people in solidarity with
\ntheir needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

John
\npresents this differently. \u00a0He shows Jesus speaking to people who
\nalready know and love God. \u00a0The speech says that God has desires for
\nhow people act, but the desires are that people treat each other with
\nGod’s love for them, and build communities centered in love. \u00a0This
\nmakes it clear that unless love defines actions, people are not truly
\nfollowing God. \u00a0There is no space for exceptions so that anyone can
\nbe excluded, instead there is a reminder that \u00a0the Spirit can help us
\nlive as God wants us to live. \u00a0We’re told we aren’t alone, and that
\ndoing God’s work IS the same same as loving God, and then when we
\nwant to seek out God we can do so by loving God’s people. \u00a0In this
\nbrief passage I hear the values of God and Jesus without significant
\nmuddling of the center! \u00a0(Thanks be to God for moments like that!)\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Loving
\nGod is loving God’s people. \u00a0All of them. \u00a0Loving people who are in
\nthe borderlands is sometimes a challenge. \u00a0So too is loving people
\nwho live near the center. \u00a0But God doesn’t make space for exceptions.
\n Only for love. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n
I’m
\npretty sure that one of the most important forms of loving God’s
\npeople is truly seeing, hearing, and knowing each other. \u00a0That means
\nhelping to loosen the walls between the borderlands and the center,
\nand for me at least, that’s going to require continued anti-racism
\nand anti-white supremacy work. \u00a0But, thanks to the writer of the
\nGospel of John, \u00a0the Methodist Federation for Action, \u00a0and this
\nchurch, I know that I don’t go it alone. \u00a0Thanks be to God!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Amen\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n1<\/a>http:\/\/mfsaweb.org\/?page_id=2692\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\t2<\/a>
\n\tRobette Anne Dias & Chuck Ruehle, Executive Co-Directors,
\n\t\u00a9Crossroads Ministry
\n\thttp:\/\/www.crossroadsantiracism.org\/wp-content\/themes\/crossroads\/PDFs\/The%20Borderlands.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron<\/p>\n

First United Methodist Church of Schenectady<\/p>\n

603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305<\/p>\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/p>\n

http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n

May 14, 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the squeal worthy moments of my life was being asked to serve on the Board of Directors for … Continue reading \u201cHow to Love God\u201d based on\u00a0\u00a0Acts 17:22-31 and John 14:15-21<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,657,658,661,662,659,663,664,660,56],"class_list":["post-1020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-anit-racism","tag-anti-white-supremacy","tag-crossroads","tag-gcorr","tag-in-god-we-live-and-move-and-have-our-being","tag-life-in-the-boarderlands","tag-lots-to-learn","tag-mfsa","tag-schenectady"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1229,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020\/revisions\/1229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}