Bridging Divides
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
We are more alike than we are different. Only after we break down the barriers we’ve built between ourselves can we truly live into the work God calls us to do.
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
- The Byrds
Ecclesiastes 3:1
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
Food for Thought
I grew up in a rural Southern town just below the mountains of North Carolina. Mom and Dad raised my two brothers and me in a loving home, filled with laughter and fun. Since Dad was a pastor, we practically lived at the church where he worked. That little church on a country road was my second home, and the people that filled it each Sunday morning and Wednesday evening were my second family.
I never saw Mom or Dad ask the members about their politics, nor did the parishioners ask that of each other. There were occasional differences between church members, and so, like all families, we had disagreements. But it was never anything that couldn’t be fixed with a handshake and a cup of coffee paired with an honest conversation.
All that changed on a sunny Tuesday morning in September 2001. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, politics became a central focus for many congregants. People that were once friends suddenly became enemies because of who they listened to on the radio or where they got their news. Debates about American flags and military hymns replaced discussions about renovations and Sunday School curricula. In many ways, the church never recovered from that tragedy.
That moment and its fallouts significantly redefined my theological worldview.
Years later, I met my friend Justin. Justin and I are very different - he has an extensive military background, while I went straight from high school into college, then graduate school. The odd looks friends and peers gave me when I told them about my budding friendship with Justin weren’t unexpected. But I had witnessed how easily friends and families can become enemies in the name of political agendas. So, when I met my friend Justin, I was ready to embrace our differences in the name of what made us the same: we are both people with common goals of happiness, family, and a genuine sense of community.
Like my original church family, Justin and I disagree - quite often, in fact. But the one thing we continually do is respect each other and honor one another. We make space for honesty, while remembering that our common humanity and friendship bind us together more than our political ideologies should be able to drive us apart.
The writer of Ecclesiastes, known as Qoheleth, which means “teacher,” pens thoughts about life and existence, wondering what it’s all for. The historical context of Ecclesiastes is one of great political strife and contentious family struggles. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for every season under heaven, including and especially death. But there is also plenty of life, and what we do with that life is what makes it truly precious. It is in the doing that we can become part of God’s renewing work within a lost and broken world. The biblical nation of Israel tore itself apart from the inside out, leaving nothing but ruins for us to find, wondering what could’ve been had the Israelites rallied together instead of building walls to separate themselves.
It makes me think of that little rural church and its ministry. I hear Qoheleth's words and wonder what could have been had we rallied together, remembering that there is a season for everything, and our season of disagreement could, in real and rich ways, lead us into a new season of understanding and love.
We are more alike than we are different, and what unites us can be far greater than what may be used to divide us. I pray that all peoples see each other as people. Each person is a beloved child of God. Embracing that profound truth just might save us. It just might prevent us from falling into ruin; it just might allow us instead to live into the possibilities God has so graciously given us.
Think of your closest friends and family. List some ways you are alike and some ways that you are different.
Take a moment to appreciate that each of those characteristics makes your loved ones who they are. Remember, it is despite - or perhaps even because of - your differences that they matter so much to you, and you to them.
Blessing
Loving God,
We thank you for making each one of us unique.
Help us to appreciate all the ways we are different
so that we can bring more love, understanding, and unity
into the world around us.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Discuss together what you tend to prioritize more: differences or similarities. Why is that
Discuss some experiences in your life where differences have created rifts in relationships, and some experiences where differences have strengthened relationships.
Consider together some ways you can be more intentional about listening through differences. Write a couple strategies down on a piece of paper and try to use them this week.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Who are two of your best friends? What do you like about them? What do they like about you?
What do you and your friend like that is the same? What do you and your friend like that is different?
What is one thing a friend does that makes you laugh? What is one thing you do that makes them laugh?
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Jonathan Redding is an assistant professor of religion at Nebraska Wesleyan University and is a biblical scholar and historian that specializes in the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation. He was born and raised in North Carolina (and educated a bit there, too). His work focuses on how and why people interpret the Bible to engage political, social, and cultural fallout from those interpretations. Jonathan loves all things related to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, despite his better instincts about cheering for teams that lose so much.
To hear more from Jonathan throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
If you have a story that you would like to be included as a Reader's Write feature, we would love for you to send it our way! You can email us directly at thewelcometableco@gmail.com.
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!