Union is not the same thing as uniformity. Union and unity is the reconciliation of differences as the differences are maintained. Difference remains, yet is overcome -- transcended in unity.
Jesus says in marriage the two become one, and in a healthy marriage each partner supports the other's becoming more and more one's own distinct, unique self, while remaining united.
The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity sees unity in diversity as fundamental to our understanding of ultimate reality. God is one: One God in three distinct persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- the tri-fold union of radical love -- Lover, Beloved, and the Breath of Love.
Roman Catholic Franciscan Richard Rohr writes, "The basic principle and problem of 'the one and the many' is overcome in God's very nature. God is a mystery of relationship, and the truest relationship is love. The three are not uniform but quite distinct and yet completely oned in total outpouring."
Rohr borrows that word "oned" from fifteenth century mystic Dame Julian of Norwich who used the old English term oneing to describe the union between God and the soul. She also said, "The love of God creates in us such a oneing that when it is truly seen, no person can separate themselves from another person."
In Jesus, we see a life of radical inclusivity. His table fellowship and compassion reached across all of the social, religious and political boundaries of the first century Mediterranean world. In his own culture, which divided people sharply into categories -- righteous or sinner, clean or unclean -- Jesus broke bread with observant religious leaders as well as with tax collectors and prostitutes. He offered his gifts of healing to Jew, Canaanite, Samaritan, Geresene, and Roman alike. He did all of that while respecting their cultural and religious differences.
The only people Jesus scolded were those who created division by trying to separate themselves from others because they thought they were better than others. Jesus called them "blind guides."
Reflecting on Jesus' example in the later light of the resurrection, the church came to believe that Jesus shows us how God incorporates the whole human condition into the divine life. Christians say Jesus shows us how God enters our vulnerability, brokenness, evil, pain and isolation; accepts and absorbs it into his own life; dies the death we will all die; and raises it all to God.
We also see in Jesus all of our human capacity for good -- the possibility within each of us for love, compassion, wisdom and insight, connection, trust and hope.
Jesus' immersion into the human condition shows us the radical belonging of God -- God's connection with every human life. Christians say that Jesus absorbs all of humanity into his own being and takes us into the very heart of the Trinity, where we have always been from the beginning.
We say Jesus shows us that all humanity belongs to God, in our brokenness and in our virtue. As Paul says, "There is therefore now no condemnation," (Romans 8:1), "but Christ is all and in all!" (Col. 3:11) All humanity is united to God, even as our distinctions remain.
All religions are distinct and different. Christianity is not the same as Buddhism or Islam. Each has a unique voice and story.
St. Augustine believed the word "religion" comes from Latin ligare, "bind, connect" and re (again) -- "to reconnect." Religions reconnect us to our deepest roots.
I see the various religions being deeply connected in their common aspirations, "oned" in Julian's language. I see Christ in my friends of other faiths. Their virtues and disciplines share many qualities with my own faith. We are connected, united, oned.
I hope my Buddhist friends also see a little of the Buddha's compassion in me. I hope my Muslim friends see me as one devoted and submissive to Allah the compassionate and merciful. I hope my evangelical Christian friends see me as a lover of Jesus, formed by Scripture. I hope my Catholic friends see me as devoted to the sacraments and our spiritual traditions. I hope my atheist friends see me as one committed to truth, beauty and goodness. I hope my conservative friends see me as a protector of our best values. I hope my liberal friends see me as open and humane.
Union is not sameness, but it is likeness. We can live in union with one another even as we maintain our uniqueness and difference. Difference remains, yet is overcome, transcended in unity. It is the way of peace.
LOWELL GRISHAM IS AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST WHO LIVES IN FAYETTEVILLE.
Commentary on 05/04/2014