Understanding and Appreciating
Our Differences
by Ron Rolheiser, OMI
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It’s common for us to see God’s grace and blessing in what unites us. But what if what separates us, what if what makes other persons, churches, and faiths seem foreign and strange is also a grace, a difference intended by God? Can we think of our differences, as we think of our unity, as a gift from God?
Different notions about God and different ways of speaking about God do not mean that we’re speaking of a different God. The same holds true for our churches. Having different concepts of what it means to be church does not necessarily mean that there isn’t some deeper underlying unity inside our diversity.
Similarly, for how we conceive of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, how we imagine Christ as being really present inside of bread and wine, can take many forms and can be spoken of in different ways, without it meaning that we’re speaking of a different reality…This has implications for every area of our lives, from how we receive immigrants in our countries, to how we deal with different personalities inside our families and places of work, to how we deal with other Christian denominations and other religions…God loves us all equally.
Difference, then, understood as part of the mystery of unity, should help keep us humble and honest enough to let others take their proper place before God.