GOD MADE US DIFFERENT ON PURPOSE
When we read Genesis 11:1-9 (the Tower of Babel), language/difference is often taught or preached (and I’m guilty of this) as punishment for trying to build a tower to the heavens. So that humans would no longer be able to make a name for themselves, God “punishes” them by confusing their languages. Without the ability to communicate they can no longer build a tower and disperse.
However, one component often overlooked in this story is that it takes place after Noah and his family have disembarked from the ark. In Genesis 1:28 God commands humans to “fill the earth” yet one of the first things they do after the ark is build a city and all stay in one spot! Silly humans. How are they going to fill the earth and help God care for all of creation if they’re staying in one spot?!? Enter in the GIFT of different languages. What if different languages were thought of as a gift, given by God, to disperse us across the earth so we can join God’s mission of caring for all of creation?
Similarly in Acts 1:8 Jesus tells the disciples that they “will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them; and they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” But how are they to tell others the Good News of Jesus Christ when they don’t speak every language?!? Enter the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). The disciples are given the GIFT of different languages and people from all over hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in their own language (not in the same language!).
You can listen to Dr. Eric Barreto’s powerful witness the work of the Holy Spirit and the gift of diversity from the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering here: https://binged.it/2cGhLnZ
What if God really did make us different on purpose? What if we reframed how we think about diversity and the different ways God made us not so much as problems to be solved but as gifts from God to help us live out God’s mission in the world? I hope and pray this understanding changes how we view our neighbors who might be different than us.