Of Unity in Diversity

I listened to and watched the president’s inaugural speech Monday. It was brief but stirring I thought. One point hit home with me and I trust the president was sincere when he said it, and that was his insistence on that fact that we Americans hold many points of view, and that we must respect those points of view and the person or persons who hold them. In government he insisted that there is a way to synthesize such points of view such that the greater good might be served in spite of ideological differences. Government is not perfect; it instead is a continuing process of “perfecting” the democracy we call the United States. Perhaps I am naive, but the speech made a renewed believer of me that government can be the creative servant it was meant to be. The president reiterated this notion of ideological diversity again at the luncheon following the inauguration. He said again that though there are profound differences in how our elected officials foresee solutions to challenging problems that beset us, there is still a path to follow, a synthesis of ideas whereby through honest and respectful conversation we may move the American enterprise forward. Not perfect, but ever being perfected. The Latin root for conversation is convere, which literally means to turn; it is in our imaginative turning our hearts to the other that opens possibilities for new insights and creative action.

This is exactly what Paul is talking about in his letter to the church in Corinth, which appears in this Sunday’s lectionary. He is mindful of the great diversity in the increasingly cosmopolitan city of Corinth, and that diversity is reflected in the church. There are gender issues, issues of wealth and poverty, issues concerning cultic and social practice. This is a community that is both Jew and gentile, so there were bound to be profound differences in points of view. Whoever propounded over the centuries that there is only one way to believe, doesn’t understand humanity. Unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Paul eloquently insists that it is within fecund diversity, that the Spirit engenders a profound unity, a singleness of heart, a passionate sense of purpose. It seems a paradox, but I believe that if we turn our hearts to each other, in religion, in government, in matters social and economic, within our families…We will joyfully discern the way ahead….One body with many members, many ideas, many gifts.

I also have a renewed belief in the vast potential of this country both on the domestic scene and globally. We are ending two wars which should free us up financially to serve the great needs present at home and abroad. That process begins with sincere and enlightened conversation, a process which will lead to creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Let us seek not the uniformity of ideas, but let us seek the creative synthesis of ideas that lies in our rich diversity. Let the conversation begin.