Othering

Othering

26th November 2023

Luke 7:36–50   

Today’s Bible reading is a story about welcome.

Jesus is invited into Simon’s place for a meal.

But, a woman comes into that house and shows a much more meaningful welcome than Simon does.

Jesus contrasts the woman’s actions with Simon’s actions (or lack of actions).

This is a worthy story for us today, as all this month we’ve been exploring our actions – specifically, how we welcome all.

·      How can we practice welcome?

·      How do we best put our faith into action?

Part of why I think this story we hear today about Jesus has been remembered, is that there is something to learn here about practicing a fuller expression of welcome.

When I was a kid, I remember the book of the Berenstain Bears.

Quite often in these books, the father would be trying to show the bear cubs how to do something and then would muck it up.

In an obvious (and shameless) reinterpretation of his actions, he would claim to be showing the cubs how NOT to do something!

Jesus compares the lack of welcome from Simon (who after all, is the host) with the woman who acts with generosity …and love.

There is something else going on in this story… between Simon and the woman.

The dynamic that is observed here is ‘othering’.

Simon is ‘othering’ this woman.

We know what it is to treat groups of people as ‘other’.

To use the word ‘other’ as a verb describes what we do when we act towards people as if they are separate from us, and inferior.

This behaviour directly contradicts the practice of hospitality—to see Christ in the other—yet we

find othering practiced all around us, …and sometimes in Church.

And we can fall into the trap of othering too.

When we were in the United States recently, I saw coffee mugs for sale.

It’s the same mugshot of Donald Trump – with two interpretations!

These coffee mugs for sale with two differing captions is an example of the polarisation in Presidential politics.

It highlights the different opinions/preferences of others.

And the othering can be quite nasty.

Another more serious example, also from the United States was a story my friend told me about something that happened to her parents.

Mary’s parents were newly married in the late 1950’s. They moved to Kansas an wanted their first house, and thought it would be great to have a new house built.  So they looked at a new subdivision being made in a beautiful area, and applied to the local council for a section.

Their application to buy a section in the new subdivision was declined.

And the local council gave them the reason: they are Jewish.

That is a stark example of othering from many decades ago.

But we see terrible othering of people right now in Israel and Gaza.

Don’t we see how the actions towards one another as if they are separate and inferior is responsible for the tragic events in the Middle East?

Much closer to home is a story about othering in the history of people in this country.

In fact, just north of here.

When European settlers came to live in Upper Hutt in the 1800s, they ‘othered’ the mana whenua people already living there by naming the geographic area ‘Maoribank’.

They gave the area this name because of the people they saw living by the river.

This community was actually Te Hau-karetu Pa. 

The local school (Kura) has recently renamed itself.

It has changed the name from ‘Maoribank’ to ‘Te Kura o Hau Karetu’.[1]

·      The translation for “hau” is the wind.

·      And “karetu” is a type of sweet-scented grass that grows along the banks of the Hutt River.

So the name alludes to the north-west winds that blow down the valley, carrying the fragrance of the grass.

Do you see how this school community shows us one way we can move away from othering?

Being aware of othering helps us to be more welcoming of others, in making space for one another.

Our theology affirms this, AND we have a history in this land that aspires to such mutual belonging.

The song we sang just before our young people went out was inspired by the faith statement of the  Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand: The Kupu Whakapono.

It includes these words:

We belong to this triune God,

women and men,

young and old,

from many nations,

in Christ he iwi kotahi tatou

The words “he iwi kotahi tatou: now we are one people” were spoken by Captain Hobson, who signed the treaty on behalf of the British Crown, and subsequently became the first Governor of New Zealand.

This declaration, at such a profound moment in our shared history of two peoples, resonates with the biblical understanding of the reconciling work of God in Christ.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul declares that

“[by incorporating Gentiles into the covenant of promise with Jews,

Christ creates] in himself one new humanity in place of the two,

thus making peace” (Eph 2:15)

Let me show a video called Don’t Put People In Boxes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRwt25M5nGw

God welcomes us, and wants us to welcome others.

(As this video says) “We have been made into one body. United as one under His grace.”

In Christ we become a new humanity; one people.

What does that mean to you?

Is that something you want others to know and to share in?

We have heard in today’s Bible reading, that (despite the hostile and critical surroundings in Simon’s house) the woman has felt the welcome from God.

And her extravagant response displays (on the outside) her profound gratitude.

Let me share one final story from my recent trip to the US (don’t worry, I’ll run out of these stories – eventually)

In Washington D.C. we visited the Price family.

Evan and Christine and their three kids worshipped here at St John’s when they lived here for two years, while Evan was posted to the US Embassy.

We had made contact with them, found where they lived and then took a subway for over an hour to the leafy outskirts of the city where they live.

The Price family gave such a profound welcome to the Lane family…

1.    They picked us up from the subway station, and drove us the additional 15mins to their home.

2.    Evan (the Dad) had taken half day off work,

3.    And had made special chilli and Buffalo dip,

4.    He had learned how to make salami rosettes (from YouTube!),

5.    They fed us and gave us drinks to toast

6.    And they presented us with exotic gifts to take with us – candy and spicy Buffalo sauce (which exploded in my suitcase on the flight home!)

7.    The most amazing action of welcome the family offered us was …washing our dirty laundry!

We didn’t have a washing machine where we were staying, and so they invited us to bring our disgusting smalls to run through the heavy cycle of their own machine.

Surely such a gesture of welcome and hospitality is rare!

This example may not sound very ‘spiritual’.

But over these past four weeks we have been deliberately exploring how we can put our faith into practice.

We want our faith to be a practical experience we live-out.

Being welcoming of all.

I hope together you’ve discovered something that helps you practice welcoming all.

So that, together, we may be known as those who follow Jesus.

Remembering (of course) that we welcome all, because God welcomes us.

[1] https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/124330125/upper-hutt-schools-new-name-te-kura-o-hau-karetu-honours-local-mori-history