Karen and I had dinner this week with a couple we consider friends. He was ordained with me and there were many opportunities for us to get together and learn about each other. Over the course of our academic and pastoral formation, a time that meant we were together all day once a month and then there were interactions online and over the phone during this process. You get to know people reasonably well, you learn about their families, you go through their struggles with them, and we learn to assist one another in times of stress.

I bring this up because this deacon has posted some questions on Facebook recently that revolve around the whole conversation on race that is going on in this country today. These questions came from a place of wanting answers to help him understand these issues from a different perspective than his. The problem was that the comments on these posts were generally filled with disparaging remarks from all sides that he would dare ask that question. From one side he heard there is no such thing as systemic racism and from the other side he was told because of the color of his skin he could not understand their point of view.

The experience he had on Facebook found me pondering the readings we hear today from a different perspective. The line from Isaiah hit home; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” My friend was looking for help in answers in a public forum, which you would think would be open to these discussions. The problem becomes clear in today’s culture God’s ways are definitely not our ways.

God forgives those who ask for forgiveness, even to the point of allowing them into heaven. It does not matter when this forgiveness is asked for. Society wants to hold your sins, past and present against you and beat you down with them. I hear from my conservative friends that their liberal friends do not listen to them, and then I hear the same thing from my liberal friends about their conservative friends. If we don’t listen how will we gain an understanding?

Then Friday night we hear about the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg one of the Supreme Court Justices. She was considered one of if not the most liberal of the justices on the Supreme Court, yet her closest friend on the court was the late Antonin Scalia, considered at the time one of the most conservative justices on the court. This friendship came from the respect that each gained for the other during their time on the court. During this time even though they were usually on opposite sides of a decision they each listened to the other’s point of view to try and gain an understanding of the rationale behind their decision. These conversations were never had with malice, belittling or talking down to the other just because they disagreed. What would our society be like if we had this same process play out on Facebook and other places of public discourse? Instead we have screaming, belittling, and an out of hand dismissal of the discussion from the side which we oppose.

I admit, it is easy to simply dismiss an argument, or statement you disagree with, but that won’t change people’s hearts or minds. Listening to one another, even if we disagree vehemently, will lead to a better society. This needs to begin with each one of us, we need to have our own change of heart first and be willing to listen to each other, not shout over one another.

The Gospel reminds us again that God’s ways are not our ways. The landowner hires people throughout the day and then at the time for paying gives the same wage to each person regardless of when they began working that day. As I said earlier in God’s eyes it does not make a difference when we realize we should follow his guidance, it just matters that we do. The perfect example of this is the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He repents of his sins and is welcomed into heaven, even though his crime at the time warranted the crucifixion he was suffering. The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

We are all called the be equal participants in God’s Kingdom, not matter when we get there. Paul reminds us today how we should live. We also need to remember where Paul came from to truly understand the life-giving power of Christ. He was a persecutor of the early Christians, to the point he was on his way to rounding them up when Christ got to him and made him see with newly opened eyes what life could be like. His letter to the Philippians today shows the total transformation that came to Paul. “Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.”

While Paul was not afraid to fight, verbally, for what he believed in, he also made sure that he called on the Spirit to guide him in those times of the fight. We are called to do the same, we are called to fight for what we believe in, we are not called to judge those who disagree with us as less worthy of Christ’s love and forgiveness.

Christ’s love and forgiveness is for ALL people, regardless of their political persuasion, race, gender, social class, or economic status. Our society wants us to believe that this should not be the case. While God sees all no matter where they come from as equal to one another, society likes and needs to keep putting us into groups. This allows those in power to determine winners and loser by the group you are in. God’s ways are not our ways. When we move closer to God’s way we become closer to God and we have his Spirit to help guide us. God does not care when we move toward his way, only that we do so that we can gain eternity with him. He knows it is not going to be easy so he sent Christ to be our strength. Through the Spirit we all receive Christ in the Eucharist we will receive shortly.

Are we ready to use the strength that comes from the Eucharist and the other sacraments to begin to act more in accordance with God’s way or will we continue to believe and follow our own way?