Parish Magazine Article – June 2026

 

One of the things I have not quite got used to since living in Herefordshire is the multi culturalism of a large city.  We simply don’t have the diversity of faiths and culture our more metropolitan areas take for granted.  Difference can bring great benefits and the opportunities to discover cultures and traditions other than our own. Yet if we are not careful the politics of division and hatred can draw attention to cultural diversity in an unhelpful way which creates tension and divides communities.

So, the question I want to pose is how do you cope with difference? We all think we are good at dealing with diversity, but the reality is that most of us like and feel most comfortable with people just like us! We all have a certain amount of preference and bias, and it is important that we know how to spot our blind spots and the issues that can trip us up. Yet the bible speaks about difference in a positive way because it recognises all of us are unique expressions of God’s love.

In the very beginning of creation God created diversity and difference not just in humanity but in the entire creation. However, uniquely, he created human beings to reflect his divine nature. Whatever preferences we have, at heart we are called to treat others as we ourselves want to be treated. When we reject those who are different, we are in effect rejecting God’s love for our world.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.‘ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-31

Paul recognised that difference was a key part of our faith. Christians are called to live counter culturally and that alone marks us as different from those around us. Our values are shaped by the kingdom and in the kingdom the differences that matter in this world are meaningless. Instead, Paul wants us to know that what is important is our trust in Jesus as our Lord because this enables us to be citizens of heaven.

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Galatians 3:26-29

Finally when we look elsewhere in the New Testament, we also find a similar message, in fact John goes further in his letters because he says if we love God but hate those we can see then our faith is flawed. John says when we reject difference, we have not let our faith shape who we are.

“We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

1 John 4:19-21

 

The Venerable Derek Chedzey

Archdeacon of Hereford