This week, this month, there are so many celebrations, so many deep things to remember. In one month, we have Indigenous Heritage Month, Father’s Day, Pride Month, Senior’s Month, Trinity Sunday and Pentecost. All are important, but some weigh on us differently than others do, as they should.
This photo is taken from the Souharissen Indigenous lands in Waterdown, Ontario, where a treaty memorial was designed, installed and explained by Waterdown High School students and their teacher, Nathan Tidridge, working with First Nations leaders in the area. I’d encourage you to go visit and read the story of the two stones and what they represent.
These celebrations can be wonderful reminders, but can also cause us to think deeply about our own stories and where we go from here. In the news, we have seen how some of the celebrations this month can cause divisions or tensions. We do not all have the same stories, nor should we. But there are different ways we can listen to each other–from a place of divsion, or a place of seeking authentic unity and justice for one another.
As Christians, we are reminded that all creation is loved by God. Friends of mine, the Rev Paula and Tom Hamilton, shared a “Spirit Booster” a few weeks ago that talks about what we do when we feel divided. It’s not always the easy path, but it is one we’re called to take.
They gave me their permission to share it with you this week:
The Great Divide
For all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
From the beginning of time, people have been divided from one another. Divisions have been made based on geographic borders, ethnic groups, race, gender, skin colour, language, and religion. Even within Christianity, there is often a divide between people of different denominations or even within denominations because of different traditions, customs, and practices.
In contrast, Jesus said: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34) He didn’t say: “love the people who are like you”, or “love only these people”, He simply says: “love one another”. He taught us that the Ten Commandments can be summed up as “Love God, love your neighbour”; and He told the parable of the Good Samaritan to show us that our neighbours are all people.
It’s easy for us to look at others and see only our differences, but Jesus calls us to look beyond those differences and bridge the divide and see each other as brothers and sisters in faith. It’s just as the apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer
Dear God,
When I look at others, help me to see them as You see them, and to remember that they are as much Your child as I am. Help me to love others just as You call me to do. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
For further reading: Galatians 3:26-28; Luke 10:25-37; John 13:31-35.
Copyright Paula and Tom Hamilton, 2025.
Photo © Susan Kerr 2025. May not be reproduced or circulated without permission of the author.
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