The Oxford Comma and You
The Oxford Comma debate plops down as a worthy stand-in for many of our disagreements in life, politics, and faith.
(If you didn't see what I did there, you don't get the joke. My auto-correct wants to delete the final comma as Gmail is definitely in the anti-Oxford club.)
As my underpowered brain understands it, the Oxford Comma, briefly, comes after the last of a string of items and usually before the final "and" of the list.
Proponents stand firm that to eliminate ambiguity and a list of items rightly need to be separated by a comma.
Opponents believe the final "and" is separation enough and including it sounds pretentious and stuffy.
You may not even be aware of the debate surrounding this comma stuff, but to some it's a worthy fight to wage. A battle over a squiggle of ink. I vividly recall a prof in grad school who was adamant in its inclusion and liberally used his red pen when absent.
While it may appear silly to get drawn into disagreements like the Oxford Comma question, the same principle can explain the divide we see in our society, our political scene, as well as in most churches. Small things can morph into friendship-ruining, fellowship-shattering, side-choosing divisions. From there it is a small step to cancelling folks and dropping them into boxes and ignored at least, or label them as heretics or pharisees or liberals or fundies to be publicly shamed at worst. And this cuts both ways toward the liberal/progressive or the conservative/reactionary ends.
This looks more like following the world's standards than following Jesus. And it might be all of us at some time who major on a minor point and build a strong tower of defense of our position. Unity sacrificed to uniformity. That must be a slice of the explanation behind the thousands of denominations who identify as Christians but who have split from their former group over some grievance. I have labored through many conversations with friends who stand convinced they know the true truth on some issue or another and view any diversion (political or theological) as an error to be corrected.
Paul had to deal with this in the young church in Rome. Their issue revolved around whether it was right for a Jesus-follower to buy and eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. The matter doesn't resonate with us but threatened to shatter their group. Arguments were arranged and baptized. Each side felt they had the high ground looking down on the other. The Oxford Comma of church politics, but a larger issue was in play. Listen to part of Romans 14:1-4.
Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with - even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.... Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
With these verses in mind, consider the landscape of your friendships. We naturally gravitate to like-thinking people and that's fine, but is there room at your table for someone who comes to different conclusions than you? "Sure," you and I say. Let's up the ante and imagine a variety of issues where folks have differing views: Vaccines, guns, homeless, Fauci, immigration, Trump or Biden. What if you are staunchly pro-life and someone merges into your lane who is strongly pro-choice and is a Jesus follower just like you? Does dialogue and genial disagreement fall to vitriol? You get the point. Keeping unity when friends disagree on deeply held convictions seems to be what we are called to, but that flies in the face of our contemporary cultural stew in which we marinate.
This is tough stuff, but so was the issue facing Paul and dividing the Roman church. What he affirms is that unity, not uniformity, is our brand. And if, after discussions about an issue, there is still disagreement, then we are called to obey the law of Christ, that we love one another. After that, we stop our judging and condemning and gossiping and comparing their version of truth to ours. Other translations have verse 4 saying,
Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
So, friends, we loop back around to the basics of Love God, Love Others...and not just the ones we agree with. Study to know what you say you believe. Hold fast to all that matters. Be willing to admit you might be wrong. Then work to maintain unity in the bond of peace. Not easy at all, but worth the work, because the good news of Jesus and his kingdom crosses all groups, all ideologies, all denominations, all borders, all. Only then we can more honestly live out Jesus' prayer for us in the Upper Room that we be as unified as he and the Father are. And maybe lighten up, just a smidge.
As for me...sprinkle commas wherever you want, and do the work of loving, accepting, putting up with and serving one another. Let's go!
And music for the week
How about a couple of bad funnies for the week
Every time the man next door headed toward Robinson's house, Robinson knew he was coming to borrow something. "He won't get away with it this time," muttered Robinson to his wife. "Watch this."
"Er, I wonder if you'd be using your power-saw this morning," the neighbor began.
"Gee, I'm awfully sorry," said Robinson with a smug look, "but the fact of the matter is, I'll be using it all day."
"In that case," said the neighbor, "you won't be using your golf clubs, mind if I borrow them?"
_________
A lady goes into the butcher shop, and as she is walking around the store, she spies a beef tongue in the butcher's counter.
The lady asks, "What in the world is that?"
"Beef tongue," replies the butcher.
The lady gives a little involuntary shudder, "No way would I put anything in my mouth that came out of an animal's mouth!"
The butcher nods sympathetically while peeking into the woman's shopping cart, "I see you're buying a dozen eggs!"