Being Human to the ‘Other’

When we try to understand just who we are, we inevitably turn to our families and communities. Closely tied to our perception of ourselves is the perception of everyone else, specifically those not in our community. This is what ‘the other’ is. It is the group of people that you define yourself over and against. Generically, for the Christian ‘the other’ is the non-Christian. You could map out the groups along all sort of barriers and lines. The “haves” and the “have-nots”, the Catholic and the Protestants, African-Americans and Caucasians, are all good examples. The problem comes not with the intrinsic differences – but rather the perception of the ‘other’.

One of the unusual aspects of Jesus’ ministry was to the ‘other’. He went to the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the outcasts, the sick to proclaim God’s Kingdom, and to these he invited and declared to be righteous, in-the-right. Meanwhile, any traditional route of the messiah-claimants of Jesus’ time were “fighting the good fight” hashing it out politically with Rome’s client-rulers, chief priests, Pharisees, and all the other rival Jewish groups. Jesus’ treatment of the other is incredibly radical.

Jesus recognizes the humanness of the other. He recognizes that they too are made in God’s image. Jesus enters into a relationship with the other. He recognizes their needs and fulfills it. Jesus, as the opening of Matthew and Luke tell us, is the new Adam, the new image of God. Because of sin, we are broken images of God. Jesus’ origins result in his perfect reflection of God. Jesus is the human being we are all meant to be.

One of the problems with denominations and sects is the demonization of the other. Each of the Jewish sects in the first century did this. The Muslims and Christians did it in the Crusades. The Catholics and Protestants are still doing in Ireland. The “haves” and “have-nots” have done it routinely in Europe in civil unrest and revolution. The African-Americans and Caucasians did it in South Africa during and after aparthied.

We have to recognize the humanness in everyone around us. In the prostitute. In the homeless man you pass on your way to work. In your dysfunctional family members. In your misunderstood co-workers. In your inappropriate friends. In the people that go to that other church on the other street. In the people that do not go to church at all. In the people in your church you think you know – but you don’t really know.

And then we have to be the human being that Jesus was. A real human being, not a broken imitation of the image of God. We have to enter a relationship with the other. That is the only way to be human. That is the only way to share the Gospel. That is the only way to show people Jesus.