Many Voices, One Gospel

This is my third (and last, for those of you hiring) October at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, which means courses are in full swing, due dates are starting to pop up, and the library is beginning to feel more like home than my apartment. It also means that in chapel every Tuesday, we switch to singing Spanish responses to the Great Thanksgiving, as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. I will admit I am sometimes a little worn out by the transition to a foreign language and a different tonality. The congregation stumbles over the unfamiliar words and rhythms, and everyone seems a little embarrassed or uncomfortable at the insecurity of our collective voice. But that does not stop October from coming every year, like clockwork.

G-ETS never shies away from introducing diverse voices into the services of Word and Table, and thank God for that. Those who habitually hear only people like themselves in church (especially if "themselves" happen to be in the majority) cannot possibly entertain the fullness of the gospel message. Instead gospel message starts to resemble quite closely how their lives are already being lived, rather how their lives can and should be transformed. So, when we silence an entire group, as seen last week when a Federal judge in Alabama upheld the state's harsh immigration law, we miss the good news completely. Criminalizing a people (legally or socially) because of their appearance means stifling their voices, lest they be prosecuted for being unwelcome guests in a world not open to their existence. And we all lose.

So, if every October we fumble a bit around the Spanish Sanctus, or if we attend a gospel service with a few more Amens and Yes Lords than we might be comfortable with, or if the traditional Korean drumming proceeding the call to worship doesn't seem as meditative as a Bach prelude, then good. We can be reminded of what it feels like to be the other, and to be constantly uncomfortable, outside the norm of what being a Christian "should be." Maybe then, we can remember that all voices are necessary to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.