Un-boxing day

Galatians 3:22-28

          I am in the process of reading a really good book called Dilemma. As a side note, one of the things that Fr. Cutie points out throughout the book is how people like to put you in boxes. I am well aware of this and perhaps that's one of the reasons I am enjoying the book so much. Our lives are so very different but so many similarities at the same time. 

           There seems to be an endless array of boxes, religious and secular. First think of how many religions there are.  Then, within the box of Christianity there are far too many smaller boxes. Within Catholicism there are the boxes of Independent, Roman, "Old" and perhaps you might consider Conservative and Lefebvre as well.

            Secularly we can be heard to ask what nationality are you? "I am an American" really doesn't do it. North American? Canadian? United States? But we seem to be comfy if someone says Italian and then certain judgements are locked in, nice an neat in your little Italian box. Asian Americans I think have it the worst right now. The boxes people put them in would have you believe they are all immigrants. Where did your parents come from?  Imagine the contorted faces when the answer comes back, Cincinnati! How could an Asian American be 4th generation American?? My own poor children are mutts, it's hard to put them in a box. Swiss, English, Welsh, French-Canadian, Hungarian, German, Irish, Polish, Cherokee and Puerto Rican. Try finding a box for them! I'd call them Americans in the best sense of the word.

            When Jesus came to set us free from the law, or to fulfill the law as he said,  Paul notes 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. As if to say, stop with the boxes already! God's creation cannot be confined to what we humans may seem comfortable with. You are citizens of the world that I created, you are all brothers and sisters. The anti-box movement  or full recognition of God's creation movement, whichever you prefer, is highlighted no better than in the growing letters of LGBTQ. Every day another letter is added, recently I discovered Intersex., so LGBTQIA, "A" added for ally. This is all good. Perhaps we will eventually get around to throwing out the boxes altogether and instead recognizing each persons' uniqueness as created  by God. We will be free to fall in love with the essence of a person as we already do but without fear or labels. Two souls can meet, fall in love and spend as much time of their journey together as they are graced with.

             I would like to see us celebrate un-boxing day. Celebrate the diversity of God's creation.

            

But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 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