(pri)DEMON(th): what an odd thing to say on the first day of pride month

 

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I hesitated to post this because I know the winsome police will clutch pearls; but let me explain. Certainly, there's no false doctrine in what was written. The quote is the theme for the WELS Foundations Sermon Series for this week, the seventh Sunday of Easter, eyeing up the celebration of Pentecost on the following Sunday, following our liturgical calendar. Certainly, we do not follow the liturgical calendar of the world. But as Christ chided the Pharisees who did not know the sign of the times, we also need to be able to recognize the sign of our times. The graphic absent any context - "Christ creates unity within diversity, the Church's unity is built on truths that transcend those differences" - are words that could be spoken from any rainbow-flag-waving ELCA pulpit on the opening day of Pride Month. To the casual Facebook reader, who spends about 1.7 seconds on a post while doomscrolling on their mobile device, this fits into the bevy of advertisements and boosted posts trumpeting Pride month. its_the_same_picture.jpg.

This statement might be fine in a sermon, with the caveat that even here we need to be careful. The "diversity" is purely ethnic since Jesus' followers already included men and women, healthy, sick and disabled. This definition of "diversity = gentiles" or "diversity = race, tribe and language" if you want to put it that way is different than the way their employers' HR team uses diversity. It's different than how most people on the street would answer the question "what is diversity?". Maybe sticking to Bible words like "gentile" or "every race, tribe and language" would be better, here. 

The more you poke at it, the more I wonder why 'diversity' without qualifier was the word chosen here.

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Palate cleanser: A WELS pastor who knows the sign of the times: The Seventh Sunday of Easter 2025