Dear Friends in Christ,

Many of us are concerned about the seemingly growing divisions in our nation and world. Between red/blue, rich/poor, left/right, woke/unwoke, rich/poor (the list could go on and on.) We do gravitate towards what we feel is our 'tribe'. Some of that is natural. We are drawn to persons who more or less look like us, live like us, vote like us, think like us, believe like us. That's no surprise.

But things have gotten much nastier (or should I say-more "dug in" and more hateful?) in recent years. The state of our politics is a symptom of that. There are more "hate" crimes. More groups that attract those feeling angry and disenfranchised. 'Tribes' have a certain appeal to them. They also aren't very good for building community, and for building bridges, and for building understanding between God's varied and diverse people. Churches and Christians aren't always good at that either.

There is an antidote to all this poison in our nation and world. The antidote for us as followers of Jesus, is to claim the title "Christian", as our primary ID; as the marker that does not set us apart from or in opposition to other people, but aligns us with the person of Jesus, and the heart of Jesus, and the mind of Jesus. St. Paul writes to a rather divided audience in Galatians 3: 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. There's an offer of real unity that no tribe, or political party or group can compare with!

On your average day, I am thankful and honored to be a white male, a Lutheran Christian, a citizen, a husband and dad, an ELCA pastor, even an old geezer! But the most important thing for me to remember and celebrate and stay focused on is that I am a Christian. I am called to follow Jesus. I am sent to represent Jesus in the world. I am taught to live and love-to the best of my abilities-as Jesus lived and loved. There is no other 'tribe', label, or agenda that can offer anything more important; more challenging; or more rewarding. If we help each other remember and focus on this truth, maybe Christ can use us to stem-or even to heal-some of the divisions that dog the world He came to save. Grace and peace,

-Pastor Paul