Once upon a
time a city-dweller stopped by a village
shepherd who was keeping his sheep.
After
introducing himself the visitor began asking
a number of questions about the sheep and
shepherding.
He asked:” How
long would a sheep normally walk in a day”.
The shepherd
asked back: “About which sheep you want to
know? Is it about the white sheep or about
the black sheep?”
After a
moment’s reflection, the visitor said,
“About the white sheep”.
“The white
sheep walk approximately four kilometers a
day”, answered the shepherd.
“What about
the black sheep?”, asked the visitor.
“They also
walk four kilometers a day!”, answered the
shepherd.
“How
much a sheep need to eat per day?”, came the
next question.
“About the
white sheep or about the black sheep”,
enquired the shepherd.
“About the
white sheep”, answered the visitor.
“They need
three kilograms of grass”, answered the
shepherd.
“What then
about the black sheep?”, asked the visitor
curiously.
“They also eat
three kilos of grass per day!”, answered the
shepherd.
The visitor
was surprised about the shepherd’s answers.
But he did not
want to give up.
“How much wool
would a sheep produce in a year?, he asked.
“The white
sheep or the black ones”, the shepherd
repeated his usual question.
“Of the white
ones”, answered the visitor.
“They produce
about five bundles of wool.
“What about
the black ones?”, asked the visitor.
“They also
produce about five bundles of wool.”,
answered the shepherd.
The visitor
could not hide his astonishment anymore.
He told the
shepherd: “I am surprised at your way of
answering my questions.
To all my
questions you wish to answer separately for
the white and black sheep.
But your
answers are all the same.
Let me ask a
final question.
Do the white
and black sheep really differ in any way?”
“Of course,
they are different. The white sheep belong
to me”, answered the shepherd.
“What about
the black sheep?”, came the question
automatically from the mouth of the visitor.
“They also
belong to me”, answered the shepherd.
It may look
like a puzzling story!
But it
reflects a common response towards human
diversity.
We encounter
people with different colors, dressed
differently, speaking foreign languages,
belonging to different religions and
following different customs and traditions.
We are prone
to prejudices based on these diversities.
The shepherd
in the story simulates this prejudice.
However, he
could not hide the fact the elements that
are common in his sheep was much more
overwhelming than their apparent
differences.
By now we have
scientific evidences that the human
diversity is not essential.
But in the
history and even today the human diversity
was used to stratify society and to
discriminate the individuals and groups.
Sciences,
philosophies and even theologies were
constructed to support human discrimination.
There were,
for example, theological discussions in
history whether a black-colored human body
can support a human soul.
The powerful
in the society cunningly used the diversity
as a reason for discrimination.
After creating
the universe, the Bible reports the first
reaction of the creator:” Every thing is
good” (Gen. 1:31a).
Looking at the
diversity of creation he might also have
said: “Everything is beautiful”.
The diversity
of creation manifests the inexhaustible
creativity of God, the creator.
It is meant to
be eternal source of joy for human beings,
making him ever inquisitive.
But in the
history the human diversity is found
tastelessly exploited.
The diversity
is ever since used to instigate fear,
whether in the name of terrorism or
globalization.
The conformity
became a virtue and diversity a sin.
God would
surely regret for creating human being so
diverse!
Jesus, the Son
of God was also not exempt from
discrimination.
He was
discriminated based on his job (Mk. 6:3a),
educational status (Mt. 13:54b), adherence
to religion (Mk. 2:23-24), place of birth (Jn.
1:46) and family status (Mk. 6:3).
He was often
rejected by the people based on diverse
reasons.
The Son of God
partakes in the experience millions in the
human history, before and after him, who
were marginalized in terms of color, caste,
class, creed, language, ethnicity,
nationality, age and sex or in other words,
on the basis of human diversity.
He realized
how deeply the divine plan is shattered!
The diversity
which God has imparted to the creation in
view of inexhaustible joy of the humankind
turns out to be a curse to many!
The Good News
he preaches is therefore an antidote to the
tasteless exploitation of human diversity.
According to
his Good News the humanity is but God’s own
family in the world.
God is “our
father” for all (Mt. 6:9), irrespective of
the diversity they bear.
We are all the
children of God irrespective of our external
and internal diversities.
The Son of God
invites us back to the celebration of
diversity, as in a family! |