Seeing Others Anew: The Power of Respect

### Quotes for outreach

1. "When we respect someone, we're willing to see again and again who they are and why they do the things they do, why they believe the things they believe. That's respect. Aretha wanted that, and she wanted to be seen by her man when he gets home. All I want when you come home is a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t, and that's, I would say, what we all want. And if we are to live a faithful life, a life that's in alignment with our God, then it is imperative that we be people who show others respect." [03:46]( | | )

2. "Are you okay with the fact that God loves your enemy? That's the question this book is compelling us to ask. You see, Jonah had zero respect for the Ninevites, zero zip zilch, no respect at all for them. But God, love them nevertheless." [12:18]( | | )

3. "These two stories of Jonah and of the good Samaritan, they both show what it means to not respect the other. See, the priest in Jesus' story passed by on the other side, didn't respect the man who was lying there, didn't re-see. The Levite passed by on the other side, he didn't re-see the man. But the Samaritan saw again and again the man lying there, desperate for life, and he took him and he cared for them." [14:11]( | | )

4. "Somewhere between the age of two and nine, we begin to see people as different than ourselves. A child psychologist could probably explain that, but you know what I'm going to call it? I want to call it sin. We begin to not see people for who they are, othering. It's what Adam and Eve did in the garden when they put fig leaves over themselves after they enjoyed the fruit. Somehow they saw themselves as different from God, and now they're hiding." [17:23]( | | )

5. "There is an antidote, and you know what that antidote? Is? Sing it for us, Aretha. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. That's the antidote to othering, and this is why it's one of our core commitments here at the chapel. Say it or read it with me one more time. We respect the beliefs and experiences of others." [19:10]( | | )

### Quotes for members

1. "Jonah is called by God to go where? Nineveh. And Jonah decides to go to where? Tarshish, which is really hard to say, by the way. I think I did okay. Tarshish. He went to Tarshish, the opposite direction. Let's talk about Nineveh at the time. Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. Not only that, it was the largest city in all the world for a few decades. Why did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? Well, I don't think there would be too many Israelites who would have wanted to have gone to Nineveh, which, by the way, is in modern-day Iraq. It's part of the northern city of Mosul, current-day Mosul in Iraq. Jonah didn't want to go because Israelites hated the Assyrians. Why did the Israelites hate the Assyrians? Well, the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in all the brutalities that war brings with it. And then they were subjugating the southern kingdom with taxation and oppression and subjugation. They hated, Israelites hated the Assyrians. And you can't blame them too much, can you? Nevertheless, God loved the Assyrians. And so God wants to send Jonah to them to tell them to change their ways so that he could spare the Ninevites from total destruction." [05:13]( | | )

2. "Jonah reluctantly goes to Nineveh, and he goes around, and he preaches the shortest sermon in the history of sermons. It's only five words in Hebrew, Nineveh, overthrown in 40 days. So he walks around, and he's doing it, you know, he's not giving it much effort. Five-word sermon, wouldn't you be so lucky? Five-word sermon, Nineveh overthrown in 40 days, Nineveh overthrown in 40 days. When I was a kid, I would sometimes do things to get out of doing chores. Like one time, my parents asked me to go and mow the lawn. I didn't want to mow the lawn. I didn't want to mow the lawn. I didn't want to mow the lawn. So I thought, how can I get out of mowing the lawn in the future? So I mowed down one of my mother's, mom, if you're watching, I'm sorry. I mowed down one of my mom's favorite plants, beautiful flowering plant. I don't think she knew that until this moment, I don't think I ever had to mow the lawn again. And that's what Jonah's doing here. He's doing his utmost to make sure his message is heard. And he's doing his utmost to make sure his message is as weak and ineffective as possible. Nineveh overthrown in 40 days. Hey, Nineveh overthrown in 40 days. And guess what? It worked. That's part of why this story is so upside down. Most of the other prophets in the Bible, they preach and they give it their all, and still it's ineffective. Nobody turns. But Jonah says five words, and the entire city is repenting before God with sackcloth and fasting. And the king, the most powerful man on the entire planet, joins in their fasting, commanding even the cows to fast." [08:41]( | | )

3. "Jesus here is poking at the lack of respect that the Jews had for the Samaritans, just as the author of Jonah is poking at the Israelites and their lack of respect for the Assyrians. And if I'm going to be a good preacher, sometimes, occasionally, my job is to poke a little at us. I include myself in that us. To poke a little at us and ask the question, are there people that we are othering? You know that word, othering? Othering, when we kind of see people as different than us, when we say those people, when we other another person. We kind of put people into camps. Well, he's a man, he's a woman. He's a man, she's a woman. He's black, she's white. He's gay, he's straight. He's a Republican, he's a Democrat. You see, we want to put people in camps. We want to other other people, make them different. We do this so subtly, I could name so many more ways." [14:11]( | | )

4. "We respect the beliefs and experiences of others. Now, respect is an interesting word. It's not a word that's used a lot in church circles or Christian circles, so I had some fun putting together today's message. Let's start with examining what the word respect means, and I think the deepest meaning can be found if you do a small etymological study, right? Breaking apart the word, figuring out what the parts mean, and put it together. So, re-spect. What does re- mean? The prefix re- again, or maybe even again and again. What does respect mean? Mean. Spectacles. To see. Put it together. To see again. To see again and again." [01:52]( | | )

5. "Mutual respect is the only possible foundation for a free, just, equal, and responsible society. With freedom from the need, to promote oneself or one's nation, tradition, or religion by devaluing others comes a great release of energy. What had been invested in protection is now available for caring for and rejoicing in others. So let me ask you a question, chapel. Are you okay with the fact that God loves your enemy? Because the fact of the matter is, there is no east or west. He's got the whole world in his hands." [19:10]( | | )