The events of this year have surely proven the benefits of solidarity, when differences are set aside to offer mutual support and care-giving as we journey through a period of collective testing. It took a pandemic to make our society willing to stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder with others of different opinions, outlooks and cultural values. We began to learn to appreciate those in the most overlooked jobs in our communities — the ones that kept us safe, fed, and healthy. For once, we could see that humanity was united, all in the same boat. When we face a common cause, it diverts us from making enemies of one another.
Solidarity is like living in a village of togetherness, where one seeks to pick up the other rather than knock them down; to collaborate rather than compete; to put ourselves aside and see others as more important (Philippians 2:3). In solidarity a hand of friendship reaches out into the unknown, willing to help and support those in trouble; to advocate for justice and truth.
In solidarity, we do not see the others as a threat, but an opportunity to learn and grow and discover — for our horizons to be stretched wider and stunning new vistas revealed amidst our tendency to insulate ourselves from difference and change. In solidarity we can discover our best selves, our gifts revealed as we offer them to others.
It sounds a lot like Jesus’ idea of the kingdom of God.
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