“We believe there is room at the table for all who are hungry” – The Liturgists
A couple of years ago, I was hungry. Hungry for something more. I was wrestling, and still am, with questions about my faith, about the world, about hate and anger and death and what it means to be an advocate for social justice while being a gracious and loving follower of Jesus Christ.
This is when I listened to my first Liturgists Podcast. My friend, Devin McCrary, had recommended it to me in 2015, but at that point, I wasn’t really in to the whole podcast thing.
I’m still not really in to the whole podcast thing, except for this one, maybe because it’s more than just a podcast. It’s a space.
It’s an open space for people like me, who are full of questions, to come together with an open mind and ask those questions, and maybe find answers.
The word, “liturgist,” means the work of the people. Hosts Michael Gungor, Mike McHargue (also known as Science Mike), Hillary McBride and William Matthews are advocates for the work of the people, the work of all people.
Maybe one of my favorite things about the podcast is that half of those listening consider themselves atheists, and the other half consider themselves Christians. This, I think, is what the work of the people means, bringing together two belief systems that seem so opposite of each other, into the same space, to converse and to contemplate and to meditate and to just be together. Because really, the work of the people, whether of the Christian tradition or not, is peace.
Most of the Liturgist’s podcasts are over an hour long and, most of the time, the question presented as the topic in the introduction is not answered by the end of that hour (or, sometimes, two hours). The question is just discussed, many perspectives are presented, and by the end it’s understood that there may not be an answer, and that’s okay.
Last year, I was in a study room with a few people working on a group project. It was already almost midnight. The topic of the Israel/Palestine conflict came up, a conflict that can trigger some heated reactions, depending on the other’s viewpoint. I said that I supported the Palestinian point of view. One of my partners spoke up and said he supported the Israeli point of view. After a lot of discussion, in which I listened and shared and my friend listened and shared, we came to the conclusion that neither of us had any answers. We agreed to disagree, and in the end I felt as though I had just received a gift. A space had just opened for a deeper relationship and a deeper understanding of the other.
The conversation I had with this friend about the, often, polarizing Israel/Palestine debate was life-giving and has become the standard for any debate I happen to have.
Often though, I am the one that keeps a conversation from reaching this standard. Often, I am the one who raises my voice, who lifts my walls, who walks away without having heard the other. Instead of meeting the other in an open space where there is freedom, I want to force the other over to my side. I want only my perspective to be heard. I think I’m right. And, most of the time, I’m probably not right.
The Liturgists Podcast reminds me that I could be wrong, or that I am wrong. It reminds me that there are many questions that cannot be answered. It reminds me that open discussion, that listening to the other, that working hard to understand perspectives that seem so outside of my thought process, are valid and deserve a voice. It reminds me that when I choose to listen to those voices that disagree with my own, I learn so much.
I want to be a part of the work of the people. I want to be a part of the conversation. I want to learn. I want to pursue peace. I want to open up a space that anyone can step into without feeling like they don’t belong.
But first, I have to listen.
And really, all you can do with a podcast is listen.
“The Liturgists are a global community working to subvert the barriers our society builds around religion, race, gender, ability and sexuality. Our work is centered around compelling discussion, non-judgmental community, and thoughtful, evocative art.”
“Who are The Liturgists? You are.”
If you want to know more about The Liturgists Podcast, visit: http://www.theliturgists.com/home/
