"Identity politics is over"?

[Louie Crew <lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu>]

********** ********** told a recent clergy gathering, "Identity politics 
is over."

I am nervous about any attempts to dismiss or minimize concerns for
identity politics. Too often I have seen people at margins dismissed
by those who say, "You're concerned only about yourselves; we're
concerned about more important matters, eternal truths."

I am glad that Jesus did not dismiss my Samaritan ancestor when she
asked about identity worship, and the 'new' identity that he did
propose proved harder to sell in Jerusalem than in Samaria.

People who even look like they might be undocumented need sanctuary
that addresses their specific needs. They are not a diversion from
the real gospel. They give us the opportunity to embody news that is
genuinely good.

Every generation has an opportunity to embrace those who bear the
identity "least among us." We dare not turn them away as a
distraction. Judgment Day gives top billing to our response to the
needs they have because of their identity.
 
Louie
 
Louie Crew, 377 S. Harrison St., 12D, East Orange, NJ 07018
973-395-1068
http://queereye4lectionary.blogspot.com/  Queer Eye for the
Lectionary
 
     We make his love too narrow
     By false limits of our own
     And we magnify his strictness
     With zeal he will not own.
 
          -- Frederick William Faber