Psalm 67

1 May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.

2 Let your ways be known upon earth,
your saving health among all nations.

3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.

5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

6 The earth has brought forth her increase;
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.

7 May God give us his blessing,
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

This year, Monday Matters will focus on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen.

A DEI Psalm

I’ve been told that the preacher is supposed to have the Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other. So when I read the psalm heard in church yesterday (reprinted above) and noticed the reference to equity, I wondered how that intersects with current concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Those three values have been presented by some as pernicious threats to our common life. So I was struck with how the call to equity surfaces not only in this psalm but in several others (Psalm 9, 45, 75, 96, 98, 99, as well as Proverbs 1, 2, 29, and Isaiah 11.9). When the psalm calls for equity, it is not simply earthly powers that are to practice this virtue. Equity is also an attribute of the Holy One.

I looked into what equity means. It’s not the same as equality, though equality is obviously an important value in a world where many say that some are more equal than others. Equity is essentially about fairness. It therefore involves consideration of the other. It calls for compassion, which scholar Karen Armstrong has described as the central virtue in all the world’s religions. News of the day indicates that equity, fairness, and compassion seem to be in short supply, seen by some as wokeness or weakness or both.

Psalm 67 also seems to value inclusion, even if that word is not used. Note the references to all the ends of the earth, to all peoples, etc. This message of inclusion carries through all of scripture. Jesus’ words to his disciples near the end of his earthly ministry, for instance: When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.

And with a message of inclusion, there’s an implication of diversity. If all are included, then differences between us don’t separate us. The image of the body of Christ, repeated by St. Paul in several letters, speaks of many gifts brought together. It’s a vision of unity, not uniformity.

I’m grateful to worship in a tradition that celebrates equity with the baptismal promise that we seek Christ in all persons and respect the dignity of every human being. Note: all and every. I’m grateful to worship in a tradition that celebrates inclusion, with that aspirational sign that appears on street corners and can be read by anyone: The Episcopal Church welcomes you. I’m grateful to worship in a tradition that recognizes the stunning beauty of diversity and the richness that diversity adds to our common life.

After decades in the church, I know all too well that we don’t always get those things right. More than 70 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. noted that Sunday morning at 11am is America’s most segregated hour, we have not changed all that much. We’ve got work to do.

But in the current political climate, I’m grateful for commitments made by leaders in the church to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, to see them as biblical values. Matthew Heyd, Bishop of New York, announced last month that the diocese had approved a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, admitting that now is time for our practices to reflect our prayers, for our common life to reflect our deepest commitment, even and especially if it moves in the opposite direction from our culture. He said that diversity is God’s own beautiful creation, and that equity and inclusion are the call and way of life for every Christian community. 

You can breathe a sigh of relief that I have absolutely no influence on the making of public policy. Those who have brought this issue to the political forefront can battle that out. But I do think that each one of us can focus on how we treat other people with equity, mindful of challenges, systemic and otherwise, that others may face. We can all work on inclusion, looking for those who have been excluded by race, economic standing, or point of view. And we can all give thanks for diversity, indeed a gift of God’s creation. Those are things that followers of Jesus do.

-Jay Sidebotham