Sermon June 14, 2026 “Listen Like You Might Be Wrong”
Sermon June 14, 2026 “Listen Like You Might Be Wrong” by Rev.
Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-19
When my husband and I first moved to Beacon about 19 years ago, my mom was rightfully concerned that her grandkids could grow up to be Yankees fans. I’m originally from Cape Cod Massachusetts and we were raised to be die-hard Boston Red Sox fans. One time, my mom and I were at the Target in Poughkeepsie, shopping for baby clothes for my son, who was about a year old at the time, and we passed an entire aisle of Yankees merchandise including onesies. And she stopped… and just shook her head in disgust, “Isn’t that awful. For a baby?” It was so funny. But she was only half kidding. The loyalty runs very deep in Boston, where my mom is from. And I understand how deep loyalty can run, so I don’t always volunteer to tell people about my Red Sox roots around here. But… I had an interview last fall.. and there was a group of lovely people asking me questions- they all got to ask me whatever questions they had, and it came around to one guy who decided to ask, “So, what sports teams do you root for?” Well, I had to answer truthfully, because the position I was going for kind of required that. So I said “Ummm.. Honestly, I don’t really follow sports but… being from Cape Cod, I’m supposed to root for the Boston Red Sox.” And at least half of the group’s faces instantly went from big smiles to frowns. The guy asking the question said, “Do you tell people in Beacon that you’re a Red Sox fan?” And I was like “No… I don’t usually… Why would I do that? It isn’t wise to say it in an interview either!” But I reminded them that Jesus calls us to love everyone, even Red Sox fans. And to my surprise, they offered me the job, even in spite of this tragic flaw.
As the Church, we are all connected in the Spirit, but it’s also very human when we create divisions. Some of these divisions can be healthy even fun, but others are not as healthy. In our society now, we have become polarized in a way that I’ve never seen in my lifetime, distrusting of each other, hostile to those who are different, and it’s troubling to a lot of people I talk to. Some of these contentions are within our own families, which can be especially painful. As much as I want to live into the vision of the church and love my neighbor, I’ve also struggled not to feed into this divisive climate. I find myself gravitating toward people I see as like-minded, and I’m wary sometimes of those I see as having opposing values. I find myself wondering things like: Don’t we all believe in creating a just society? Shouldn’t we all be protecting the rights of human beings? It’s hard not to be divisive when it feels like so much is at stake, and when we look at the news or social media, it’s full of more reasons we shouldn’t trust our neighbor. But God shows us a different way to see things.
Today we read the story of the Apostle Paul who meets the risen Christ for the first time on the Road to Damascus. In this story we can see the transformative power of a divine encounter, which is also what our world needs now. Paul started to see things differently after he met Jesus. It changed him so much that he had to rethink everything he had ever believed in and who God really was, and then the people he had been demonizing became his closest companions. What happened on the Road to Damascus was both a personal and a universal conversion moment. Paul began as a persecutor, and he transformed into a healer and a teacher.
Paul’s teachings led to a theological concept that we now know as universal salvation, which says that through the love and mercy of God, all people will ultimately be forgiven, reconciled, and granted eternal life with God. If God’s grace will eventually save all of humanity, then maybe we are called to find kinship and common humanity, even with those we think are most wrong. Following the Way is a commitment to relationships where "there is no us and them, just us." When MLK talked about building the Beloved Community, he said that we don’t reach peace by beating our enemies, we reach peace by creating a world in which we have no enemies. God’s Kingdom isn’t realized by defeating the bad guys, but by making conflict and hatred unnecessary, because everyone's needs are met, which also requires transforming societal structures that create enemies in the first place. I think the vision of the Church is inseparable from the active struggle for justice in our world. And it’s not an easy task, which is why we have to wrestle with it together- by listening well and considering what others have to say.
I came across a speech from the Harvard Commencement this year on May 28th. It was given by a graduate named Noah Eckstein. In it he talks about how he is Jewish, and how he is also the proud grandson of a Christian and the proud grandson of a Muslim. He says, “My family taught me something I think this world could really use right now, which is that the counter to division isn’t necessarily agreement… it’s understanding.” He tells the graduates that as they all go out into an increasingly troubled and divided world, he wants to leave them with one simple practice. He says, “Whenever you meet someone you disagree with- state your case. Yes. Stand up for what you believe in. Absolutely. But also ask the other person about their beliefs. Ask them how they got there. Place yourself in their shoes and ask why do I believe this? Listen like you might be wrong.” He says that listening like you might be wrong, is not a weakness or a betrayal of your own ideals. It is actually the hardest and most important thing we can do right now, in a world that is constantly trying to divide us. It really stuck with me- that one phrase. Listen like you might be wrong. I think because that posture is so different from what we’re used to taking. We are usually eager to show why we are right, and convicted and sure. But what if we treated every conversation like we might have something to learn?
I know I’ve mentioned the podcast On Being before, which I love. They have a lot of content, but one of the main things is that they interview interesting people, and ask questions about their work and how it intersects with their spiritual lives. There is one episode of an interview with an Irish faith leader named Padraig O’Tauma, who is the director of a peace and reconciliation center in Northern Ireland called Corrymeela. Corrymeela began almost 60 years ago around repairing the violent rift between Catholics and Protestants, but it has evolved to include reparative work of all kinds. On their website it says, “In our increasingly divided world, we support thousands of people from different backgrounds to live well together.” And the “members of Corrymeela commit themselves to relationships that overcome divisions of ‘us and them’ so we can discover a better ‘we’.
The part of the interview that I keep thinking about is when O’Tauma tries to explain the healing that happens there, and he describes what he calls a “conversion moment” at Corrymeela. And the example he gives reminds me of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. A group of people with adversarial histories were involved with a workshop, and they were telling their stories to each other. One man had been talking for awhile and then he suddenly stopped to ask a question. He said, “How many times, as I’ve been speaking, have I bruised you?” Some people start to count on their fingers… And they tell him honestly that they have been hurt many times in the course of the discussion. He says, “Are you telling me that it’s painful to be around me?” And they tell him “Yes.” At this point, he could have gotten defensive, disregarded what they said, or dismissed them, and held onto his own point of view. It would have been easier. But instead he did something different. He chose to become curious about theirexperience, and the impact that he was having on them. And he realized that he himself may need to be changed. It can be hard, but what if we were able to ask the hard question “Did I bruise you?” and let an honest answer dictate our next step? When Jesus appears to us on the Road to Damascus, how are we being called and transformed? How can we find our way back to one another? I think one way is to listen like we might be wrong.
Hey, if a church in Yankees territory can welcome and accept a pastor from Red Sox territory, there might be hope for all of us. And if a pastor from Celtics territory can root for the Knicks as they win their first NBA championship in 53 years, maybe anything is possible with God.
So let us pray. Almighty God, you know what is truly good. Thank you for how you are building the Beloved Community among us. Help us to live into the vision that you have for the world. One where all people and all creatures have what they need to survive. And help us to love one another the way that you love us. May it be so Amen
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