Listening to Cultural Difference

“We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” Acts 5 29-30

How easy it sometimes is to ignore the wisdom of those who are different from us. Unless someone's language and cultural lenses are familiar to us, we too often dismiss what they say and who they are. Because Jesus' disciples were poor and probably unlettered, the leaders of the Jewish and Roman communities did not want to listen to them. I know this failure in my own life.

Many years ago I had the opportunity to bring day old bread by the boxful to the poor of a parish where the Capuchins served. We were happy to give our struggling friends a little security for the days and weeks ahead. How amazed I was that evening passing through the parish to see the same people to whom we had brought more bread than they could eat walking the streets distributing bread to other need people. At first, I was troubled, but then I was touched by their wisdom. Most of them had only small freezers on top of their refrigerators. If they stuffed the freezer with bread they would have to throw out other items. How much more sense it to help others rather than to horde the gift they had received.

Today, don't jump to conclusions about something you don't immediately understand.

What has surprised you about the wisdom and insights of people from other cultures and nations?