EDGES MAGAZINE Issue 26

July/Aug 2001

WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON

Elaine Kennedy is a member of the Edges Team

If the wheel had been discovered now, in our time of sophisticated communication systems, there would be world-wide interest; news coverage; debates on its potential to change radically the way of life of the human race. We would all be caught up in the buzzing excitement of this new piece of jigsaw in the great puzzle that is God's work. And so every new discovery, every new piece of jigsaw should be greeted with awe and anticipation.

Recently, the field of genetics has made gigantic discoveries, piecing together all-important facts concerning our basic human structures. Yet, we seem to have kept radio silence over all this. Here are discoveries which far outweigh the wheel. The wheel had practical implications, which changed our development forever; it did not however, show us how we are constructed as human beings. These genetic pictures show us who we really are; the basic truths of our being, which is cut us down to, size. So why the silence on such an important subject? Fear, as always, has taken control of us. Do I want to know? Do you want to know? Are we getting too close to our maker for comfort?

Scientists thought to identify 300'000 genes making up the human. Instead, they found a shortfall: only 30'000! A fruit fly has 10'000 genes! The bottom line is that we are all just one species: the human. There is nothing to be seen under the microscope, which in anyway differentiates any of us as being superior or inferior to each other. The genetic differences which make us black, white tall, short etc, is absolutely minute. A scientist described us all as identical twins. We started off as a simple type of human long before we changed slightly in looks to adapt to surroundings to which we had wandered. (The same applies to our language; cultures etc.) Notably, and of huge significance, there is no gene which makes anyone's blood blue! In other words, power and control are entirely man made. Behavioural patterns, which were anticipated to show up in identifiable genes, turn out to be purely reliant on our upbringing, environment and peer influences. In our ever increasingly money orientated society where celebrity status is The Deity, how can we possibly cope with such revelations! We so much depend on a super human image to aspire to. One of our deepest fears is of realising that we are the same as everyone else. We bury that truth deeply under pedestals of social strata, class systems; seeking control and power, even in the smallest ways. We love brass buttons; medals, titles, public shows of wealth and domination. We all do it. We exercise control, or try to, on those around us in ways which merely reflect our means - in other words the wealthy will be more openly opulent, or pay to attain domination. Whereas someone with limited means will exercise power over family members; colleagues at work; fellow worshippers in a church; the list is endless. Yet in our loathing of being all the same, we ignore the simple teachings of Christ: to look after and love one another, the most important piece of the jigsaw and the only one capable of ever completing the picture. How often our own fears marginalise others. Why are we so in need of facades in our lives? Because other people remind us of who we really are: People - just people - and people suffer diseases, hardships; ordinariness, humdrum boredom; and of course the ultimate nemesis: death! Surely only other people die!

We are all of us just human - we have giftedness and we have brokenness. Mother Nature has no social sliding scale when metering out natural disasters!

As R.S. Thomas said: The golden landscape of nature, with the twisted creatures crossing it, each with his load". Yet we are also unique as individuals in our giftedness, and our potential for interacting for good or for bad- it seems though, that the more we discover, the less we want to know! If we could open our eyes to the truth of the genome picture we would feel the controlling hand of God over us in a positive way - it is in recognising our sameness yet our uniqueness that we are liberated and blossom, it allows others to blossom too.

Over the years as manager of our drop-in centre, I have witnessed how many volunteers change when coming into contact with our clients, most of whom are homeless and marginalised. The helpers think they are coming to give but soon realise that getting to know the clients as people, they are actually receiving a lot back there flows a to-ing and fro-ing of spiritual healing. The sharing of brokenness and giftedness is both revealing and liberating - it makes redundant all pedestals and facades. It is truly possible for ingrained bigotry and false images to fade into insignificance. They are insignificant if you open your eyes to the recent genetic research. Next time you feel that your designer clothes make you feel superior or you feel racist, homophobic, nationalistic or any other of the many man made destructive facades, just remember this as a thought for the day:

There but for the grace of God, (and 20'000 genes) go a fruit fly or I!!

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