But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. I Corinthians 12:24b-26, NRSV

Everyone within a community is connected, and each person is affected by the wellbeing or distress of another. This truth can be accepted, even celebrated. This truth can be rejected, even denied. This truth is still true: what affects one affects everyone else.

These days, too many want to disassociate rather than relate; rather than accept others as integral, others are wished away, even wished harm – as if the wellbeing of one isn’t tied to the wellbeing of all. The other is an it, turned into something of no value or consequence. This delusion damages the one labeled it, and it hollows out the one who labels.

There is no peace, no joy, no love in this. I-Thou is the truth, which leads to the larger, holy truth:

The correct pronoun is always We.