Hearing 'the Other'

West African pastoral theologian Emmanuel Lartey writes:

God is to be approached through listening to the limits of our existence. The being of God is encountered deeply in the otherness of those who most differ from ourselves. These others may help us to perceive the Other with whom we wish to be related. In fact we are unable even to begin to be related to the Other precisely because we are looking for the same--for One like us. We look for and desire God to be 'like us' in significant ways and thus are cut off from that which lies beyond us. The theological word from pastoral theologians is: listen to the different, for in this listening you may begin to encounter the Other whom you seek.

From Pastoral Theology in an Intercultural World (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2006), p. 113.