No -isms Here

Galatians 3:28

In this election year, we have constantly heard mean, nasty, degrading speeches as part of the Republican debates and primary election ads. We have heard:

•  women reduced to human incubators by removing their ability to make decisions about their own bodies,
• candidates accused of infanticide because they believe a woman should be able to make their own decisions,
•  the poor defined as insignificant while bragging about driving two Cadillacs,
• personal religious beliefs slandered.
• a whole segment of society is prevented from having recognized loving relationships, and
• code words used in place of the ‘N’ word to denigrate and demean anyone who is not like them.

In my sixty-some years, I have never heard such language and disrespect for other people. For a country that professes to be a ‘Christian’ nation, what I see is about as far away from acting in the way Jesus taught as you could possibly get. It makes me ashamed – and appalled that those who truly follow Jesus’ teachings are so silent.

Aren’t we sending a message to those non-religious or unchurched a message that we ‘Christians’ are hypocrites at the highest level!

And in my humble opinion, at the root of all this . . . what is really the unspoken issue . . . what no one wants to say

Is RACISM!

And BIGOTRY.

Those people who are fundamentally opposed to an African-American president are using code words like ‘Food Stamp President’ to display their own hidden prejudice and bigotry.

But as we heard in the Scripture reading, Jesus taught that no one is better than another. This was very revolutionary at the time, because society was based on the ‘haves and have-nots’. There were distinct class differences: the upper class did not associate with the poor, servants were not recognized by their masters, people with illness or disabilities were abandoned on the streets.

Jesus’ proclamation that we are all equal in the eyes of God upset all the cultural boundaries of the day. . . and still does today.

But he said again and again, that we are all one in Jesus – equal in the eyes of God. That means that each one of us, no matter whether

Upper class, middle class or poor
Homeless or housed
Healthy or disabled
Educated or illiterate
Black or white
Straight or gay

Are equal in the eyes of God. . . are to be loved and respected as each of our brothers and sisters.

Did everyone forget the Golden Rule:

do unto others as you would have them do unto you? (Matthew 7:12)

And I have to say, that as much as we see all this in the public arena, I have also seen it in our own community. Lately, there has been an undercurrent which disturbs me – people are taking snipes at each other and making racial and sexual slurs.

I will tell you that is NOT the place for that. This is a house of God – where everyone is equal. We, as a community, should not and will not allow it to continue!

We all have our good points and the not-so-good sides of our personalities. At any time, we may be having a bad day, but that is NOT an excuse for treating our fellow brothers and sisters with disrespect. There is no place for any ‘–ism’ (racism, sexism, classism . . .) in this place. . . or in God’s kingdom!

When we are hurt, we want to hurt back, but often the one who hurts us is too powerful, so a safe substitute is found. We find someone that we tell ourselves is lesser than us and blame everything on them. So many riots and wars have been fueled by this anger and bigotry. In the period of a depressed economy, more and more people are jockeying for a position in society. . . which, if not recognized and controlled, can cause one group of people to purposely denigrate and defile another. It may be subtle, using code words so only those who feel that same way understand the ‘–ism’. Or it may be very obvious and blatant.

But this lack of love for our brothers and sisters is a SIN!

We are all equal in the eyes of God.

We have the responsibility to expose these hidden ‘–isms’ so that we can all walk together. . . any race, any creed, any background, any gender, any culture, any socio-economic level.

We need to:

• Acknowledge our own negative thoughts, feelings and attitudes of fear, anxiety, anger, guilt
• Acknowledge our thoughts, feeling and attitudes toward those who are different
• Acknowledge that we are all children of the same Creator
• Acknowledge that hate, bigotry and –isms prevent us from living into the fullness of a life in Christ And then we need to cleanse our hearts and minds of those things that feed the hatred and bigotry

Let us pray:

Dear God, help us to remember that when we see with bigoted hearts, who not only do we reject you but also close ourselves off from experiencing all of your children. Help us to overcome these negative feelings and embrace all wonders of the world you have created.
Amen

Delivered at In The Garden, Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, Columbus, OH: 26 February 2012

A Terrorist is a Terrorist – No Matter WHO It Is!

We are all reeling from yet another atrocity – the massacre at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland, Texas. The fact that someone chose to mow down people worshipping on a Sunday is an anathema of all this country professes to be. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is sadly marked by increasing violence and terrorism. It seems like very few days go by, if any at all, without some horrible act of terror or random violence. It has become such a ‘normal’ occurrence that some in the country hardly react any longer. There is surely something wrong in our society when the solution to a problem or reaction to anger is to not only kill the offender, but also massacre innocence people in the process.

But equally disturbing to me is that whenever there is a terror attack, the natural impulse is to blame a Muslim or ISIS. Are we so influenced by the national attitude that we can’t wait to immediately attach the nomer ‘Islam’ or ‘ISIS’ to the word ‘terrorist’? Perhaps it is easier to accept that a foreign element is responsible for our mounting atrocities than to accept the perpetrator may be the person next door, but clearly that is not so.

It is human nature to seek scapegoats for the causes of evil – it is far easier to look upon the things that come from without than the things from within. That chosen scapegoat suffices only until another deadly attack happens; then we repeat the blaming (mental health, access to guns, foreign agents).

If you look at the last six massacres, each one was perpetrated by a home-grown, All-American citizen – not some foreign boogey man. They may have had mental health issues, but they grew up and lived as a citizen of the United States. We are reluctant to admit that ‘we’ have spawned this monster.

We do not call their actions ‘terrorism’ . . . but terrorism is terrorism. . . – no matter who the person is. Whether they have a mental problem or are seeking revenge for a perceived slight, when one kills and maims dozens of innocent people, they are still ‘terrorists’. And until we accept that their actions are not solely, ‘mental health issues’, or ‘gun control issues’, but ‘acts of terror’, it will be nearly impossible to address these actions.

Living among us as law-abiding and patriotic Americans are thousands of Muslims. In a knee-jerk reaction, to continually label them as a group as being the cause each time we have an incidence of terror in our midst, is unfair, unjust, and weakens our ability to address the real causes behind the terrorist’s act.

We, as Christians, need to begin to address the causes of terrorism. We need to provide services for those who feel they have been a victim of injustice. And we need to be a strident, but loving voice against those who spout hatred against those who are not ‘like us’, whether ethnic, racial, gender, or religious. If we begin to ‘love one another as we love ourselves’, maybe we can begin to change the world.

We can pray this will be so – and put our prayers into action.
 

written for The Crossroads, Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Worthington & Parts Adjacent, OH; 12 November 2017

Charlottesville is OUR Fault

Systemic and corporate racism is something that the majority of Americans don’t want to acknowledge exists or they contribute to that racism. And we don’t want to admit that, no matter how inclusive we feel we are, we are all racists to some extent.

This article was written by a young man who had an epiphany after the events in Charlottesville that we are ALL responsible for the racism that exists in the United States. His language may be a little harsh for some of you, but it needs to be said. I hate to admit it, but I see myself in passive racism; I am pledging to no longer remain silent – and I hope you will not either.. – Deacon deniray+

 

I live in rural Northeast Georgia, and was raised in rural Upstate South Carolina. I grew up hearing the black kids called monkeys and the ‘n’ word at the playground in elementary school. I’ve heard members of my family say derogatory things about other races, including these racial slurs. I was even told in third grade that I couldn’t have a black girlfriend because, “people just don’t like that.”

I could make an argument that systemic racism is the cause of a vehicle plowing through a group of protesters in VA, but I know too many people who claim that “racism doesn’t exist.” So please, friends and family, hear me. I’m going to set aside the argument for systemic racism for a minute and look at the four types of racism that I see every day living here in the south.

I see this as a pyramid with the smallest population at the top and the largest at the bottom.

The four levels of the pyramid:

Active Racism: Active racists truly believe that one race is superior to another and they are willing to make their race have a higher standing than another. An example would be Hitler in Nazi Germany. Or, a more topical example, these idiots in Charlottesville.

Quiet Racism: Quiet racists also truly believe that they are superior to others, but they’re just not willing to say that in public. This is the scariest group of people on this list. Here’s a personal example: I once needed some work done on my vehicle and I took it to a shop. When I went inside, I was greeted with a heavily used dartboard with Obama’s face on it, followed by a conversation with the owner in which I heard the n word several times. This guy is not ramming cars into people or at a Neo-Nazi rally, but it’s easy to see how the people that are at these rallies are surrounded by folks like this guy. I’m a teacher, and on multiple occasions I’ve had students tell me about some of the things that their parents have said about people of other races. They justify police shootings followed by riots by explaining how “they are made that way” or have “genetics that make them criminals.” This is real, folks.

“Soft” Racism: Soft racism is when people make racist comments or have a racial thoughts that they don’t realize are racist.  “Today I was on the road and I saw this black guy walking”… or, “I teach a lot of “urban’ students,” or, “I have black friends, so I can’t be racist” etc. This group also contains racial bias. Radiolab did a fanatic podcast about a father who had adopted a black daughter, but still found himself being cautious around a black man walking down the street. Even though he had just explained to his daughter that it’s not fair that people do this, he still found himself being a part of the problem. Why is this?

Every single person I know would say that they are not racist. And, again, we’re setting aside systemic racism for this argument. But I would argue a lot of people I know are soft racists. This is where I sat most of my life, and still find myself here on occasion. It is important that we not fear the prejudices that we are taught as kids (“people won’t like it if you date a black girl”), but to make ourselves aware of when these thoughts happen and to war against it, just like the man in the story above.

Passive Racism: For the most part, people I know aren’t any other these other three groups. Most people I know (including myself) fall into passive racism: they don’t speak up when others are racist, intentionally or unintentionally. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve heard a racist joke or even an off color statement where I haven’t had the guts to say, “hey, that’s not okay.”

This passivism is the root of the problem. Most people know racism when they see it (when people on the passive level see people on the soft level or higher), but just don’t say or do anything about it. But, what if this majority became active? What if we all agreed to, kindly, inform others that we’re not going to let people around us say or do racist things? What if, instead of blaming the president, or Nazis, or the alt-right, we took responsibility for our actions and the people in our own lives?

We must begin to speak up because by being passive and letting racist jokes and statements slide, we are literally building the foundation on which the KKK, Neo Nazi, and White Supremacist’s groups are built at the top of the pyramid. It doesn’t matter if it makes you uncomfortable or if it hurts your relationships, people are literally dying because the masses aren’t speaking up for those without a voice.

It is also easy to just cut off our friends and family who are soft and quiet racists. But, it is our job to stand up when racist ideas are brought up. As white people, we have an audience with our families and white circles that the black community will never have. If we do not start to have these conversations at the lower levels of the pyramid, who will?

So yes, Charlottesville was my fault, and your fault, and the fault of anyone who is not standing up to racism in our daily lives. Please, please, don’t be defensive, but take a moment to attempt to see that silence really is compliance.

I’m making a stand today to no longer sit by and let these things happen. I hope you’ll consider standing with me.
 
 
Josh Bryan, Sarondipity Universe, August 13, 2017
Charlottesville was my Fault
 
Written for Crossroads, Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Worthington and Parts Adjacent, 20 August 2017

What Now?

The election is over – and there are many people cheering and others who mourn the results and have great fear in their hearts. I am sure that, among the people here at In The Garden, we have people on both sides of that emotional line, and those who don’t think they are affected at all. Politics has a way of emphasizing our differences while ignoring all those things we have in common.

With the election of Donald Trump, and yes, he was elected by the people no matter what anyone says, certain people who have felt unheard, neglected, marginalized and demeaned have seen this as permission to speak and act in ways that are socially unacceptable. But Trump gave his followers permission; he is quoted as saying:

“For the most part you can’t respect people,” he has said, “because most people aren’t worthy of respect.”

And this is what that kind of rhetoric has spawned.

African Americans have been approached by people who ask ‘How do you like being a N* again’? Most of us cannot understand that depth of hatred in these people; we had assumed that we had come pass that. Obviously, we have not.

Swastikas have been painted on synagogues and racial slurs like ‘kike’ and ‘Jesus killer’ have been shouted to people coming out of temple. And there is a row of swastikas on the bridge here in Clintonville. . . in our own city!

Latino children in Michigan were attacked by a hooligan gang of white kids, beaten up and told they were not welcome at school or in the country while chanting ‘build the wall’. I have a friend with a six year old boy, who, having heard Trump threaten to deport all Mexicans, asked his father the day after the election if his little Mexican buddy would be at school – children do not understand that campaign promises are not instantly implemented the day after an election.

We have a huge group of this melting pot we call America who now fear for their lives. The Muslim community, who live peacefully and contribute to our nation, are afraid. One of the Muslim students who provides sack lunches for In the Garden was verbally attacked on the bus by two men saying: “I can’t wait until Trump takes office and we can kill ‘all of them.” His friend said, “I can’t wait until we can take that scarf around her neck and strangle her.”

God is NOT a supporter of hatred, bigotry, sexism, homophobia. We must remember, that these people are also God’s children. We must respect their right to express themselves, whether they act in a civil or uncivil manner. It is possible to respect the dignity of every human being while refusing to participate in our own oppression.

We, as marginalized people, and I count myself among them, must rise above the gutter and show that we will not allow ourselves to be further pushed down by society. As Michelle Obama said: ‘If they take the low road, we must take the high road’. Remember, no one can make us feel inferior without our consent. We need to stiffen our backbone and stand tall and not let ourselves buy into their definition of who and what we are

As scripture says:

I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (Matthew 5:39)

It is not going to be easy, but for most of us, life has never been easy. We must continue to persevere, wrapped in the knowledge that we are all children of God, beloved children of God. Jesus told us

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, (Matthew 5:11-12)

We can only pray that things will get better soon; that calmer and more civil heads will prevail. . . that Americans will return to the concept of being one united country. But until it does, we need to remember that we are not put on this earth to sow seeds of dissent, but to love one another and live our lives according to the teachings and example of Jesus. We are to

Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

But we cannot sit passively by as injustice reigns. We can and must fight against the rhetoric and acts of injustice in peaceful ways. We need to be vigilant and stand firm and speak out against acts of verbal and physical violence. Find a group that you can join, and work to make America the inclusive melting pot we are supposed to be!

Let us pray:

Gracious Creator, we are hurting. I ask that you help us overcome the evil that enslaves us. The evil the promotes hate of all forms. Help us to see Christ in all people and accept Love over hate. Amen.
 
 
Delivered at In The Garden, Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, Columbus, OH; 13 November 2016

We ARE all the same!

Something pretty miraculous happened to me about a month ago, and I am still trying to process what it meant and its impact on me.

As many of you know, for the last almost nine years, I have been the Deacon-in-Charge of the In The Garden Ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square. This is part of the reason that I leave immediately after the second service to get downtown in time to coordinate the meals and worship service.

Over the years I have experienced the deep faith that some of these people have, in spite of their mental illnesses and rejection from the majority of society. They may not be educated in theology but they embrace and really try to live their daily lives following Jesus’ commandment:

Love thy neighbor as thyself (Mark 12:31)

No matter the situation and the alienation from the ‘normal’ or mainstream, they still are a closely-knit community that takes care of its own.

At the end of July, In the Garden hold their own version of Mass in the Grass, or as we call it “Mass in the Garden”. All the volunteers work together to provide a picnic in the garden space between Trinity and the Glimscher Building. This year we had over 160 people come and celebrate with us. And celebrate we did; for the fourth time in nine years, we celebrated Eucharist on the steps of Trinity Church. And the majority of the people lined up and received. Seeing the line for communion going from the church steps to almost State Street was a marvelous witness to God’s love for all his people.

But it was during the clean-up after the picnic that the biggest miracle happened. We always have a group of men and women who help us clean up after each of the meals. This allows all of us to get home a little earlier on Sunday afternoon.

Because we were outside, there were a lot of tables to be taken down and transported back to the undercroft. Some of the tables would be loaded into a Core Team member’s trunk. I was resting, leaning on a stack of tables, with two ‘regulars’ who had done a yeoman’s job of breaking down and stacking tables. These gentlemen were older than I, and had probably spend their entire lives in day labor or menial jobs. We were all resting, leaning on the tables with our hands in near proximity.

Suddenly, one of the men reached out and gently touched my hand. The other one started to pull his hand away and said ‘you can’t touch a white woman’s hands’. This took me back, but I did not move my hand. I told him it was okay, I didn’t mind. With all the tenderness one would use to caress a baby, he gently rubbed my hand and fingers with amazement in his eyes. In all my life, I don’t ever remember anyone touching and stroking my hands with this much respect. As he stroked my hand, he said

‘you feel just like me’, ‘we really ARE the same’.

I don’t know what kind of impact this small act had on the two men, but I know for me, until the end of my life, I will never forget that experience: someone who was so bound by social convention, that he had NEVER touched the skin (or person) of a ‘white woman’. And who, by this experience, discovered the universal truth, that

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, black or white (Galatians 3:28)

WE ARE ALL THE SAME –

Not only under the skin, but also in God’s eyes.
 
 

Written for Crossroads, Saint John’s Episcopal Church Worthington and Parts Adjacent, August 2016

Acknowledging ‘White Privilege’

The words ‘white privilege’ have been bandied around by pundits, the media and in general conversation, and while many of us accept that it exists, we are not sure what it means. The best definition of ‘white privilege’ that I have found came from a class in women’s studies at the University of Massachusetts:

“a set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others. White privilege can exist without white people’s conscious knowledge of its presence and it helps to maintain the racial hierarchy in this country.

The biggest problem with white privilege is the invisibility it maintains to those who benefit from it most. The inability to recognize that many of the advantages whites hold are a direct result of the disadvantages of other people, contributes to the unwillingness of white people, even those who are not overtly racist, to recognize their part in maintaining and benefiting from white supremacy.

White privilege is about not having to worry about being followed in a department store while shopping. It’s about thinking that your clothes, manner of speech, and behavior in general, are racially neutral, when, in fact, they are white. It’s seeing your image on television daily and knowing that you’re being represented. It’s people assuming that you lead a constructive life free from crime and off welfare. It’s about not having to assume your daily interactions with people have racial overtones.

White privilege is having the freedom and luxury to fight racism one day and ignore it the next. White privilege exists on an individual, cultural, and institutional level”.[1]

To quote African -American author, James Baldwin, “Being white means never having to think about it.”

Many of us at Saint John’s benefit every day from our ‘white privilege’. We don’t even acknowledge that we have it, and indeed, enjoy a life that people of color can only dream of, but do not often attain. Life’s path is smoothed for us; the entire world is set up to give us every advantage, allow us to come out on the top. Moreover, we don’t want to talk about the fact that we are privileged, or even think that our privilege directly affects the lives of millions of people of color. We do not have to worry about whether our children will return safely as they walk home from school, or if they are driving, will they be stopped for the most minor of offenses and jailed. I have an African-American friend who does not drive in Bexley because the police consider ‘driving while black’ a reason to stop him. We don’t have that worry. And even if we are stopped by the police, we don’t fear that we will be assaulted or shot. We don’t have to teach our sons how to avoid harassment when they are doing nothing wrong. People don’t cross to the other side when we walk down the street, or hold tight to their purses when we pass by.

Racism is about much more than our feelings toward one another, or about differences that we can fix with talk of tolerance or color blindness. The story of race is an ideology of difference that shapes our understanding of ourselves, the world we inhabit, and the communities in which we live. Racial thinking assigns value to human beings who are grouped within artificial categories. We do not need to embrace contrived notions of racial differences, in the name of inclusion, but to examine to the depth of our hearts how we really feel about people of color. Tolerance is not acceptable; we must search until we can truly look at any other person as equal to ourselves. By minimalizing another person, we are dehumanizing not only them but ourselves.

In light of the murders and shootings of people of all colors in the past few months and most recently, we, may be appalled or anguished, but may not see these events are directly related to the long-standing racism in our nation stemming from slavery. Progress for people of color has been slow, and halting; cultural attitudes and habits have changed at a glacial pace. We think we have made progress, but we have become so used to the ‘racial divide’ in our nation, that in many cases, we do not even realize it is there! The sad and shocking thing is, these killings will continue. Too much of white America doesn’t see the problem. Many subconsciously believe that the shooting victim(s) “deserved it”!

None of this means the situation can’t change. However, until the white people in America can see clearly this injustice occurring, and realize the freedoms and values that we as Americans believe in are not available to everyone, it will continue. Until it tugs at our own sense of fairness and justice, a lot of white people in America will remain unmoved to act. Denying the impact of white privilege on this country’s judicial system creates more injustice, more inflamed rhetoric, more grief, more rage. . . and more deaths!

I saw a sign held by protester at a rally that said: ‘White Silence is Violence’.

Truly, if you do not listen to others who are not like you, keep silent when disparaging words are spoken, don’t hold people accountable for their discriminatory conduct, you are just as complicit in racism as those who hold a gun or burn a cross or lynch a man.

White people are in a position of power in this country because of a long-standing power structure that they control. In the opinion of many, much of the political unrest that we are now experiencing stems from the fact that we fear we are losing that control. Are we brave enough to use our ‘white privilege’ to correct that system or power structure? Are we, as white people, willing to do what it takes to stop the systemic murder of young black men, the institutionalized school-to-prison pipeline, the deep, bleeding wound that is racism in America. It is a hard pill to swallow that, in many ways, white people are the source of the problem and only we can change it! People of color may yell, scream, cry, plead or demand justice, but until we are willing to get really uncomfortable with our own participation in a racist society, nothing will change.

Don’t delude yourself that you do not have the power. You may say ‘I’m not racist — I have black friends! I’m a good person!” You may not be rich and you may truly struggle with daily aspects of your life. You probably are a good person, and you may have black friends. BUT, you still benefit from institutionalized racism.

Andrew Rosenthal, a writer for The New York Times, stated:

“The point of the “Black Lives Matter” movement is not that the lives of African Americans matter more than those of White Americans, but that they matter equally, and that historically they have been treated as if they do not.”[2]

Speak with people of color, listen, to learn — or perhaps more appropriately, unlearn the racism that has been instilled in us by our country. . . and our churches.

It’s time for white people in America — especially the white American church — to start putting action behind our prayerful social media memes. The unfortunate reality is that America has a really big race problem, and it is white people must take the leadership to fix it. We, who call ourselves followers of Jesus, should be leading the charge, not arguing about the semantics of whose lives’ matter’.

I call on ALL congregations, but especially white congregations, to unite in protest, to refuse to stand in silence, to speak out against racial injustice, to examine our individual lives and attitudes until we understand our participation in racism, and wipe it from our lives!

We must build a society where we no longer see people of color bloodied and broken. . . or dead, due to racial violence.

We must ensure that our children do not take on the racial attitudes and habits that we were so subtly taught.

Join me in acknowledging, understanding and shedding the mantle of our ‘white privilege’.
 
 
[1]      The Social Construction of Whiteness and Women, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

[2]      Andrew Rosenthal, “The Real Story of Race and Police Killings“, The New York Times; September 4, 2015

 
Written for the Crossroads, Saint John’s Episcopal Church and Parts Adjacent, Worthington, OH; 18 July 2016

We Are All Brothers and Sisters

All human beings are 99% alike. If we looked at the book of our life, every page would be the same except for two: those on eye and skin color.

Science have shown us repeatedly that we are all alike except for 1% – whether we were born in Canada, China or the U.S.; what is our eye and hair color; what is our skin color –that is the 1%.

Otherwise we are all alike!

It is astounding and downright crazy that we all tend to emphasize that 1%. The greatest wars, the greatest violence, and the greatest cruelty that human beings have done to one another has been because of that 1%, in the form of

Prejudice.

Discrimination.

Segregation.

Stereotyping.

So when we hear these terms, it causes us to think in extremes about other people, rather than emphasizing the many common things that we all share. These words emphasize the differences in people, causing fear and anxiety.

Prejudice causes us to judge a person’s character by their outward appearance. When we discriminate we deprive a person of the right to have what others have. Segregation deprives a person of the right to belong and to explore the differences and uniqueness in others. Profiling prevents a person from being a part of a majority.

Profiling lumps together all those people from a certain background, or a certain occupation, or a certain race, and attribute to each individual the same characteristics of the entire group. Although traits may generally be true of a group, it is NEVER always true of every person in that group.

Such stereotypes as “Blondes are all ditzy,” “All men are pigs,” or “All women are too emotional” are not supported by our personal observations. They show our blind acceptance of wild generalizations about people as being ‘the rule’.

These generalizations and stereotypes are not only incorrect, they are unfair, and unacceptable if we are to live in a harmonious and vibrant society.

All of us have, at one time of another, experienced prejudice against ourselves. Stereotyping leads to prejudice. Prejudice is defined as “unfavorable judgment due to partiality.” Prejudice divides, isolates, and ostracizes people. Prejudice is never neutral; it reacts strongly either for or against someone or something without knowing the facts. Prejudice has its root in ignorance, and leads to further ignorance. Prejudice embraces the idea of “don’t confuse me with the facts!”, perpetuating that ignorance.

Prejudice is also a way for some people to elevate themselves above others, by putting down and criticizing others. Slurs are used to describe people you do not know or dislike, hoping to get others to agree with your prejudice so that you can feel a member of a powerful group. Truly, one group of people cannot be better than another group, since all of us have come from the same ancestors.

We are all human beings and creations of God. We are told in Acts 17:26 that

God created all the people of the world from one man, Adam, and scattered the nations across the face of the earth.

In the Bible we are taught that those who judge according to outward appearance are foolish—that we do not see people the way God sees them,

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7).

During the early days of Jesus’ ministry, his disciples felt the Jews were ‘the chosen people’, and the Gentiles, the uncircumcised and pagans could never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. After being reminded by God three times, Saint Peter finally understood that

“In truth, I am grasping (beginning to understand) that God is no respecter of appearances (shows no partiality). (Acts 10:34)

God has shown me in a vision that I should never think of anyone as inferior. (Acts 10:28)

God loves everyone!

In Galatians 3:28, we are told that God is color blind/race blind/gender blind:

there are no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. We are all equal; we are all Abraham’s descendants (Galatians 3:28).

From time to time it’s good to search our hearts to see what our prejudices are, and try to understand why we hold these prejudices.

For the next four weeks, we are going to have guests visiting In The Garden who come from other religions and cultures. Although their observance of their religions is different from Christianity, you may be surprised to learn how similar to Christianity many of their beliefs are. We hope to learn about people who we have, perhaps, criticized and felt negative about simply because of things we have heard or read.

Next week we will have Cantor Lauren Bandman, who will speak to us about the Jewish religion and share some of the things that are part of their worship service. She is a fine singer and will present several Jewish songs that are part of the Shabbat service.

On April 17th, some of the students from the OSU Muslim Students are coming to debunk some of the misconceptions of the Islam religion. These are the students who fast one day a week so that they can prepare the sack lunches that you take home for Sunday evening.

On April 24, we will be hearing from Tarunjit Batalia, a member of the Sikh community, a branch of the Hindu religion. Sikhs have suffered persecution and violence because many people think they are Muslims, since they wear a turban as part of their culture.

On May 1, we will welcome Ernestine Jackson, a Buddhist, to talk about the similarities of the doctrine of Buddhism and Christianity.

This will be, I believe, an interesting and informative series of programs for all of us, and I invite you to bring friends and tell others who might be interested in these programs.

Let us remember

God created all the people of the world from one man, Adam, and scattered the nations across the face of the earth. (Acts 17:26)

These are our brothers and sisters. They are loved by the same God; live in the same world and share with us the joys and challenges of being a human being.

Let us come to better know these brothers and sisters from other faith traditions, so that we may love and understand them, as we hope they will love and understand us.

Amen.

 Delivered at In The Garden, Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, Columbus, OH; 3 April 2016

 

The Finest Example Of Forgiveness

As weeks have passed since the massacre of nine Americans at Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, I have been reading and listening to the victims’ funeral services and their families’ comments about their loved ones. The families, amazingly, have all offered repeated statements of forgiveness and love to the alleged murderer . . . something that I find astounding and heart wrenching.

While suffering the greatest sadness and loss, these friends and relatives have offered sincerest forgiveness to the one who brought so much suffering! I am reminded of Jesus’ word on the cross:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Truly people of the Mother Emmanuel AME Church are living the greatest teachings of Jesus.

Nine dead at the Mother Emanuel AME Church. The horror of it – the useless loss of life – of devoutly religious and good people studying the Bible on a Wednesday. . . nine kind and gentle people who invited a young white male in to study and pray with them. A young man, it turned out, who was so deeply troubled and influenced by an environment of ignorance and bigotry, that he felt it was his duty to right some of the ‘wrongs’ of the world. . . to murder a group of people he had been indoctrinated to believe were evil and a threat to America as he felt it should be.

When the relatives of these people slain inside that historic African American church in Charleston, S.C., were able to speak directly to the accused gunman at his first court appearance, one-by-one, they did not turn to anger, but instead they offered him forgiveness and their prays for his soul. And in so doing, they stopped cold any mass demonstrations, violent recriminations, or weeks-long expressions of anger and bitterness that other like murders have produced in other locations.

In the midst of what was probably the most devastating thing that had happened in their lives, the faith and belief in the true teachings of Jesus about forgiveness was so strong with these Christians that they had the love and fortitude to say:

“I forgive you”.

They witnessed that their lives and families were built on love; they had no room for hating so they had to forgive, and pray for this tormented youth’s soul.

Personally I am still struggling with whether, if I were in their place, I could be so forgiving. I am not sure that I could live out Jesus’ teachings and example if that were my wife or my aunt or my child. And I’ll bet that many of you question whether you could be so forgiving also. Forgiveness is not easy to do; it runs counter to our culture and human nature. When we are hurt or injured or angered, our instinct is to hurt back, to take revenge.

Where do we turn to gain some understanding, some solace, some relief from the grief of the horrific and cruel things that happen to us? We might turn to the words of Mark 11:25,

if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you

Yet, how can I truly follow these teachings in the face of so much evil and meanness in the world? From the school shooting in Columbine, or the movie theater in Colorado, or the Sandy Hook School shooting, and the senseless killings of so many black young men and women by our police, how can one believe it possible for the Kingdom of God to ever come on this earth?

How can one hope to believe that God’s will can ever be done ‘on earth as it is in heaven’?

As we seem surrounded (and are participants in) daily murder, violence, and cruelty throughout the Middle East and in much of Africa, how can one believe it possible for the Kingdom of God to ever come on this earth?

In personal as well as public concerns, I wonder how I can come to learn and live true forgiveness in my heart. It is not easy; we may desire to forgive in our heads, yet forgiveness must come from our hearts.

There are several steps we can take to work toward forgiveness:

1. We must be able to articulate clearly what happened and why it is wrong. . . to ourselves . . . to  our children . . . to our friends and neighbors
2. We must find the right perspective in our hearts about what is happening in the world.
3. We must realize that the act of forgiveness does more for us, than for those we are forgiving; the  act of truly forgiving wipes away the anger, resentment, and soul-destroying hate from us and bring peace where there was chaos.
4. We must not only forgive but forget. We must truly ‘move on’. Carrying any remainder of the  wrong allows it to continue to fester in our hearts and poison our lives, and the lives of those around us.

It involves letting go in a way that frees both parties from grudges and guilt. True forgiveness involves more than saying the words. The phrase “forgive and forget” is often used because without forgetting, there is no true forgiveness.

Practicing full forgiveness has been shown to reduce anger, hurt, depression and stress and leads to greater feelings of hope, peace, compassion and empathy. Practicing forgiveness also leads to healthy relationships as well as physical health and brings us to an attitude that opens the heart to kindness, beauty, and love.

Still, I have to admit, I am not there yet. I am trying to follow the examples of the families of the saints massacred at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church and offer forgiveness to that misguided young man, and to all who do evil and violence, but I am not completely there yet. My heart still feels grief and a desire for some punishment and revenge. That is not the answer! Just like some of you, I must continue to remember Jesus’ instructions and empty my heart of anger and hatred, and forgive this tortured soul who felt compelled to murder the very people who had offered to him only love and acceptance.

In this world torn apart with racism, violence, hatred and bigotry, we as a people have no other means but forgiveness to change the world. Forgiveness is a concept that takes power away from the those who hate and harm and invites them into right relationship. We have no future except for forgiveness. This is true not only for large public acts of violence and hate, but for all the small, tedious, and spirit crushing acts of cruelty and unkindness that occur in our lives on a daily basis.

We must remember the example of our Lord Jesus, who on the cross, asked forgiveness for those who crucified him:

“Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34)

Make no mistake. . . we are called daily to usher in the realm of God through one phrase, “I Forgive You.”
 

We Are Not Alone

Recently we have had rain . . . and rain . . . and rain until we all must feel waterlogged. There were festivals this weekend that had to be cancelled because of all the rain, and counties along the Hocking River are in a state of emergency because the flooding from the river had closed the roads. There are people in Southeastern Ohio who aren’t sure can keep their heads above the rising water.

Have you ever felt that you are just barely keeping your head above water? That you are about to sink? That you are under torrents of troubles and worries?

You aren’t the only one!

Hear what was told to you in the Gospel of Mark when the disciples were in a boat with Jesus:

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took Him with them in the boat. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41)

Now when this story occurs, the disciples had been traveling with Jesus for quite some time, and had seen Him perform miracles: driving out demons, curing the sick, feeding the masses. Yet, they did not believe. . . did not yet fully realize the power of His presence.

The troubles and challenges we go through in life are not trivial. They are life changing. They may be massive. Faith doesn’t prevent fear from occurring. Faith did not provide the disciples in their boat with a safe journey over the sea. Faith is a way of walking through fear, without giving in to its terror. Fear draws us into rage, helplessness, desperation or despair. Faith helps us find ourselves, as peaceful voices, as creators of calm. It must be just such a spirit that allows Hindus to walk across beds of hot coals without burning their feet. That allows mothers of children pinned under cars to lift those cars enough to free the child. That allowed Nelson Mandela to endure 27 years of imprisonment, emerge the victor over the government that had so abused him, and later become President of his nation. It is just that faith that allows the families of the 9 massacred members of the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston to forgive their murderer and call for love to heal their city and our nation.

To me, this story from Mark reminds us that God is there for us. That when we lose sight of God because we encounter the death of a loved one, or financial disaster, or illness, or whatever may befall us, and it feels like a massive storm is threatening to capsize our life’s boat, God is there, working in the background, carrying us when we need it. God was there when those nine people were murdered and became martyrs in Heaven. It may seem trite, it may seem convenient, but God is on our side. And so I have to acknowledge God in my life. Ask, seek, knock. The principles remain the same. He is there.

God never, ever, ever promises that life will be easy. God never promises smooth sailing and blue skies every day.

What God does promise is that when the world comes crashing down, God is right there with us. The Holy Spirit is there with us, in our sinking boat.

Just as He was in the boat with the disciples, and with the people at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church, He is with us – every day, rain or shine. And He will calm the storms of our lives if we trust Him.

So, maybe the world is crashing in on you today. Maybe you feel your about to drown in worry of fear, in pain or loneliness. Maybe it was yesterday that you felt that way. And then again, maybe it will be tomorrow.

But, whenever that happens—and it’s not a matter of “if”, but “when”—whatever you think, and whatever your prayer, know that you haven’t been abandoned. God isn’t on a lunch break. He is only a thought and a prayer away.

God is with you. And all you need is enough faith to get you through to the moment when Jesus speaks, “Peace. Be still.”

The disciples finally ‘got it’ when Jesus stilled the storm – they understood just how powerful Jesus was.

And now, we must ‘get it’ – that as long as we have faith in God’s love for us, we will be okay. No matter how deep the water gets or how horrible the storms. We will not drown, we will overcome, even though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death – the rains will cease, the sun will shine, and the peace of the Lord will fill our souls.

Amen.

Delivered at In The Garden, Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, Columbus, OH 21 June 2015