About Me
Social
THE MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME
/
2 Comments
I was reading the Ragamuffin Gospel this morning in conjunction with some things we are going to work with the students in the coming months. One of the quotes I read was "A friend of mine once told me years ago that the only thing that made her uneasy about heaven is that she won't get to choose her table companions at the Messianic banquet." pg. 44
I also recall a conversation I had with one of the trustees at our church, where a gentleman (so called) came into his office and asked to speak to the "colored girl" who worked there. The trustee responded with, "Which color? Purple? Orange? Green? Blue?"
Maybe it's due to my geographical location. Maybe it's to my heightened sensitivity to the matter. But if you listen to a lot of conversations, it is filled with they(s) and them(s). And not in a strictly racial sense but it seems that all over a "social prejudice" (which reveals itself in class, race, denomination, region and anything that resembles an "I am and you are not" attitude). That seems far removed from the cry of equality. Far away from the Samaritan woman at the well and the Hebrew rabbi. When that begins to happen, I think things begin to change. Problem is, is it really happening?
Tempering my speech has been something that has been in my head for a long time. But listening to speech and what "we" say has been something in my ears recently. If you REALLY listen and REALLY hear some of the things that come out of our mouth, it begins to get a little dicey. We are victims of repetition and anything that happens long enough, soon desensitizes us. I want to be a part of a group of people (meaning us all, not defined by where I am at) that is fully welcoming, fully embracing and as my friend Sean is reading, a place where No Perfect People Are Allowed. When that happens, it's not about us vs them. A person or group of people does not take on a they connotation (no matter how innocent or well intentioned it comes across). It becomes about us and we. And that changes the world. The whole world.
----------------
Now playing: A Northern Chorus - The Shepherd & the Chauffeur
I also recall a conversation I had with one of the trustees at our church, where a gentleman (so called) came into his office and asked to speak to the "colored girl" who worked there. The trustee responded with, "Which color? Purple? Orange? Green? Blue?"
Maybe it's due to my geographical location. Maybe it's to my heightened sensitivity to the matter. But if you listen to a lot of conversations, it is filled with they(s) and them(s). And not in a strictly racial sense but it seems that all over a "social prejudice" (which reveals itself in class, race, denomination, region and anything that resembles an "I am and you are not" attitude). That seems far removed from the cry of equality. Far away from the Samaritan woman at the well and the Hebrew rabbi. When that begins to happen, I think things begin to change. Problem is, is it really happening?
Tempering my speech has been something that has been in my head for a long time. But listening to speech and what "we" say has been something in my ears recently. If you REALLY listen and REALLY hear some of the things that come out of our mouth, it begins to get a little dicey. We are victims of repetition and anything that happens long enough, soon desensitizes us. I want to be a part of a group of people (meaning us all, not defined by where I am at) that is fully welcoming, fully embracing and as my friend Sean is reading, a place where No Perfect People Are Allowed. When that happens, it's not about us vs them. A person or group of people does not take on a they connotation (no matter how innocent or well intentioned it comes across). It becomes about us and we. And that changes the world. The whole world.
----------------
Now playing: A Northern Chorus - The Shepherd & the Chauffeur
