If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday (Isaiah 58:9-10 NRSV).
When he was in the second grade, our youngest did not want to ride the school bus anymore. “Why?” I asked. “The kids make fun of me saying ching-chong and other silly words,” he said. “They say that’s how Chinese people talk.”
“Tell them you’re not Chinese, you’re Vietnamese, and to stop it,” I replied.
“Oh Mom, that won’t help! They even slant their eyes with their fingers when they say ching-chong, ching-chong.”
Some may argue that we are being oversensitive. “Can’t you take a joke?” or “We all make fun of ourselves; it’s harmless so don’t make a big deal of it.”
None of us adults would openly embarrass ourselves and others with racist gibberish. After all, we are Christians and this is 21st century America. We have come a long way in the U.S. — or have we?
Since it is not polite to be a racist, some Americans, and, yes, those who identify themselves as Christians, have found another way to express ugly feelings — by proxy.
A handful of people regularly air their narrow views on television, radio, the Internet and social media.
Cable and radio talk-show hosts and their “guests” rant and rave on issues ranging from not granting citizenship to U.S.-born children to who’s to blame for the economic woes of this nation.
Phone lines are then opened to callers for more of the same. This atmosphere has seeped into everyday conversation and is now deemed the norm. Free speech, a right as well as a responsibility, has turned into “I’m right and you’re wrong!” It is a vicious circle.
But it doesn’t have to continue.
Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian doctor from the Gaza Strip. He has spent his whole life building bridges among Jews, Muslims and Christians.
Izzeldin developed deep friendships with his medical colleagues, many of whom are Israeli Jews. He treats the sick regardless of their ethnicity.
For three weeks, Izzeldin and his children were trapped in their home in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli army bombed neighborhood after neighborhood. Then on January 16, 2009, bombs crashed through the walls of the doctor’s home, killing three of his daughters and his niece.
Extraordinarily, Izzeldin refuses to hate.
He continues to be a spokesperson for peace and reconciliation. And in these public forums, he sometimes is shouted down for being a terrorist.
In his book, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, he writes, “Let my daughters be the last to die. Let this tragedy open the eyes of the world. Let us ask each other, ‘Where are we going? What are we doing?’
“It’s time we sat down and talked to each other. As I have said many times since the tragedy, if I could know that my daughters were the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis, then I would accept their loss.”
Real talking (and listening) is not easy, as Izzeldin would attest. It demands that we come into contact with individuals, those who are like us and those we are “not supposed to like.”
We are the church — aren’t we? When we shake a person’s hand, sit next to a newcomer in worship, or pray for someone, we have begun the process of forming a relationship with a human being.
When we talk about an ethnically and racially inclusive church, it makes some people uncomfortable. I’ve heard comments such as “There are no minorities in my neighborhood,” and “They prefer to go to their own churches,” and even “They won’t feel comfortable here.”
Whose comfort is being disturbed? We make so many assumptions even before knowing who “they” are.
While it may be true that you live in a homogeneous community, there are ways to be an inclusive congregation by speaking on behalf of others.
How many of you detest the underlying intolerance that is accepted as part of our everyday lives? How many of you have done something about it? How do our congregations show that we are a “city on a hill,” “a light shining in the darkness”? Do they know we are Christians by our love?
Jesus no doubt caused a lot of discomfort. But he also told us that we are the light of the world. It is time to stop hiding that light — the light that dares us to love.
Fern Lee Hagedorn is a writer, filmmaker and advocate of the Bible for the post-literate. She spearheaded a project to translate Scripture into new media.
A great reminder that there is much work to be done in our society and in our church concerning with the issue of race and class. The story of Dr. Abuelaish is both beautiful and powerful witness that in midst of violence peace and reconciliation can still shine its light. At the same time, I can't stop wondering what this means for a denomination which is still 97% white. How can one take this article seriously when the ELCA is still close to 97% white? What does this mean when there are large congregations that have no people of color in both their staff or in their congregation? How can this article be taken seriously, when the ELCA still struggle with the "silent racism" prevalent within its walls? Perhaps, this is our first step in the right direction. Let's begin a sincere talk about race and class. Thank you for your article.
LUTERINHO,
Birds of a feather flock together. We shouldn’t engage in self flagellation just because people of other cultures don’t want to worship with us. By and large people of color (Blacks, Latinos and Asians) are much more conservative when it comes to issues like homosexuality for instance. You might as well say it was racist for the ELCA to change it’s stance on this issue, because now some people of color will stay away. On the flip side, are you a racist for not finding a black church to worship at? Can't we just welcome people as they come no matter what their color? I sure haven't seen any racists.
davebob
You make a great point with your analogy. The issue at hand is that we are all birds of the same flock since in Christ there is no Asian, Black, Latino/a, Asian, Native-American, or White. We are to flock together. But we aren't flocking together. And one can make all kind of excuses one wants, but in the end there are all excuses for inaction since no one will come if no invitations were sent, if one doesn’t feel welcomed, if one is not reached out, if one is not cared for, if one is not loved as Christ has reached for and loved us. How do we welcome when they aren’t coming? Yes, we could say that “ain’t our problem” but then what if God has said the same thing to us. “davebob isn’t coming” well, God could have said, “that ain’t my problem.” But I’m glad God didn’t said that because I have another brother to worship and celebrate together the goodness of God. And I am glad to have another brother to carry out God’s work for God’s kingdom. And I’m glad that you haven’t seen any racists but that isn’t the case for every person of color. Honestly, are we not to be better than the world? Thank you for your comment for b/c of you I am a better person.
Your blog story opener was so on the mark. I've been called "too sensitive" many a time, and God knows when that's been true, or if the other person was not being sensitive enough! But I see racism as an invisible enemy that seeks to travel even among church groups, slashing away while many travelers don't even see it exists.
What a blessing it is when people do see, or are willing to bolster those who do. They hearten me into true friendship and the way of Jesus. These include people I've met in the Lutheran Human Relations Association (www.lhra.org); Lutheran Peace Fellowship (www.lutheranpeace.org), and multicultural ministry, where some of us worked on www.elca.org/onebody, an online resource for congregations who want to cross barriers of race, culture and class. Thank you for lifting up how Jesus calls us to be light for the world on race issues!
Lutherinho, lilyaapi,
“Silent racism”, “invisible enemy – slashing away”. Really? We all have conscious and unconscious fear of people who are different from us. But we try not to show it, and try our best to be kind to everyone equally. I would call this normal, not racism. It’s racism when we consciously act out on our prejudices. Are we in danger of devaluing the terms “racist” or “racism” by painting the whole ELCA as having a “racism” problem because there are too few minorities? Aren’t we then saying by default that if there is an all black church that they are racists for not having any white people? I’ve seen racism, and that’s not it. Historically, Lutherans have never been known for “reaching out” to anyone, let alone people of color. We are equal opportunists that way. By definition, it would be racist to reach out to any one race more than another. I don’t know if people of color will respond positively to a specific effort by “us” to try and multiculturalize “our” congregations to make “us” feel nonracist. If we are spending more time and effort on one particular race, are we not neglecting another? I wonder if the church should be engaged in affirmative action to try and meet some arbitrary quotas. And when we finally do have a colored family visit our church, will not this type of mentality have us competing with each other to see who can appear to be the least racist? I know it makes me feel weird when people try too hard to make me feel welcome. I think most people in the universal Christian church just worship where they feel comfortable. I don’t consider black people to be racists because they enjoy worshiping with other black people. And along the same lines, I don’t think the ELCA has a racist problem because we are 97% white. ….I just don’t.
As a high school student who is part of the great college search, I have visited three Lutheran campus ministries and all three are very diverse. If you look at the stats of Lutheran campus ministries in Atlanta and Valparaiso University, many mouths praise one God. Young people today really don't care about what background someone has. We're just looking for good company in Christ. :)
davebob, thanks for your well-stated sharing. yes, as you said, the fears, the trying our best to be kind to everyone equally, racism the acting out, and ppl worshipping where they feel comfortable -- i think similarly as you actually. i was not trying to denigrate kind people or the ELCA as a whole by my comments! but when people are being hurt (slashed was meant to say, it's painful!) by racism, or anything else in life, it's just such a blessing when there are friends who will be supportive. i was meaning to express my hopes and wishes for that.
Lilyaapi,
It may very well be that I thinks too much. I may have miss applied some of that thought towards yours and lutherinho’s words. I find myself in contemplation a lot these days. It must be the midlife thing. I am a young 50 years old now and I can finally say that I have seen the world changing. Take art and pornography. There was a time when everybody knew one from the other. This seems to be happening with so many things now. Racism is one of those things. The things that are considered racism now would have not even have made it on the radar screen in my youth. Just when I start feeling pretty good about how far we’ve come, somebody whips out “Racist” word at the drop of a hat. Many times the insult has to be explained to everybody how it could be offensive to certain people. We are turning into a society that is walking on eggshells in hopes of not offending some class of people. It’s almost getting to the point where if you are a white person you had better show some guilt for what your forefathers did lest you be called a racist. I feel like I should get a “Certified Non-Racist” card from my two black neighbors. They seemed to like me. Anyway…maybe I thinks too much.
The intolerance we hear over the airwaves and the Internet is anything but subtle (eg, see http://mediamatters.org/research/201101190044). The sad thing is that many, including Christians, are silent in these situations. When people use language which demeans a group of people, they dehumanize that group so that it is "justifiable" to hate them. You don't have to walk on eggshells -- just walk in someone else's shoes. Actually, I think we are all on the same page and are trying our best to be faithful. Thanks for your comments.
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You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. Words the president of the United States should learn. He's done a good job of inciting the last four years. And he has the support of the ELCA and Bishop Hansen. Maybe the bishop should learn this lesson as well when he issues a message in support of Trayvon Martin BEFORE Hansen even knows the facts of the case. George Zimmerman is innocent till proven guilty but I guess Bishop Hansen ignored that little tid bit of American Justice.