Tag Archives: Bigotry

Carefully Taught

Living in the Spirit

Actors John Kerr and France Nuyen in a scene from the 1958 film South Pacific. The interracial romance between the onstage pair unsettled some audiences.

June 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

I cannot read this portion of scripture without hearing in my head – You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught from the musical South Pacific by Rodgers & Hammerstein. Here are the first three verses:

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade—
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
You’ve got to be carefully taught!*

Bigotry is becoming normal in our society today. The current popular target of our hate is turned toward people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community but it still lurks across all lines of differences. God created each of us in God’s image. Every time we have a flash of bigotry fly through our minds, we need to remember that—God created each of us in God’s image.

Prayer: Lord, help us not teach bigotry by our actions or our words and heal us from the bigotry we have been taught that lingers in our being. Amen.

*See at https://rodgersandhammerstein.com/song/south-pacific/youve-got-to-be-carefully-taught/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Doing the Word

Living in the Spirit

August 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We probably all should attach a copy of the above scripture to our bathroom mirror and read it each morning as our marching orders for the day. Our society seems to be spinning backward from these instructions. We often say the right things but do not mean them or live them. We celebrate evil, care only about ourselves and those who mirror our ways. If we are honest, we probably do not want to change anything unless it interferes with our comfort level.

Recently, I have been surprised several times by recognizing how privileged I am. My heat and air thermostat just went out, having exceeded its five-year warrantee by three years. I spent an evening of the temperature getting up to 80 degrees wondering why it was getting so hot when I discovered my thermostat was dead. I slept under a ceiling fan, called the heat and air service I use, and by 10:00 am the next morning had a new thermostat before my house had had time to take on the heat of a new day. I had funds in the bank to cover the cost. I did not have to decide between eating or a cool house. A local nonprofit announced a few weeks ago that they had a new stock of fans for particularly the elderly who, with no air conditioning, was subject to heatstroke.

We justify inequities in our system by denigrating people by the strangest of measures like the color of their skin or their gender or the type of work they do. I worked in a restaurant and nursing homes when I was in high school and college at minimum wage and even less when tips were supposed to make up the difference between what I was paid and the minimum wage. I enjoyed both jobs and probably learned more about dealing with people in these experiences than I did in any college course I took. You cannot tell me that people doing these types of work are lazy or do not know how to work. Even though I was young and healthy, I was exhausted by the end of the day, and I did not have to go home to care for a family.

Prayer: Lord, I am so weary of waking up to another instance of blatant bigotry. Make me and all your followers be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive ourselves*. Amen.

*See James 1:22

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Renewing Our Minds

Living in the Spirit

August 21, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:1-8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Differentiating what is of the world from what is of God is the challenge in not conforming to the world. The wheat and the weeds do grow in the same field*. As a child going to the garden with my mother, I am sure I was carefully taught what was a weed to pull and what was a plant to nurture and allow to develop. I do not recall those lessons; I also do not remember being unable to differentiate between weeds and plants. Such experiences become a part of our being. What happens when what we learned was wrong or changed over time?

Constant work in the renewing of our minds is necessary to discern the will of God. That is complicated by our discerning what of the world is neutral to God and what is fundamentally different from God’s will. I do not believe God cares whether we dye our hair blue or wear sneakers to church or celebrate the Fourth of July. I do think God cares if any of our actions from the world grow into idol worship. And God cares if our actions denigrate any of God’s other children.

All of us, since birth, are subtly influenced by culturally differing statuses of the worth of other people. Such attitudes are so ingrained in our culture, we may not recognize them as separate from the will of God. Others learned direct discrimination. God calls us to love one another—all others and to appreciate them for their gifts just as they are–our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must dig deep into our beings and do the introspection necessary to cull out those weeds of bigotry that impact the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom becoming a reality in our world now.

Prayer: Lord, changing the way we have always perceived the world is hard work. Give us the courage and commitment to work this work in your name. Amen.

*See Matthew 13.

All scriptures .are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Changing the Way We Have Always Done It

Living in the Spirit

August 16, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

I am so glad this story made it into the book of Matthew. Jesus is many things to many people, but one of his primary roles is being a model for how we can live our faith. Jesus is quoted as saying, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ I hear that as saying your problem is not my problem or you are asking for something that is not in my job description. Of scriptures in the gospels that attest to the fact that Jesus was fully human, this is one of the best. How many times do we think or say that is not my job?

The Canaanite women did not let Jesus get away with his dodge. He realized his error and healed her daughter.

We all carry with us the way we have always done lots of things. Among them are attitudes and behaviors that now bring the descriptors of racists, misogynistic, white privilege, which unnerve us. We think they have nothing to do with us, but they do.

I know two people who came to the USA who shared the same experience with me. One came many years ago from Germany following World War II. The other was here from China working on a graduate degree. They both told me that for the longest time, they had to think about what they were going to say in their native language and then translate it in their heads into English before speaking. By the time I knew them, they both seemed comfortable with English, but it was a challenge to get to that point.  I think that process is what many of us must practice as we discern patterns of our behavior or speech that contribute to a lack of understanding among the diverse peoples of our world. It is awkward at first, but if we invest in recognizing those things we have always done but now know are not appropriate, we can review them in our heads and control acting inappropriately. Some day it will seem like we have always done it that way.

Prayer: Lord, help us to model Jesus in recognizing that all God’s children need our love and compassion. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Living in Harmony

Advent

December 13, 2019

Scripture Reading: James 5:7-10

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

I am puzzled by all the people who long for the second coming of Christ trusting that they are going to be among the elect, while assuming all those people with whom they disagree, dislike, judge as immoral, or otherwise disparage are going to hell. That seems to be at odds with Christ’s desire that all God’s children, to the ends of the earth, will live together in harmony in the Kingdom of God. I do not see anywhere in scripture where it says all the people in the Kingdom of God are going to be just like me. I cannot imagine how boring that would be. My guess is that if we got rid of all those we disfavor our human nature would cause us to turn on whoever was left.

I also think God knew what God was doing when God created a diversity of people in many hues and sizes with varying skills and talents and with a continuum of ways to express love much like God’s own self. Perhaps in this meantime as we prepare for the fullness of God’s kingdom, we would be well advised to practice loving like Jesus so we will be prepared for living in a world where:

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.—Isaiah 11:6-9

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for not loving ourselves as you love us resulting in our inability to love all your children without bigotry. Enable us to love like Jesus. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Frames of Faith

Jesus’ Ministry
February 28, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. –2 Corinthians 3:12-18

People of faith seem not to like loose ends. We like everything neatly framed and stored to make us comfortable. Jesus did not invest a lot of energy in assuring the comfort of people who lived within their designed frames of faith. Rather, he broke down barriers that held people of faith from fully grasping the width and depth of God’s love for all God’s creation. He threw away the veils that protected God’s people from experiencing God’s love and allowing it to enter their being and flow among one another until the entire world functioned within the freedom of a loving God.

Are we innately judgmental feeling the need to establish hierarchies of who is lovable and who is not? While God created us with the freewill to choose our behavior, God certainly fully equipped us to love all God’s children and accept them as we encounter them growing together with them in spirit and in truth. We cannot blame God for our bigotry; it derives from our choice of evil.

There is no question in my mind where Jesus stands when we caste people aside as unworthy. I do not think any of us wishes to be on the wrong side of God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, remove the veils we use that allows us to discriminate in faith against any of your children. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Who are Our Samaritans?

Jesus’ Ministry
January 10, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

This seemingly simple activity report is loaded with meaning. The Samaritan were one of the most hated peoples for generations among the Jews. What does it take to move a people from hating to celebrating another group? I wonder how those who did not accept Jesus as the Christ thought about this transformation?

Allan W. Eckert’s The Winning of America series included a story he told about some Mennonites who established a good relationship with a group of Native Americans who accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and attempted to follow his guidance as they understood it. They understood that Jesus was a pacifist and thus war and discord with others was forbidden. This group was meeting in a round house when a group of white people entered the building and shot and killed each of the natives as they stood with hands folded in prayer. Two little boys escaped before they would have been shot and lived to tell the tale. I wonder how many times this story was repeated across this country when no one survived? I do not recall much about the shooters. They may even have been soldiers. They may have been professed Christians cleansing the world of pagans.

I am sad to say we still live in a world today where fear and bigotry, greed and lust for power works to rob us of the gifts of grace and love we find in Jesus Christ. Our work to do justice includes walking with those who are oppressed even when the oppression is coming from people who are a lot like us.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage of your love to stand with others being oppressed. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Carefully Taught

Epiphany
January 22, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:12-23

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. –Matthew 4:18-23

 First Jesus called his disciples, and then he taught them by word and example. He taught in the synagogues, and he lived his love as he interacted with real people in real situations of need. Following  in Jesus’ footsteps often requires us to clear some previously conceived notions that are ingrained firmly in our very beings. Jesus saw the potential for good in everyone.

How much of our reticence to love all people comes from being carefully taught something that is not true? Rogers and Hammerstein in their musical South Pacific coined that phrase in a song on bigotry.

You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught. 

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught. 

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!*

As we prepare to be disciples of Christ this year, some self-examination may be in order. What were we carefully taught by word or example? We most likely will need God’s help identifying our prejudices; we will need God’s help ridding ourselves of them.

Our experience at times makes us unable to follow Jesus’ lead. What do we do about those real life experiences that planted seeds of fear and hate in us? How do we deal with them and meet the call to love all of God’s children? Hate we must give to God for only love can overcome hate. Small steps in safe places can help us recover from fear. Making that journey with other disciples may make the rough places plain more quickly.

Prayer: Lord we dedicate this year to learning to love like Jesus, to seeing your image in everyone, and to telling your good news in both word and deed. Amen.

*See at http://www.metrolyrics.com/youve-got-to-be-carefully-taught-lyrics-south-pacific.html
**See Isaiah 40:4 and Luke 3:5

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Bigotry

bigotryLiving in the Spirit
September 29, 2016

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
–2 Timothy 1:8-10

It seems a little strange to find in one of the books of Timothy words that support the absolute worth of all of God’s children. The books of Timothy work hard at keeping woman in their “right” place. Yet, here I am. Our scripture today seems to acknowledge that God created each of us for a purpose. Our task is to fulfill that calling even when society does not agree with our receiving some assignments.

The role of women in service to God dates from the beginning of the recorded history of God. Certainly, most often these roles are traditional roles of mother, caretaker, and hostess. Then we discover Deborah, a judge, who led the way saving the people from being overthrown.

I do not believe that bigotry is in our DNA, but it surely lies close to the center of our being. So close, we sometimes have trouble recognizing its existence to our peril. God created a world dependent on justice for all for that world to survive and thrive. Any time we prevent anyone from fulfilling their call we hurt ourselves and everyone else. We move away from the Kingdom of God not toward it.

Prayer: God of Justice, help us to see the bigotry that lurks in all our beings, cleanse us from it, and enable our work toward a world ruled by love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

Fear is a prisonLiving in the Spirit
August 31, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is so high that I cannot attain it. –Psalm 139:1-6

What we don’t seem to recognize is that these words apply to every human. They are beautiful words describing a loving parent or perhaps teacher. I was at a public school recently when an in-control but very concerned pre-school teacher, darted into the hallway calling out a child’s name. It was most likely that child’s first week of school, ever. He had escaped his classroom. She found him under the stairway and gently guided him back to his room. It is hard to fathom perfect love, and it seems harder still to recognize that it is readily available to all.

We live in a world where people fear their own shadows. We build walls and put up fences and gates to protect from those we do not take the time to know or understand. We do not analyze our actions that create the reason for our fear. When we treat others as commodities for our prosperity, they resist. We justify our greed by classifying and categorizing others as less than our level of humanity. Instead of acknowledging that when all do well, all thrive.

There has been a recent competition in our political arena regarding who is the worst bigot. Truth indicates that we are all bigots at heart. We somehow feel more whole when we can identify someone as less whole than we. Such thinking has the opposite impact and in our hearts, we know that. Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)

Prayer: Lord, we claim Psalm 139 as an outline of your love for each of us. Empower us to recognize it is available to all. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.