Friday 15 June 2018

How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! – Job 26:2



Today’s Scripture Reading (June 15, 2018): Job 25 & 26
Some years ago I was asked to speak to what I was told was a multicultural congregation. It was early on in my speaking career, and I was more than a little nervous at the prospect. But I agreed and appeared on the doorstep of the church at the appropriate time. I was met by a friendly woman, who I later discovered was the Pastor’s wife, and was vigorously welcomed. And then I told her my name. Her reaction was memorable. She looked at me, realized that I was the speaker of the morning service and uttered the words “But your Wh---.” She was expecting a Black speaker. And I understand that I have a significant disability. I am really White.
My experiences that morning have left a mark on me. I was told that the congregation was multicultural, and for someone who believes in the equality of the races, that is something that excited me. But after my experiences that morning, I have to admit that I was left wanting. I would not have described the church as multicultural. It was a Black church. In fact, it was a unicultural Black church; it was populated mostly with Black people who had immigrated at some point from the Caribbean. And I have to admit that I was disappointed.
In contrast, while the church that I normally attended was labeled as predominately White, it also featured Caribbean Blacks, African Blacks, people of Oriental descent, as well as Whites from some European nations. While it was labeled as a predominately White church, its essence seemed to be more multicultural than the multicultural church that I spoke to that morning. My experience left me wondering if a true multicultural expression was even possible. I wanted that kind of unity more than anything, but I was becoming more unsure how to get there.
I also discovered that we often understand our culture through a mirror. Whenever there is a cry for change, we often need to look into ourselves first. A cry that goes out demanding that churches become more multicultural is often because the church we see in the mirror is not multicultural, even though we may describe ourselves that way. Often we seem to preach inclusion without living the message in our lives. We look in the mirror and assume that everyone is just like us. On that morning, many years ago, the message that was driven home was that inclusion and racial equality is a struggle for all races, not just for Whites. The radical message is that being excluded does not make the process of inclusion easier. After all, Archie Bunker and George Jefferson are both bigots, just bigots from different racial, social and economic sides of the track.
Job realizes that the criticism coming from his friends is originating in a very dark spot. Their criticisms are revealing their lack. They have not helped the powerless, and so they assume that Job hasn’t helped them either. The air of superiority that they are presenting is unearned. They are no better than Job and, therefore, Job responds with sarcasm.
Maybe this is the basic equality that we all need to understand. We are all weak and powerless, and we all need to be saved. We all need each other to help us up and to achieve the things that we dream. An equal world starts, not with recognizing the equality of our power, but rather the equality of our need and our lack. In an equal world, we all need each other to simply stand. We are all powerless to change this world alone, but unstoppable if we are willing to stand together as a global community, understanding our weakness, and in the presence of a Holy God.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 27

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