Race

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. (John 1:1-18, NIV) 

In a world where xenophobia is intensifying, God calls us to practice philoxenia, love toward strangers, which in Greek means hospitality. The hospitality that we are talking about is a hospitality that Jesus embodied. From my perspective, I think there are at least three recognizable stages: common, widening, and mutual hospitality.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    he brings low; he also exalts.- 1 Samuel 2:7

When COVID happened and all our meetings went virtual, many of us got to see what we look like when we talked. We were unfamiliar with our facial expressions and the different message it was conveying when we spoke. As a result, we started to stare at our own faces during those virtual meetings to make sure they were not betraying our emotions or conveying what we don’t mean. The camera became a tool which unveiled this blind spot. 

“Who despises the day of small things” (Zechariah 4:10)

Last December 2022, my wife Sharon and I attended dinner at her parents for our birthdays. This had been a tradition for years.  We arrived expecting a few hours of eating good, conversation about family, and playing cards. Everything was going as planned as we dined on pot roast with steamed potatoes and carrots along with garlic rolls, and a salad. 

Dylan Roof wanted to start a war. On June 17, 2015, Roof felt his white race was losing the battle in maintaining white Southerner’s way of life where black people knew their place. He had to find a way to wake up the rest of white America about this growing threat. He had to find a target that would trigger the race war he wanted and begin taking America back from the people unworthy in his eyes.  Author Jennifer Berry Hawes described Charleston, South Carolina was the perfect place to start the new war between the races.

"Now, for good friends to cheer us, for seasonal weather to envelop us, for good work to engage us, we give You thanks."  - An Evening Prayer Neal Plantinga 

For me, it begins by accepting the gospel and reconciling with God through Jesus. It is repenting my sins and daily following Jesus by living according to his teachings. 

When I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2022, it was in the dark of night after a seventeen hour flight from Grand Rapids with stops in Detroit and Amsterdam. Takia, a small framed young Tutsi woman, found me in the airport and guided me to the vehicle that took me to Rabagirana Ministries which housed Healing Hearts Transforming Nations (HHTN) reconciliation training just outside the capital. Rwandan Hutus massacred almost 1 million Tutsi men, women, and children, along with moderate Hutus in 100 days in the spring of 1994.

If you had to pick 5 words that expressed who you are- your identity- what would they be? You may choose words like “woman”, “teacher” or “introvert” but what else?  What about the honest, raw words; words you may not want to admit to yourself?

What about “depressed”, if you struggle with depression. Or “unlovable,” if you’ve been abandoned by your partner. Or “Immigrant” or “refugee,” if you were from another country. These identities carry stigma, especially these days as we try to fit in.