WYSIWYG default value

Ecclesiastes 2:11-14-“My thoughts turned to all the fortune my hands had built up, to the wealth I had acquired and won—and oh, it was all futile and pursuit of wind; there was no real value under the sun! For what will the person be like who will succeed the one who is ruling over what was built up long ago?

My thoughts have turned to appraising wisdom and madness and folly.

I found that Wisdom is superior to folly

As sight is superior to blindness

A wise person has their eyes in their head

While a fool walks in darkness. “

One of the best and worst jobs I ever had was my first one. I worked at a hot dog place in my town. In the Chicagoland suburbs, every town has their hot dog place. And it’s not just dogs; it’s Italian beef, sausages, shakes, all that good stuff. The special was two Chicago dogs (kosher franks, mustard, two tomato wedges, relish, a pickle and a splash of celery salt on a poppy-seed bun- no freakin’ ketchup), fries and a drink. It was the best job and the worst job for one simple reason: It was my first taste of wisdom; the first time my eyes were able to behold true humanity, and all the good and all the bad that brings with it.

You learn something about your fellow humans when you are standing behind the counter of a fast-food joint. And you can size people up pretty quickly by the way they choose to act and interact with you and your co-workers. And you learn something about yourself in the process.

Sometimes the person on the other side of the counter doesn’t even see you. As if you somehow are invisible. In these instances it was not uncommon to be treated as nothing but a mechanism to achieve an end. And the only time actual interaction might need to take place is when something is not up to expectation. And that is when the claws come out, and the evil side of our human nature rears it’s ugly head. Those were the times I wanted to say, “I’m just a high school kid!” “I don’t deserve to be treated like this!” But in reality, I’d hang my head and avoid my managers scolding looks, and try to hustle a little faster, and resist the urge to spit in their chili. The first time I got yelled at by a customer I sulked off to the back freezer to grab a new bag of fries, but might have shed a little tear on the way.

But sometimes the person on the other side of the counter saw past the apron and saw me as all I wanted to be seen as; a fellow human. Someone with a family and a backstory, someone who has a life outside of this hotdog joint and who is just as worthy of respect and eye contact and a kind word as anyone else.

Being a fast food worker was the first time in my life I was treated like someone who might be considered lower-class. Even though I was clearly just a high school kid working an after school job in an affluent neighborhood. I’m a little ashamed to admit that. That one of the few times I’ve felt like I was judged to be “lesser than” merely by where I stood and how I looked was when I was working in my affluent suburb fast food restaurant. And that judgement disappeared the second I took off that apron and rode my bike home.

This past week my friend David Hackett popped into my office, and in the flurry of our conversation he insisted I watch a video of a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace, entitled, “This is Water.” There’s a link to it on our blog post this week- please don’t watch it now. But do watch it later. It is brilliant.

In his speech, Wallace says that as humans, our natural default setting is to believe that the whole world revolves around us. That I am the center of all things, and what happens out there to you and to everyone else is in either direct competition for my sense of self-worth or is an affirmation of my ego. Our natural default setting is to be selfish, he says; mine for me, less for thee.

But, he says, we can do the hard work of CHOOSING our realities; and that if we are brave enough, confident enough, willing and deliberate enough, we can reset that natural default setting to be one of observation, consideration and affirmation. Instead of assuming the worst about others, we can assume the best, and as a result believe them into being a better person than they might actually be; but also willing ourselves to see them in a new light; one of faith and hope and trust.  To err on the side of wisdom as opposed to folly; to open the eyes in our heads to the realities of each other’s lives, rather than to choose to be blind.

Ta-Nahesi Coats book, “Between the World and Me” opened my eyes to a whole new world of wisdom. The Racial Disparity conference we hosted here two months ago opened my eyes to a whole new way of seeing. The conversations I’ve had since then, with members of this congregation, with activists and agitators around town and from round this country have opened within me an awareness that is a little frightening, a little scared and a lot uncomfortable. I hope you are, too.

How many of you have participated in our all church read of Between the World and Me? If you haven’t yet, you need to. For a few reasons. First, it’s an important book. Ta-nahesi Coates offers a contemporary voice telling the reader in real time the heart-wrenching details and mind-bending challenges of living the black experience in America today. Growing up in suburbia America, where I had some black friends, and my parents believed in civil rights, and my mom heard Dr. King speak, I came to believe that we were actually moving towards a post-racial America; and I as a proud progressive young man felt like things were headed in the right direction and we didn’t need to do much more for our black and brown sisters and brothers out there. Boy was I wrong. Ta-nahesi Coates offers a picture of the reality of the black experience, and it is far from equal.

Another reason to read the book is to join us in the conversation. The Racial Justice Task Force knew we needed a starting place if we are to continue the good but difficult work of racial justice in our family of faith. Initially we were going to read, Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson (which, if you haven’t read, you should read that too…) but Lance Gravelee was like, “No, I think we can go deeper.” And he suggested “Between the World and Me.”  And man, does it. Coates’ book begins as he posits the argument that racism and race is nothing but a social construct—falsely built on the premise that people who believe that they are white are somehow superior to others. Talk about going deeper! At the youth ministry conference I went to two weeks ago, I told one of the guest lecturers that we were doing this as an all church read and he was stunned. Then he asked for a copy of our readers guide to hopefully engage his and other congregations in the conversation as well.

Lastly, you need to read this book because it is going to challenge you. It will frustrate you and hurt your heart and make you mad and make you sad, but it will open your eyes to a new way of seeing another’s experience that, if you’re like me,  is far different from your own; and even if you don’t like his tone, even if you don’t like his writing style, even if you don’t like what he has to say to us, we need to listen; because the problems we face in our country are very real and if we are not at least willing to hear what this powerful minority voice has to say, then we are choosing to shut our eyes and close off our ears to the suffering of the people around us; and that means we are choosing the fools path who walks in blindness (as the scripture from today says.).

This is the sorrowful path on the road to wisdom; to accept the fact that because my skin tone is lighter than others, I have been a beneficiary in a system of oppression, whether I like it or not. And just wait…it gets worse.

Since our Symposium on Racial Disparity in Alachua County, we have had some incredible opportunities to make some real connections with good people doing important work out in our community. We have strengthened our relationship with Rawlings Elementary; we have learned about incredible and important programs like the FOCUS summer initiative. And we have met key players in our community working to dismantle the systemic and racial oppression all around town. From the University of Florida, to the School Board of Alachua County, to the Gainesville Police Department, to the Blue Center in the Duval Community. And all of these relationships are helping us to understand the bigger picture of the broken systems that exist all around town. And it is not a pretty picture. Three quick examples. At Rawlings Elementary, the school where our Food 4 Kids and Christmas Gift Market support goes; 98% of those kids are on free or reduced lunches. In Alachua County, 26% of our residents are living at or below the poverty line. But if you look at that breakdown by zip code, you will see that in East Gainesville and in the SWAG community, as many as 35% of those residents are. And here’s the most frightening one of all—police are required to keep records of their DMC, their Disproportionate Minority Contacts of juveniles between the ages of 10-17. The DMC rating of each county is the inequitable representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system compared to the total populations of their white counterparts. Here in Alachua county, we have a DMC rating of 6.9 percent. For every white kid in the juvenile justice system, almost 7 of their minority counterparts are in the system. We are the second worst county, behind Miami-Dade in the state of Florida with regards to our disproportionate minority contact. Progressive, educated, liberal Gainesville.  Clearly we have work to do.

So that was the sorrow. Now for the joy.

It is a blessing to understand your place of privilege.

In Ecclesiastes, the author laments the place of privilege he has accumulated for his descendants, for fear of what that will do to their perspective. Too often those who have the privilege assume that they are somehow deserving of it. That is simply not the case.

Now is the time to reflect on the lessons we have been taught about race and privilege and policies and pain. Now is the time to dismantle them to the core to ensure that they are founded on the principals that all people are created equal, and the understanding that our reality is operating in a way that is anything but equal.

Now is the time get your own heart in order, to embrace the sadness, the shame and yes, the racist dynamics that have somehow taken root in our world and in our hearts, and turn them loose. In our pursuit of wisdom, open your eyes to the way the systems work, and recognize the implicit and explicit bias that exist all around us.

And learn about how we got here.

It is a joy to have an opportunity to not only work for justice and for change, but, more importantly, to create relationships that foster trust, dismantle falsity and build a more beloved community.

Right now we are working to help sponsor a gathering event next fall in the Duval Community, partnering together with many organizations and community groups represented at our Racial Disparity Conference. We are hoping to bring tighter the citizens and the organizations that can offer assistance to a people in need. AND we hope to bring YOU along as well. Often, the bureaucratic processes that are in place are virtually impossible to navigate. We hope to help—by pairing people up, where your gifts can be partnered with theirs and together we can navigate the systems and create real relationships in the process. More on that in September…

Finally, it is a joy to know that as you begin the process of self-exploration, and as you continue to journey with us into this important work of racial justice in our community, you will have fellow pilgrims on the way, who will support you in your sadness, cry with you in your shame, encourage you when you are discouraged, and work with you to build bridges to a greater tomorrow for ALL the people.

I believe, as David Foster Wallace does, that the responsibility of how you will see and interact with the world falls to you. Now is the time to see the world as God would have us see it; one where each and every person is loved and cared for, no matter who they are or where they are on their life’s journey. May we be doers of the word. Amen.

Prayer:

Open our eyes, that we might see the invisible chains that still restrain,

Open our ears that we might hear the ancient cries for justice for those who have been oppressed, and hear the stories of where oppression still resides.

Open our hearts, that we may know the courageous power of those who have led the way as the people of God, marching ever forward in the face of great adversity, knowing, in our heart of hearts that you are with us and you are for us and you are encouraging us on.