Minister's Corner

I recently received from a friend an e-mail in Spanish recounting a story. I do not know whether it actually happened, or where it was supposed to have taken place, but it certainly conveys “truth.” As the story unfolds, a woman makes a late arrival onto an airplane and takes the last available seat in coach. She soon realizes that she, a white woman, has been seated next to a lady of color and, after engaging the attention of the flight attendant, asks if there may be another seat for her elsewhere on the plane. The attendant is taken aback by the blatant racism of this latecomer, but goes ahead and takes a survey of the seating. She finds that all the seats in coach are taken but there is one seat open in first class. The attendant then resolves the problem by escorting the black woman to the first-class seat.
This story is a good reminder that each of us has opportunities to speak up for those who have been marginalized in our society. It seems that there will always be people in our country who are persecuted for who they are, often with the complicity of the church.
It also reminds us that God can act through us in surprising ways, to reaffirm our mutual humanity. Jesus was fond of articulating the kingdom as that way of life where the last shall be first; in other words, a state of being where we are “preferring one another” as Saint Paul wrote, putting the other person ahead of ourselves, which is illogical in merely human terms, and yet the core principle of the Gospel. 
Mary reminds us of this topsy-turvy view of the kingdom — of what society would look like if God were in charge — when she speaks proleptically of the one who “has routed the proud and all their schemes, he has brought down monarchs from their thrones, and raised on high the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:51b-53, REB) This is surely a vision of a society where everyone counts, where everyone pitches in, and everyone’s needs are met. Crazy, radical idea, eh? Yet, this is how we can come to see the dream of a God who loves all his children equally and actually expects them to take care of one another.
That process can begin with simple ways of reaffirming the dignity of others, through the kind of common courtesy that seems to be going out of style. Recently, my wife I went to an Episcopal convent and retreat center in Tennessee for an educational opportunity, after which we took a short vacation through several southern states. We were both surprised and impressed by how much friendliness, respect and helpfulness persist, especially among the good folks of Mississippi. “Sir” and “Ma’am” are still in the vocabulary, and everywhere we went people would go the extra mile to be helpful to us. There was a palpable happiness in the air; folks seemed to be OK with life and one another. In fact, the only case of discourtesy we observed anywhere on our trip was at a tourist site where several non-Southerners drove by a disabled vehicle before we stopped and provided a battery jump, and were repaid with big smiles and words of appreciation. It reminded me, in some vague way, of the Good Samaritan story.
Life is too short not to reach out and affirm all God’s other children; to work to restore respect, kindness and harmony; and to try to make a difference.