Day 64
What’s it all about?
Washington State has a ferry system that transport cars and people across the vast bodies of salt water that surround the northwestern region of the state. I spent a lot of time on those ferries, going back and forth to Seattle, Edmonds, Kingston, Clinton, Mukilteo, Winslow, Vashon Island and Bremerton. Some of my favorite memories are the times when I would be on the second deck toward the bow, watching the Harbor Porpoise riding the bow wake. The experts say that Porpoise truly enjoy this activity.[i] They sure look like they do. Anybody who watches them seems to enjoy it as well. The Porpoise would always draw crowds to the railing of the ferry when they decided to do a little bow wake riding. People would ooh and ahh and say stuff like “Look! Look at em mom! There’s another one!”
We had forty-seven people over at the community pool at our home in southern California one gorgeous August afternoon. It was the end of summer fiesta for our friends and their families. There were 4 white people at the party (me, my wife and two friends) and forty-three Hispanics of all ages. The Hispanic moms had prepared a feast and we were barbequing carne asada. Incredible aromas filled the air blending with the laughter of the kids playing in the pool, when all hell broke loose.
The enraged, white, red-faced, middle-aged, fat bigot flew threw the gate that surrounded the pool, pushing people out of his way as he made a beeline for me. “Get them out of here!” he screamed, as he waved his arms wildly, pointing to our Hispanic guests all around the pool. He escalated the tirade with the following barrage, “What do you think you’re doing? They don’t live here! They’re not one of us! I don’t pay several hundred dollars a month (homeowners association dues) to live in a third world country! Now, get them outta here! Right now! If you don’t, I’m calling the police!”
Needless to say, I was talking to four police officers in a matter of seven or eight minutes. After the police met with the bigot, they realized who was really nuts here. We offered the policemen a plate of food after I explained what we were doing. They politely declined, referring to the fact that it may cause the onlooking bigot to have a heart attack and die right on the spot. They didn’t want to bear the responsibility for that.
I thanked the police as they departed and turned to face our guests. I can recall thinking, “what’s it all about anyway?” I’ll never forget their faces. It was the face of them. I was staring in the face of people, precious people, God’s children, who had just been raped of their dignity by an angry, ignorant, self-righteous, racist bastard. I wanted to die. Now, several years later, I physically shudder as I recall this horrific occurrence. I’m sure our friends and guests do to.
Humanity experiences its worst moments at the hands of well-intentioned creations, particularly those filled with hearts of self-righteous anger. The worst moments/eras for Christianity seem to occur at times when we define them and proudly proclaim that they are not of us.
I remain amazed at the amount of dialogue that goes on about why Christianity in the developed western world continues to struggle mightily in terms of its’ waning impact on people’s lives. Perhaps we might consider ridding our vocabulary and hearts of them. Maybe we might be guided by the fact that “He is a Savior who is at work in the world today trying to save the world from what it is, and make it into a place where people can live together with dignity.”[ii]
The Porpoise and the people on the ferry, well, it just wouldn’t have been the same — one without the other. Those memories remind me that we are created for one another. There truly is a reality for the rest of us…God, you, me. He has created everything to remind us of this truth on a daily basis. It’s all about us.
NOTES
[i] Read, Andrew Porpoises Voyageur Press, Inc. Vancouver, B.C. Canada © 1999 by Andrew Read, p. 41.
[ii] Campolo, Tony and McLaren Brian D. Adventures in Missing The Point – How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered The Gospel, Zondervan Grand Rapids, Michigan © Copyright 2003 by Youth Specialties, p. 105.
