Over the past few months, I have seen three 3D movies. At every movie, I am always playing with the glasses. I already wear glasses because if I didn't I would be considered partially sighted. Without my glasses I can see clearly if the object is less than six inches from my face. But even then, when I put my 3D glasses over my "real" glasses, I start looking at the screen with the 3D glasses off and then on--Blurry and far then very near and clear. My perspective changes every time. I don't do this with my "real" glasses because I know that I can't see. But with my 3D glasses, over my real glasses, I am impressed about how they work to make the movie character practically sit in my lap. I took both pair of glasses off and looked at the screen and saw a bunch of beautiful colors with dialogue which doesn't help much!
As a pastor, I am very sensitive to my perspective on a lot of issues and how it does or does not agree with many in the congregation I serve. I believe my job is to help people put on "3D" glasses in order for others to get a different perspective for at least 20 minutes. Figuring out Christ's perspective seems relatively easily: "Love God and Love your neighbor!" But again, some folks need clarity about what this all means. So when I share my story as a child of God, a divorced, married three times, single parent and woman of color, I have a lot of perspective about what it means to me to be looked at differently and as a result treated differently in this world God created good and created me unique. For many in my congregation, they see my story as "another social justice issue" and others relate my story to theirs. But perspective is everything. The reality is that one cannot walk around with "3D" glasses but we all walk around with "3D" perspectives that color, change, embellish and say whose and who we are!
The challenge for me is that I wish sharing my story and spreading the good news was as simple as handing out 3D glasses on Sunday morning. Yes, our lives are unique and often blurry and we need Christ to give us some clarity in our perspectives but it can only happen if we set aside our perspectives for just a bit and let the other perspective sit with us. My life 3D glasses are what help me see the perspectives of others more clearly not that I agree with their point of view but I can understand where they are coming from. Understanding is a beginning.
My parents immigrated here and with them came hundreds of years of Filipino culture and beliefs all in their DNA. Being colonized by the Spanish, Japanese and then the United States, helped them to assimilate in the American culture and still keep their culture in tact. But they learned quickly that being brown and having an accent put them in their place by the white people in their neighborhood, jobs, schools and the world. My mom would tell us that every man in a police car was our uncle and part of the family. I thought strange but extended family was the norm for us so it was nothing to have a "white" man be our uncle. My mother came here as a war bride, married to a Jewish-American Lt. Col. He brought her here and then realized that his family nor his world would accept her as his wife. He deserted her in Arkansas in the 40's. (How I found out about this is another whole story!) She only shared a bit with us about her life at that time. The one story she told us repeatedly was the time she boarded a bus in Arkansas. The sign said, "Colored sit in the back." She went to the back to sit and the driver told her that she didn't belong back there. She told the driver as she pointed to her brown skin, "I am colored!" and sat in the back. She didn't know that Asians were considered "white" and till the day she died, she believed that only white people were described as "American." Both my parents became American citizens. They knew more about the history of the US and still... The United States history of a few hundred years doesn't compare with their history of hundreds of years of colonization. Of my dad's many stories, this one stays with me. My dad and his friends drove to Sacramento to apply for warehouse jobs for the defense department. All of them were Filipino. They went to the employment office and were given forms to fill out which they did and turned them in. My dad noticed a group of black men having difficulty filling out their forms. He was shocked that they didn't read or write very well because they were citizens of the United States. So he and his friends helped them fill out their applications and he left that place wondering why they didn't get as good an education as he did. But he soon realized that it was because the United States took over everything in the Philippines, he was better off. He often wondered aloud why the US didn't do the same for people in their own country. My church family started the first farm workers union to provide rights for Filipinos in the fields. My faith roots are grounded in a faith community that provided child care for the poor, sidewalks for South Stockton and built homes "just like in North Stockton" around the church. This small church took on government, banks, racism, and biases because Jesus said they were to go out and serve. So if someone came to visit this church, they would need to take off their own 3D perspective glasses for just a few minutes and learn how Christ called them to make a difference in Stockton, California.
I was born in Stockton, California. I know for many that is another country! (Passports are not required to enter the city limits!) My nationality is "American" and my ethnicity is Filipino. I bring into this society hundreds of years of Filipino culture and am affected by a couple of hundred years of American life and experience. In my short time in this history, I have been patted on the head for being a "good brown girl" when a secretary for the Legislature, told that I need to know my place and learned that because some people considered me "white" I was accepted. However, I continue to see my children treated differently because of their skin color. Some people just want to tell me to just let it be...Others say I am too sensitive...but when did they last walk in my journey, live with my parents and learn the Gospel from an immigrant church. Okay so I am sensitive!
So I see the world with 3D glasses made up of experiences of my parents, my church and my own life time. If I didn't have them, my life would be a bit blurry and difficult. I try to take them off sometimes so I can see why others don't understand the struggle of people who are different in so many ways because God created us unique. I can hear some folks saying that its not that way anymore but until folks can really see people as different and acknowledge that every person is a child of God with expectations of nurture, affirmation and acceptance, I am going to have to walk around with my 3D glasses that God gave me to see life a bit more clearly so that I am be able to serve as Christ calls me to those whose lives are affected greatly by the perspectives and actions of others.
If this didn't make sense to you, I am still trying to figure it out, 3D glasses on and off, your perspective and mine, and how does Christ fit in all this?
Peace be with you!!
Sarah
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