Dr. King and Mr. Rock

This morning I've been drinking my coffee and watching The Sunday Morning Show. They featured two, quite different, but impactful African-American men (although, I think they would both refer to themselves as Black): Martin Luther King Jr. and Chris Rock.

Now I am guessing you probably would not expect to find these two names side by side. And I, by no means, intend to compare them to one another - but they did both teach me something this morning.

First featured, was a story on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Because this happened so long before I was born, I've had embarrassingly little exposure to his life or the circumstances around his death. For example, I've heard and was moved by his famous I Have a Dream speech. I also knew he was a Christian reverend, spoke during he civil rights movement and was assassinated. What I was not really aware of, is how ugly White America looked at this time. AMERICAN people embracing the swastika! A presidential candidate saying things like "Segregation now, segregation forever." Seriously?! I mean SERIOUSLY the swastika! Didn't we remember fighting a war against the evil behind that symbol not even 25 years before???? What are we capable of?

I was also unaware of the "I am a Man" march, in which Dr. King took part. Just before his death, Dr. King was focused on ending poverty and his last march was alongside sanitation workers in Memphis who were working under deplorable conditions. They walked (non-violently) through the streets with signs simply saying "I am a Man". Beautiful.

But look at us - guns? Tanks? Because some men are marching with signs claiming to be human? Seriously??? Perhpas those tanks were there to protect those men, but even then - what does that say about who they needed to be protected from!

Tears dripped off my chin. Who are we? Lord, why would you bother with us?

And then, his assassination. And Lord, why? Why him? Your child? Speaking so dynamically on Your behalf?? If you were ever going to intervene, why not James Earl Ray's gun? Or have him picked up and sent back jail two days before (he was an escaped convict)? Oh Lord, what a loss. What a loss...

And then! And THEN! They referred (on the Sunday morning show) to Dr. King's values as "Gandhian." Now, I am not saying that Gandhi is a bad man to  be compared to, he was a beautiful man - but I am pretty sure that is a ridiculous (and from my perspective insulting) oversight. Dr. King was a Christian - a Baptist reverend, who frequently quoted the Bible. And I am nearly 100% sure that if you asked him whose values he represented, it would have been Jesus Christ.

I mean seriously? Seriously? If we have to bear up under the fact that misguided Christians send their children off to "Jesus Camp" to learn how to hate people, or show up at funerals with "God Hates Fags" signs, or attend segregation (or now anti-Hispanic) rallies, gold crosses dangling around their necks - Can we at least keep those of us who really walk the Christian life out???? Those of us who are willing to risk (and in some cases lay down) our lives for Christ's sake?

Again -Lord, why do you bother with us? I gotta tell you, when you see us - I mean really take a cold hard look at who we are, the wrath of God is not hard to understand. If I was so radically misrepresented and every good thing I was part of was stolen or distorted - I'd have some pretty justifiable rage. The whole "flood the Earth, she'd be better off without humans" - thing makes complete sense. I mean we as humans know it! (Check out the Terminator series, or The Matrix, 2001 a Space Odyssey, or Brave New World, or 1984, or Anthem or....) Lord, we make no sense! We are so cruel and blind and self-centered.

Then The Sunday Morning Show wrapped up that peice and went to comerical.
When they came back, I was staring at the face of Chris Rock. He has a beautiful smile - perfectly white, straight teeth. And it's a little bit crooked and his eyes twinkle like a mischievious 11 year old. And they showed a clip from one of his stand up acts (my favorite actually), when he says each bullet should cost $5000. "You pay $5000, they're aint no innocent bystanders". And he is so wise and so irreverent and so funny and so honest, all at the same time.

And they were interviewing Mr. Rock about his decision to take a chance on a acting gig on Broadway. And he was so sweet and humble and funny. And he said something really wise - that being rich isn't about having money, but about having options. And I thought, "he is so right".

After these couple of moments, I went upstairs to get ready for church and I was praying in the shower out of my sadness for this world. Crying out to God, a big "Why bother with us?" And then I saw that goofy Chris Rock smile and I felt God reply:

Just for the chance to be with him. Just for the chance for him to be everything that I made him to be.

And I realized (again) just how much God loves us. Just how much he is willing to take, to provide for us the mere opportunity for healing and wholeness. And my heart was filled with gratitude and forgiveness - God loves, it's more than what He does it's who He is. He puts up with all of our wretched brokenness and keeps pouring out love.