Today was family Sunday at Christ Church, Hyde Park.
I had a chance to learn something new from my kid theologians. This times it was about the parable of talents. My question was about knowing what happens if you do not use your talent. But before I asked this question, I wanted to know if children knew about their God given talents. One boy told me his talent was playing drums. Another told me, it was drawing and so went the tale.
In case you missed, the highlight came when I asked whether they knew of their parents talents. "My father does not give up," one said. "My father's talent is working hard!" Another one said. But that is not the highlight I promised you. This time it came from another girl sitting next to her mom. "My mother's talent is shouting at us!" My daughter could have shouted Amen to that! Since she didn't say that, I hope and pray that this courageous girl is not under house arrest for that honest answer. I ask you to pray for her because she is a very good girl.
Speaking about girls, (I am sure you should be thinking I am sexist) another girl made our day. It was about what happens if we do not use our talents! Her answer was very theological and scholarly. "If you do not use your talent, you are not going to be a creative person or a full human being." If you follow my blog, this is the same girl who resolved my question about the gender of God. But wait, who can dispute the wisdom of this little girl?
I am not going to dig out what scholars say about this parable. I know that Jesus did not tell us the meaning so I will put in the wider context of what the Kingdom of God is like. Talents are given for the building of the Kingdom. What we do with talents or what Paul calls Spiritual Gifts is solely up to us.
Most of us have God given talents but have chosen to hid them or simply bury them in the ground. Even when we choose to use them, maybe it is to build the kingdom of this world. We have our beautiful voices, communication skills, managerial skills, caring hearts and many other talents but we are not prepared to use them for the building of the Kingdom. Using these Talents in line with what God wants us to be will help us develop our creativity as well as form us in the likeness of Christ. In case we forget, talents were given because God has seen how much they are needed in the Kingdom. Remember that God does not give us something we cannot carry. Neither will God force us into working for the building the Kingdom. This is our choice! It is my prayer that we are going to use our talents to build God's kingdom in the world today.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Is the election of Obama the end of Racism?
I am one of those who waited with great anxiety for the election results. My friends asked me to bet on the winner, and I thought Obama would win by a big margin. But my white friend told me that he still thought that white people would not vote for a black guy. I reminded him that those who would not do so have already indicated so by voting for McCain. Yet as the day progressed, I became more convinced that my friend was right.
Well, then came the unexpected, Obama is the President elect of the United States. The scene itself and the emotions that came with it provoked a question of race relations in this country. America has moved in such a short time to seeing people as they are. Yet what if we did not have the economic crisis? What if McCain did not pick Governor Palin? What if...?
The world is celebrating that a black person is elected president. It is history and guess what, I waited for it. But then I asked myself a question, does this mean racism is over? Knowing that my daughters are black, it is a relevant question. Obama might have been elected president but we should not forget many people did not vote for him simply because he is black.
In fact,when we are speaking about racism, we are not speaking about all Americans. Many white people have accepted non-whites as equals. This does not mean that racism is no longer an issue in America. Rather than burying the issue of racism, the election of Obama should be used to educate those who view people of color as second class.
I am happy that I lived to see the night the world was waiting for and I would love to encourage everybody to treasure it. But I would also want to remind everybody that race relations will always be part of our community, unless we work to uphold the dignity of every human person.
Well, then came the unexpected, Obama is the President elect of the United States. The scene itself and the emotions that came with it provoked a question of race relations in this country. America has moved in such a short time to seeing people as they are. Yet what if we did not have the economic crisis? What if McCain did not pick Governor Palin? What if...?
The world is celebrating that a black person is elected president. It is history and guess what, I waited for it. But then I asked myself a question, does this mean racism is over? Knowing that my daughters are black, it is a relevant question. Obama might have been elected president but we should not forget many people did not vote for him simply because he is black.
In fact,when we are speaking about racism, we are not speaking about all Americans. Many white people have accepted non-whites as equals. This does not mean that racism is no longer an issue in America. Rather than burying the issue of racism, the election of Obama should be used to educate those who view people of color as second class.
I am happy that I lived to see the night the world was waiting for and I would love to encourage everybody to treasure it. But I would also want to remind everybody that race relations will always be part of our community, unless we work to uphold the dignity of every human person.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)