Psalm 89.1-4, 15-18
1 Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing; *
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
2 For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever; *
you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
3 "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; *
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4 'I will establish your line for ever, *
and preserve your throne for all generations.'"
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout! *
they walk, O Lord, in the light of your presence.
16 They rejoice daily in your Name; *
they are jubilant in your righteousness.
17 For you are the glory of their strength, *
and by your favor our might is exalted.
18 Truly, the Lord is our ruler; *
the Holy One of Israel is our King.
Matthew 10:40-42
Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
Reflection Today I want to tell the story of how the God of Surprises showed up for me wearing the brown skin and baggy jeans of three Native American teenagers some twenty years ago. During one of my several career incarnations I consulted with a program that provided an alternative to incarceration for adjudicated Native American sex offenders between the ages of thirteen and twenty-two. From time to time I would invite several of the group home residents to my office to check in on them and learn how their program was going.
When things were going well or if one of the residents was having a difficult time I would invite them to walk the arroyo with me (in Arizona these dry river beds are called washes) from my office to a downtown convenience store and treat them to a soft drink and a snack. On the day in question we were anticipating the upcoming graduation of one of the three residents with whom I was meeting, so the spirit was light and playful. All the way to the convenience store we joked, teased and told stories. But leaving the convenience store everything was changed.
All three residents were, what they call, “talking shit,” looking down at the ground, and sneering at me. I stopped walking. “What is going on with you guys?” “Nothing.” “Don’t tell me nothing. It is as if some demon got into your skin. What is going on?” “That dude and the manager were mad doggin’ us. Followed us all over the store. Watched everything we did. They thought we were going to steal stuff, as if they have anything worth stealing.”
I was stunned. I had not noticed a thing and I was not certainly not aware of being followed around the store. Something clicked inside me. “This is wrong.” Without thinking I said to the three residents, “Come on. We are going back to the store.” After a fair amount of push back with language I will not repeat, they grudgingly assented.
Inside the store I asked the clerk to speak with his manager. When the manager asked if these “boys” (referring to my three residents) were giving me trouble, I assured him, “No, sir. My friends here are fine. But your clerk and you seem to have a problem. We were just in here purchasing soft drinks and snacks. The thing is, the whole time we were here you followed my friends around but you did not follow me. You were so busy mad doggin them I could have stolen anything I wanted. Would you please explain to my friends what you were doing?”
After a long silence the manager muttered something about kids and trouble and having to take care. I looked the manager in the eye and assured him, “These young men are not trouble. But not to worry, none of us will darken the doorway of your store again.” Turning to the guys I said, “Let’s get out of here.”
The three residents were as shocked by what had just transpired as was I.
The God of surprises opened my eyes to invisible injustice, that is, injustice that was invisible to me, but not to my three residents. The God of Surprises showed up and compelled me to step way outside my comfort zone. The God of surprises empowered me to act boldly on behalf three misjudged and mistreated young men, in Jesus words, “to offer a cup to…. these little ones.” And let me assure you. All that transpired was completely spontaneous and contrary to my preference to avoid confrontation.
The question is, “Why are we surprised by God?” As I ponder this question the song of our psalmist rings through me. “Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing; from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness. For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever; you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.” I wonder if we are surprised by God because we forget God’s faithfulness? I wonder if we are surprised by God because we expect God to show up in a pressed suit, yarmulke, thobe or alb speaking with authority from a temple, mosque or pulpit and instead God of Surprises shows up as “one of these little ones,” the hungry, the thirsty, the misunderstood three young Native American men?
Until the day I just described I had no idea it was my white privilege to go into a convenience store (or any other store for that matter) and not immediately be a subject of suspicion. Until that day I had no understanding of why my young Native American friends could instantly flip a switch, become sullen, affronted and spew obscenities about white folk or anyone in a position of power. Clearly this day I was surprised by God to feel anger and indignation with my three Native American friends. It not only drew me closer to them. It soundly convinced me of God’s faithfulness.
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