The story is told of a Sculptor. He found this stone. A very special stone. He dragged it home and he worked over that stone for a very long time, until he was finally finished. When he was ready, he showed the finished product to his friends. His friends declared that he had created a great masterpiece! But, humbly, the Sculptor said he hadn't created anything at all. The statue was always there. He just chipped away the rough edges.
Chip chip chip. Polish polish polish.
Perhaps some of you have seen the statue, Christ The Redeemer, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I’ve seen it; and it’s impressive, even from a distance. It’s a masterpiece! I wonder how long it took to chip the basic image. I wonder how long it took to polish it into the final product. Chipping or polishing. Which do you suppose takes longer?
I’m going to bluntly set the stage. I don’t like words or insinuations that I’m a White Supremacist. I’ve told our pastors the same. Learning that we’re now using a more "modern" definition, learned through a popular book, doesn’t make me feel any better. I’ve tried to be transparent to you, my fellow congregants, about my personal journey - an intensive journey in fact - to become the best "me" I can be. I’ve shared with you how I grew up. I’ve shared my adventures during my international travels that helped open my eyes and expand my cultural understanding. I’ve shared stories of my experiences mentoring at-risk youth, of all races, in ethnically diverse neighborhoods, trying to provide encouragement while sharing a sense of hope. I value diversity at work and I build diverse teams built upon respect. I’ve come a long way from the small-town boy who grew up in an all-white town. I know what comes to my mind when I hear the words, White Supremacist. Hatred. Hatred that spurs action against another race. Blatantly declaring one’s perceived superiority based solely on race. I’m sorry; but there is nothing in the woven fabric that is my very being that justifies being placed in a circle with those people. No. A new definition in a book doesn’t change my view. And yet, as staunchly as I’ve resisted such descriptors, I’ve humbly admitted that my personal journey is showing me areas where I can be better; areas where I have, or may have, demonstrated bias. My journey has me begging for forgiveness.
There’s a stone representing systemic racism that must be shaped into a masterpiece; perhaps a statue representing a broad embrace of all mankind. Picture it, won’t you? Moving from stone to masterpiece will take a lot of chipping. And it will take a lot of polishing. The chipping seems like the hardest part. What can companies do differently? What policies need written or revised to help us turn the tide? How must we teach our children? What cultural norms, values, morals and practices need chipped away - by all races - to help us move forward together? There’s a lot of work to be done. Some serious chipping to do. Someone better get started.
Along with the chipping, there’s polishing that needs to get underway. I’ve mentioned before, I’m being polished - by the church, by the media, and by my own hand as part of this personal journey. Though humbling, I like where I’m going. Still, I can’t help but wonder whether polishing the "me" that I am, into the "me" that I can be, is really the means to the end of systemic racism. That chipping that I mentioned above seems like it will take a lot longer than any polishing that I need to accomplish. And, that chipping mentioned above will be more impactful, more visible. I think I see some nodding heads! Am I right?
But then, I consider the polishing responsibilities that I have put on my plate. Here are a few of my latest thoughts:
I have friends that comprise different races. But having lived in so many different places and having traveled the world extensively, I’m wondering why I don’t have more non-white friends. I can tell you that this is perhaps my most difficult question on my personal journey. Ask yourself the same question, without defense.
I love music. Over the years, I’ve evolved through many genres of music: disco, pop, classic rock, country & western, back to classic rock, and now, almost exclusively, Christian. With two musicians in the house, I’ve even come to appreciate classical. My high school and college friends are rolling their eyes! I don’t like rap. At all. The other day, listening to my Christian station, I found myself tapping my foot to a new TobyMac song. I love that guy. Just two years younger than me, still cranking out the hits and putting on a show! He’s married to a woman from Jamaica. Back to his song, it took me a few seconds to realize it was rap. I didn’t expect it. And I liked it. Perhaps not uncommon, I even think the word rap and I conjure up images of "gangstas," profanity-laced lyrics and violent proclamations against police or authority. Yes - there’s certainly some of that; and not liking that doesn’t make me a racist. My view though, is that I’ve missed out on something over the years that I might have enjoyed; I’ve missed out because of a potential bias that I applied to any song within that genre.
I’m starting to travel again. In later August, I boarded an airplane for the first time in five months. I was more observant as I traversed the airport. As I passed the bookstore, I thought of the many books I’ve read to pass the time on long flights. I’ve read a lot of business books in my adult life! Through my personal journey, I’ve been trying to recall books that I’ve read by Black authors. Funny, I can’t think of many. Or any. I’m bothered that I may have passed over Black authors, with no known malice in my heart, perhaps because of a bias that led me to believe there wasn’t anything I could learn from those books.
I have a tear in my eye as I write this devotional. I want to live a good, purposeful life. I’ve tried. I’ve made myself vulnerable to try to lead a better, more purposeful life. And, yet, there seems to be so much left to do. Now that I see it, how did I miss it? So much polishing left to do. And so I ask, is it harder to chip or to polish? Our views may be different as we answer. But let me assure you that neither is easy. If we ever want to see that stone transformed into a masterpiece, we better not wait for one to begin before starting the other. I invite you to be more vulnerable. Be less defensive. If you must, pat yourself on the back that, as a good Christian, you have no major chipping to be done in your life. But also acknowledge that all of us are in need of polishing. Perhaps a lot of polishing. And polishing takes a long time. Getting started is the hardest part; it’s messy. John tells us that we deceive ourselves when we say (or think) we are without sin. Vulnerability. It’s a tough road; let’s journey it together. It gets easier, if we can only get started. Chip chip chip plus polish polish polish equals progress!
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 1: 24-25 (ESV). Dear Lord, let us be a Sculptor. Your Sculptor. Chipping and polishing until the masterpiece is finished. Amen.
Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.
