03-20-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
March 20, 2024
In yesterday’s devotional, I shared an experience from Sunday evening when outside of a grocery store, a woman (I assumed referencing my dark purple dress shirt) smiled and said to me, “You must be a Lent Boy.” I’ll confess to you some internal back and forth on whether to tell the story or even to do so with a slight change of language. In the end, I decided to tell it as it happened, but I still feel a little uneasy. Though I do not believe there was any negative or hurtful intent in her choice of words, the word “boy” said to a man carries a very demeaning intent in some circles. At a Men’s Retreat last year, I was talking with two African American men, both 10+ years older than I am, and both of them told me multiple stories from the previous 12 months when someone half their age referred to them as a boy. It was intended to demean and devalue, language rooted in racism. I only share this because I think it is important to think about the language we use and how often our understanding of a word’s meaning is entirely tied to our experiences. When that word was spoken to me, I didn’t think twice about it, though I did chuckle a bit. In a different setting, with someone who has experienced life very differently than I have, that same word brings with it pain and an attempt to suggest power over another. In no way am I suggesting that we get rid of the word, and I don’t want people to be walking on eggshells, yet we need to be mindful of how we are heard. Language is a tool of communication, and if I remember one thing from my basic communications class, it was the importance of asking, “How might my audience hear what I am saying?”

Holy One of Grace, continue to make me aware of those who are my siblings in the human family, especially those whose life experience is very different than mine. As one called to love my neighbor, help expand my appreciation of what I do not know. Amen.