I was in the fifth grade when our teacher stopped the class and had some important new information for us. The regular class assignments would be put on hold while we resolved this new situation. As a class we were broken up into two groups; those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. I was concerned at first because I had green eyes, but I was put in with the blue eye kids. I then learned on that first day that I was "better" than those with brown eyes, apparently and simply by virtue of my eye color. Boy, was I lucky. I was given powers and permission to do things that those "brown" eyed people were now denied. Those brown-eyed students were suddenly seen as the "slower" students, unmanageable, unworthy of trust. I felt a strange connection with others who shared my same eye color and a distance from those who did not. At the least, it got us all to look one another in the eye. Friend or Foe? It went on during recess, it went on during lunch and when we went home, we continued checking out the eyes and categorizing our neighborhood friends accordingly. That first day wasn’t too bad for me. But there was a second day….

On that second day, suddenly the roles were reversed. Apparently my green/blue eyes no longer gained me any advantage. The brown-eyed kids were now running things and we suddenly realized that behind our teacher’s glasses were brown eyes! Oh no! What I failed to mention about Day One was that we blue eyed folks were given some powers over the brown eyed people that day and we exercised those powers pretty harshly, needing, of course, to be strict with these inferior brown-eyed classmates. And now they were in control and they had not quite forgotten our discipline. The proverbial shoe was now on the other foot (and we were all worried where that shoe would end up….) For those two days in the fifth grade, every social dysfunction, all of the worst traits of humankind were on display in living color in Room 507. We learned about racism over those two days. We learned the benefits and the ravages of a racist society firsthand. It was clearly one of the most important lessons of my life. [For those interested, The Angry Eye is a video that recounts this historic experiment in racism and features Dr. Jane Elliott’s work in diversity training.]

Recall the lyrics of the powerful song from South Pacific, "You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught":

We learn racism as children; it is taught and it needs to be untaught…. We, in the faith communities need to be actively UNTEACHING racism by identifying it and repudiating it as contrary to the will of God. Education is essential in combating racism. So I ask of each of you a ‘homework assignment’! Simply watch any TV program or PBS special that chronicles the history of some facet of race relations in this country. Genuinely try putting yourself in the position of the other. Films like Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Mississippi Burning, Ghosts of Mississippi, or Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing would be other good options. From February 1 to May 4, the Central Library of the LA Public Library will be hosting an exhibit entitled Choosing to Participate: Facing History and Ourselves providing a powerful examination of racism, prejudice and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. The LA Museum of Tolerance would be another appropriate venue. These experiences are often uncomfortable, but it is essential if we are to play an informed role in addressing racism.

I am asking you to be willing to go beyond oneself, not just to ‘walk the extra mile’, but to proverbially ‘walk a mile in the shoes of another’. Being willing to consider the positions and opinion of another is the very essence of Jesus’ call to love our enemies. Policy may demand we not talk or negotiate with our enemies, but Jesus calls us to love them. This is the non-violent result of Jesus radically taking the directive "Thou Shalt Not Kill" to its’ logical conclusion.

The new ethic of the need of the other resulted in the destruction of class, ethnic and racial barriers within the early Christian community. This was no easy or minor matter. Diversity presented continual struggles and misunderstandings within this radically new community, allowing St. Paul numerous opportunities to hone his skills in Christian diplomacy. In the divided, uncertain and hostile cultural setting in which St. Augustine lived, he preached to evoke love between Donatists and Catholics, Patricians and slaves, Italians and Punics, and all other culturally diverse neighbors in Hippo. Have we learned what our Savior taught? What can we do to realize the beauty and blessings of a non-racist world? Amidst the racial tensions of our own day, how can our actions, both as individuals and as a congregation, contribute to love of God and our neighbor? That is the true test question we need answer.