Matt and I recently visited a local winery. We are by no means wine connoisseurs, so when we got to winerys we ask a lot of questions: What is your top seller? What would you serve this particular wine with, cheese, dinner, dessert? What is your favorite? How long does the vine to wine process take?
On our most recent visit we were surprised and impressed with the answers we were given. “Be open and accepting; be welcoming to all the wines and all the tastes; taste and see; decide after you consume the wine what you think of it. Don’t base your idea, your selection, your favorite on the color or smell.” We were taken aback as we were both used to getting answers, descriptions, “you’re gonna love this one..” type responses and answers. So, we clinked our glasses and joyfully embarked on a somewhat blind tasting. And wouldn’t you know it; we were surprised at the ones that ending up being our favorites. We both tend to like a smooth red blend, and I was turning up my nose to the white and blush wines before I even tried them...too sweet, too sugary, too fruity, too blah, blah… My top 3 picks were wines I never expected to enjoy much less want to invite (buy a bottle) into my home. We left the winery so grateful for the experience; grateful that we were open and willing to sit and be with something that we never before thought we would appreciate or enjoy. We were more accepting to the idea of trying the wines, more tolerant to give the taste of the wine time to settle on our tongues and enjoy the sweetness and richness of those we thought were going to be difficult to choke down. We had a change of heart during that tasting. And we are excited to add these once unwelcome wines into our home; for, they are sweet, they are refreshing, they are, plain and simple good.
The process of producing fine wine is long and includes five stages: harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarification, and then aging and bottling. One of the staff members explained to us that it can take up to three years to get from the initial planting of a brand-new grapevine through the first harvest, and the first vintage might not be bottled for another two years after that. But with patience, perseverance and endurance the taste is well worth the wait.
The time, patience, acceptance, tolerance, and vulnerability that it takes to produce such fine wine, reminds me of the traits we must have when laying the foundations and building blocks of relationships. Our relationships with our family, friends, neighbors, spouses, co workers, etc. all require us to employ these traits.
Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the middle of 2020 engulfed in a mass explosion of hate and racial injustices. We have brothers and sisters in Christ being senselessly and violently killed at the hands of those who deem themselves better than, finer than, simply because their skin is a different color. I have not thought about my white privilege more in my life than I have in the last week. I have never been confronted because of the color of my skin; I have never been looked over, looked down at, or looked at with hate because of the color of my skin; and I have never been excluded from anything due to the color of my skin. I have never not been given a fair chance at something because of the color of my skin. I have never feared for my kids to go places because of their color of their skin. I have never been the “wine” that is judged based on my color. But my friends, my co workers, my neighbors, my family in Christ have been. And I can no longer say nothing, do nothing; it is time to stand up, it is time to speak out.
Unfortunately, the three years of patiently waiting for the fine wine does not work in the process of bringing change and reform, especially in the areas of racial injustice. While I choose to believe most people are good. I am not blind to the fact that there are still people that are not accepting; that are not tolerant; that are not welcoming. They have a deep seeded hate; a hate that clearly is not going to change and certainly not going to go away. Not if we all keep living our lives as if nothing is wrong. It is time to take action...BUT, this action MUST be reflective and responsive… NOT reactive and destructive. It does absolutely NO GOOD to violently riot, loot, destroy and devastate our cities. I urge you to recall the teachings from Ecclesiastes and Ephesisans, “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools, and be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” God created all of us, and we are all perfect in His eyes. We are the creation of his masterpiece artwork, and we are all just the way He intended us to be- white, brown, black, any color in between. If we reject anyone for the color of their skin; we reject Him. Pastor Rick Warren, urges that we can no longer be “color blind”. Saying we don’t see color, we only see a human is no longer enough. We have to speak up and actively show that we are “color blessed”. God made us a variety of colors because that is the way He wanted us to be. The colors are beautiful; let’s embrace them, love them, learn about them, and celebrate the fact that we don’t live in a colorless world.
We need to engage in conversations, talk and really listen. We need to educate each other; we need to educate our children. We need to make changes in our hearts, in our homes, and then my prayer is we will begin to see changes in our world. A beautiful, diverse, vast world that was gifted to us by a loving God, and we are making a mess of it. We are ruining the beauty of it. I have come to realize that it is no longer enough for me to go about my business, enjoying my everyday life and freedoms that white privilege gives me. I need to study, dig deeper. I need to educate myself and begin to understand the hardships that people of color experience and what life in America looks like and feels like to them. And, just as important, share with them what it looks like and feels like to me. We need to come together. It is time to reach out and step out of our norms; it is time to cross racial barriers… better yet, let’s tear them down. Peacefully, constructively, thoughtfully and lovingly, let’s live as we are instructed in the Psalms, “How good it is when people live together in unity” and in the Book of Matthew where Jesus clearly tells us that second greatest commandment is “to love your neighbor as yourself.”
While the rights and lives of humans is far more significant than a good glass of wine, I do believe that, much like the patient waiting of the winemaker, we will reap the benefits of patiently prodding along together in this process. Sadly,our system has been built this way for centuries; and, unfortunately, it is going to take time to dismantle it. Our brothers and sisters have waited far too long; they have fought, hoped and dreamed far too long. But, it starts with us. It starts with us ending the silence. It starts with us calling it what it is and no longer ignoring it. I have been witness to many acts of “subtle racism”, and shamefully I admit, I did nothing. This stops today. From this day forward, I pledge to “speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8). But I will do so in a peaceful, purposeful way because I know that my actions and words will not bear good fruit (grapes and social/racial change) if I rush the process, if I am too harsh, too reactive, or too destructive. In order to produce the “fine wine” I need to come alongside my people and take action while I also wait patiently for God to change hearts, for God to bring peace and unity, and for God to work through me and others to do the hard stuff… the planting of the seeds, the care for the vines, the meticulous and timely picking of the “grapes”, the stomping and pressing of the “grapes”, and most importantly the fermenting and clarification of the “grapes” (the thoughts, beliefs, actions and reactions of one human being to another). I know that in all things “God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Well, I know that I love Him; I love Him with all of my heart. I trust that He hears and will answer our prayers even when He seems so far away and we don’t understand His whys. But, His plan is always good; and oftentimes His plan involves us. He wants to work in and through us to do His good works. Friends, the time is now. We have been silent far too long. We’ve been called. In fact, He is crying out to us to stand up, stand together, and stand firm against racism. And while the process, the patient waiting, may be painstakingly difficult, I truly believe that like a fine bottle of wine, we will get better with time and it will be more than worth the wait. We will grow; and, we will help others to grow to see that the “glass of wine” we have been avoiding, discrediting, judging, excluding, and even eliminating may just be the sweetest, most refreshing, delicious and delightful thing we could have ever added to our table.
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