I Want America to Be Good For You

As folks who follow me know, I've been in and out of the hospital, ER, medical clinics, and other ancillary offices related to medicine.  Back in the early days, I decided that I was going to engage those who treated me, those who were likely not born in the US. They have been from India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and all manner of other places.  They have treated me well.

Here is a conversation that reflects a myriad of other conversations.  This one is with Amira, the phebotomist at the end of her shift last week.

Amira:  Have a seat over there, Hon.
Waymon: Do I get to choose which vein you use?
Amira: Sure (tapping my left arm and the big vein there).
Waymon: I like to live in the no pain zone with needles, can you help me out? (Teasing)
Amira: I think so but you get to decide (smiling back)

The needle goes in and the blood flows.

Waymon: I felt no stick on that one.  Nice job.
Amira: You are welcome.
Waymon: Where are you from?
Amira: Ethiopia (she speaks from beneath her lovely wrap around her head and down to her waist).
Waymon: How long have you lived in the states?
Amira: 18 years.
Waymon: Has America been good to you? I want America to be good to you.
Amira: Sometimes.
Waymon: I want America to be good to you.
Amira: Thank you.  It is people like you who make it easy for me.

She gives me a huge, lengthy embrace. I am moved to tears.  I sense that there are many stories that she could tell. A few moments later, as she was taking the vials of blood to the lab, I was able to introduce Charla to her.

This is not a good time for immigrants in our country.  The rhetoric from the WH is startlingly brutal, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and mean-spirited to people of color, to those who have come to our country.

I am thankful for Amira. I wish her well.  I hope America will be good to her.  I hope we will all be good representatives of our country to those who dress differently, speak with different accents, and the like.

Hanging Out with Jesus Might Get You in Trouble

Hanging out with Jesus

            Or so that text seemed to say;

Those folks were pretty new to him and him to them

            So they moseyed off by themselves to get more acquainted.

Hanging out around the nets

            Or the tax collection booth or under some tree;

But now they’re hanging out with the Man from Nazareth

            Just wondering how it played out.

How much was Him laying it on the line

            Or telling stories;

How much was a question and answer period

            As they decided whether to continue the journey.

Or, were their minds already made up

            So that this hanging out together business

Was just a deepening of the relationship

            Prepping for what was ahead.

Who knew that the woman at the well was coming

            Who knew that the woman taken in adultery was next

Who knew that the man with leprosy was somewhere down the road

            Who knew that the seas raging was going to be part of the plan.

Did they know how their views of life would change,

            Did they know that what was sacred would get flipped,

Did they know that things they’d always known would get scrambled,

            Did they know that the rules would be turned upside down.

Surely they did not know that He’d weep with those who wept,

            Surely they did not know that women would support His ministry,

Surely they did not know that the privileged would be threatened,

            Surely they did not know that the blind would see and the lame walk.

Maybe they had an inkling that the poor were his focus,

            Maybe they had an inkling that justice was His middle name,

Maybe they had an inkling that they would see a different righteousness,

            Maybe they had an inkling that they did not have a clue.

The blind could see, the deaf could hear,

            The pushed to the curb invited to the inner circle,

The untouchable would be embraced,

            The ones left beside the road would be taken to the inn.

What are we to learn about the Man from Nazareth,

            What are we to learn from the way He walked,

What are we to learn from the hard-headed followers,

            What are we to learn from their time of hanging out together.

What if I were to hang out with Him for a while,

            Who would I stand up for and who would be embraced,

Would it be the immigrants, the poor, the LGBTQ, the person of color,

            Or could it maybe be those without insurance or those who are homeless.

Would I yell for justice to the leaders of the land

            Who say disparaging things about women or the disabled,

Would I scream from the rooftops against those who have sold the church

            And the Kingdom for a nationalistic agenda.

Would I march when some are sitting satisfied,

            Would I write words of discomfort to those who’ve already decided,

Would I donate to the causes of justice that trouble the privileged,

            Would I join up for those who are leading these efforts.

Hanging out with Jesus just might get some of us in trouble.