DEEP and WIDE

I probably do not need to tell most of you that I loved yesterday. Most of you know from last fall that I was an Obama supporter (much to the chagrin of my dearly loved conservative friends), but I had tremendous respect for John McCain as well. I still am (a supporter) and I still do (respect Senator McCain).

Yesterday was important for many reasons, not the least of which was the swearing in of the first black president. I can remember, during the campaign, white friends of mine making comments like, “We shouldn’t care about skin color, we should care about getting the best person for the job.”

I happen to think we should care about both, and here’s why I celebrate the blackness of the man who became President yesterday.

Even in his speech, the President made it clear that he is a man of inclusion. His mention of all races, sexual orientations and faiths drives some to distraction, but not me. The Gospel that I read tells me that Jesus was an Equal Opportunity Savior – one who hung around with the unpopular, marginalized, disliked, oppressed and sinful. Did He purpose to advocate for the weak? Yes. Was His goal to save the lost? Yes. Did He do it by making people feel safe in His presence? Yes. Did He understand the importance of relationship and credibility? Yes. Did people make different choices after encountering Him? Yes. Did His methods change the world? YES.

From my blog picture, it’s pretty obvious that I am white, so I do not fully understand the struggle that the black community has experienced in our culture. One experience I have had, however, has given me a taste.

It is shockingly difficult to be a woman and be a pastor. In my church, which was fairly progressive, I actually had a few men get up and walk out after the music but before I would speak. I remember having feelings of anger, just wanting them to give me a chance, wanting them to be open to something other than what they were comfortable with. No amount of reasoning or conversation would change their perspective, however, and there were some who called for my resignation and/or firing. Sometimes it felt like I was climbing a mountain every day, just to get a fair shake in a male-dominated profession. Even my book met with some resistance at one publisher because I was a female pastor that dared to criticize the church, yet the same publisher has printed many titles by men with a similar message. Their message to my agent was, “LOVE the writing and Wendy has important things to say to us all. We are not sure, however, if people can hear this kind of truth from a woman.”

Now, my mountain certainly does not include slavery and inadequate educational opportunities or racial profiling or the pile of other injustices that the black community has suffered, so I can only imagine the frustration that has built over time. But yesterday, I could almost hear the release valve on the pressure cooker being loosened, as America truly became a land that included everyone. Perhaps now we can further heal and truly move forward together.

You know what else? I heard plenty of unashamed references to the God of our nation - the God of our history - both during the ceremony prayers and in the President's speech. Perhaps He smiled as He was honored, both by our words, and our recognition of how He INCLUDES.

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.


There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgment given.


There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior;
There is healing in His blood.


There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.


For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.


’Tis not all we owe to Jesus;
It is something more than all;
Greater good because of evil,
Larger mercy through the fall.


If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.