Matthew 8:1–3 (NIV)
Jesus touched the untouchable person. Later, he offered to come to the home of a Roman military occupier to help his slave. And that evening, he brought shalom to the demonized. In just a few lines of narrative action, Matthew tells us the Divine Blessing, apparently, recognizes no boundaries.
While still a Presbyterian seminary student (at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia), the Rev. Charlie Scott grasped that truth. The weekend of the big annual church picnic was fast approaching, and with it, a crisis of unprecedented scope. In this early autumn of 1966, the new class of students at Columbia were to be the special guests at the picnic. But there was a problem. One of the new students was an African American. The church’s solution to “the problem”: Welcome all the students but require the “Negro” to dress as one of the cooks.
Scott could not abide. He organized his fellow students and let the church know that they all would be coming to the picnic … dressed as cooks! At the last moment, the church rescinded its “special dress code.”
From his days as a basketball star at the University of Tennessee in the late ’50s, through the tumultuous ’60s in Atlanta, to his decades leading Young Life in Florida, Scott understood and embodied the inclusiveness and justice of the Gospel. He led the establishment of youth ministries for all kinds of youth: Black, brown and white; rich and poor; differently abled and gifted. He founded the Good Shepherd School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He and his wife, Mary, advocated for women and minorities to have major leadership positions in Young Life long before it was popular (safe). He refused to use church camps that did not welcome “every kid.” In short, Scott was willing — willing to risk status, security and success in order to follow Christ’s example of offering inclusive grace. In the process, he influenced thousands of teenagers and adults to see faith as more than merely a private matter but through the lens of generosity, racial reconciliation and justice.
Prayer:
Holy One, in this season of Advent opening, of touching the unclean, of seeing new truth, may we set aside all the ways we condition your grace. Help us to welcome the arrival of radical love that changes relationships. Amen.
The Rev. Bill Hoff lives with his family in Jacksonville, Florida, where his small intentional community has sustained life over decades. Bill blended a career in Young Life, the Presbyterian Church and community engagement.
No comments:
Post a Comment