Raised as a Raccoon

Dear Friends:

We concluded the month of August with Outside Church singing, "Come and help me build a land, come and help me build a land, come and help me build a land where we all can live."

How do we build a land where we all can live? At the final Small Group for Small Group Leaders meeting, Craig Roberts shared his memory of a speaker he once heard. The speaker said, "If you want to live in a world where you can put your (same sex) partner's picture on your desk, then put your partner's picture on your desk. If you want to live in a world where you can take your partner to the company Christmas party, then take your partner to the company Christmas party." In other words, by our own actions, we create the world we live in.

While I was in Guatemala, I visited a Rain Forest Interpretive Center. Housed there were some wild animals who had been injured or raised in captivity, were not suited to be house pets, and could not survive on their own without some human care. I observed a number of spider monkeys and one raccoon.

I was surprised that the raccoon was walking around looking so lively during daylight hours, and that one of the spider monkeys was playing very near by. A sign explained the situation. The spider monkey and the raccoon had been taken into the same human household when they were babies. They had grown up sleeping together in the same box. Now that they had a great deal of freedom, they still maintained a close proximity to one another.

If a spider monkey can be raised with the experience of having a raccoon for a brother, then surely we can raise children who experience other children as their brothers and sisters. If an adult spider monkey can remain convinced that a raccoon is its best friend, and vice versa, then can we not also maintain friendships with people who look or dress or eat or behave differently than we do?

To paraphrase the speaker that Craig remembered so vividly, "If you want to live in a word where Christians and Muslims can respect one another, then make friends with a Muslim. If you want to live in a world where peace prevails, then adjust your own attitudes and actions and live as a peaceful person."

It is our job to build the land that we want to live in! Thankfully, Christ has revealed to us that the kingdom of God is at hand. Now all we have to do is live like we are part of that kingdom! May God give us the grace to do so.

See you in church and in mission,

Pastor April

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