Color of Skin

Judging by the content of character

John 14:7-14

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to Jesus, Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

          This week I was in Little Rock for the bi-annual continuing education for clergy. It was a joy to greet friends I had not seen in a while. One lady I grew up with came up to me with a big smile and said, “Fr. John, you look more and more like your dad!” I replied, “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She back-peddled quickly and said, “Of course, that’s how I meant it: he’s very handsome.” But notice that she meant her comment on the physical level, while I tried to turn the comment to a more spiritual level; the first observation was exterior, but the second one was interior.

          Martin Luther King Jr. once preached: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I was judged not by the color of my skin, but by the content of my receding hairline! I tell the students at Trinity Junior High that it doesn’t matter if their father’s name is “Rockefeller” or “Rodriguez,” everyone is held to the same standard. In other words, don’t stay on the surface of someone, but plunge into the profound depths that make a person who and what they are, namely, a child of God.

          In the gospel today we see these two levels – the physical and the spiritual – in the conversation between Jesus and Philip. Philip asks, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus replies, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Now, did Jesus mean that God the Father basically looked like an older version of a 33 year-old carpenter, like my father looks like an older version of me? No, of course not! But that’s what Philip wanted to see: Philip’s sight still settled on the surface. But Jesus invites him below the physical into the divine depths of the spirit: to see the Father as the source of all truth, goodness and beauty. Or, as the title of Pope Francis’ new book, “The Name of God is Mercy.” In other words, “judge not by the color of skin but by the content of character.”  And that goes for judging Jesus, too.

          I hate to admit this, but I used to be really irritated and annoyed by some forms of Christian art. Yes, some Christian art annoyed me.  Sometimes, I would see an image of Jesus and Mary that depicted them as African figures. One holy card showed Mary as a Korean lady. I didn’t like it even when Jesus and Mary looked like they hailed from India! Because I knew very well that Jesus and Mary have brown hair and blue eyes like I saw in the movies. But you see what I was doing? I was simply skimming the surface – the color of skin – without seeing into the deep: to see that Jesus came to save everyone, regardless of what country or language or heritage they hailed from. It doesn’t matter to Jesus if your father’s last name is Rockefeller or Rodriguez. He wants you to see that your real Father is in heaven, and that you, too, are a child of God. 

          In the future, I hope I hear more friends greet me by saying, “You look more and more like your Father!” That’s something we should all long to hear others say about us; it’s an incredibly great compliment.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!