today i was in church and the topic was the first of a several week series leading into easter. the theme tying the series together was color. each week would center around a concept and a color. week one is the color white.
white is the color of purity, of chastity, of holiness, of redemption, the color of jesus. true, we do find many of those images in culture and literature, but no mention that in the ears of many, white is the color of privilege, of blindness and injustice.
is church a space where we should be able to say the word "white" and assume that it is ok that we are talking about a particular spectral property of light, and not about human relationships?
is church a place where we avoid using metaphors of color, for fear of touching on subjects that are uncomfortable or controversial?
is church a place where we can use a series of colors as a sermon theme, and somehow bring healing and redemptive power to bear on the way that mentions of color tend to divide us.
in sequences like this, the third choice is always supposed to be the "right" choice. i am actually happy with people who choose either of the three. however, sitting through the sermon helped me to realize that i am pretty interested in figuring out what choice three looks like.
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