A Son of A Military Man

I was born the son of a military man. He loved my mother, my brother, and myself, though men of his generation (WWII) and upbringing were not brought up to express that love openly or easily. He was not the easiest man to live with at times, but he was a good man, who did right as best he could.

One thing he liked to do was bowl. And when he tried to teach me, his only son by his second wife, he was not an able teacher. It was tense at best, to say the least. Seeing our mutual frustration, a young African American NCO stepped in one day at the base bowling alley and offered to teach me how to bowl. He not only taught me a love for the game, but instilled in me a love for his culture.

We are so quick to reject or judge people based upon their appearance or culture. The news shows us how divided we are from one another, but I refuse to buy into that judgment, dismissal, or hatred of one another. The Bible tells us that people of every nation and tongue shall worship God (Revelation 7:9) and I believe it. God made a wonderful diversity of cultures to express the many facets of Himself that He chose to display throughout humanity, and we can each find parts of God's abounding love in each other- if only we will look.

There are people now, good people, who are quick to dismiss people of other cultures over issues of immigration and heritage. If I were them, I would not be so quick to do so. For look what God chose to reveal in the Nativity story:
God chose an out of work man, betrothed to a pregnant teenager, traveling to a city where there was no room for them, and forced to flee to a foreign country to be parents to His holy Son, our Savior. Do you think He did so on accident? Do you really think it was on chance?

God wants us to ponder the Nativity story, to see what He has set before us. That the man forced to travel for his family has value. That the pregnant young woman has value. That the immigrant has value. That we are to look beyond the surface of what people appear to be and see what God intends them to be.

If you find yourself harboring ill feelings towards someone of another heritage, brother and sisters, check yourself; God made them to be just as He wants them to be. If you harden yourself against the unemployed, or pregnant teen, or immigrant seeking a better life, check yourself; God put those who would raise His holy Son in just a position.

Thanks be to God, who sent His only begotten Son to save such sinners as ourselves, and to open our eyes to the depth of both the cultures and circumstances of people He has put in our paths. May we ever bless those He has sent to us.

God's grace be with you,
Fr. Charles Butler