Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we were not separated by war. I am saying-tell him how things can be between men on this earth.
- Luz Long
1936 Summer Olympics is the event where Jesse Owens won Gold in front of Hitler but more importantly Jesse Owens befriended Luz Long, a German athlete. There is a picture of Luz doing the Nazi pose right behind Mr. Owens during the medal ceremony. Luz was a committed man who died in the war but he still befriended Jesse.
One thing you might not know about me is that i’m not too smart. In fact I failed the 4th grade and had to be held back. It was the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I wasn’t dumb technically. I just never paid attention to my teachers. So when it came time for the test I didn’t know anything. Some parents today might blame the teacher for not engaging me enough but I don’t. Teaching is a hard enough job without trying to find blame.
I remember all the preachers and teachers in church that I’ve had through my life. I can truly say I don’t 100% agree with everything they taught on every issue. Through the years of experience with church agreements and people that left church my views on church attendance aren't so rigid anymore. I remember when we used to ridicule people that only came to church on Easter and Christmas. As if we were any better than anyone else. We aren’t. No one is better than anyone, we are just all different.
Also after reading books about the LGBTQ community and their experiences in the church I can no longer take the same stance of having hatred toward any group of people. This culture war that we as Christians have waged against the world goes against the principles Jesus taught us. He never sought to take over society but to show a new way of life through loving it. In my opinion that's the same thing I felt in that class in 4th grade. My second 4th grade teacher didn’t belittle me. She didn't treat me like I felt. The idiot. The reject. The dumb kid who couldn’t get it right the first time.
Jesus didn't treat sinners like the rejects. Not how society saw them but how God saw them. God loved the world and sent his son to tell them that. If you doubt this then you should understand that you too were once a sinner and far from God. The religious leaders of Jesus' time treated sinners like they were idiots. Jesus treated sinners like they were in the advanced class of life. Even his parables about Heaven focused on the everyday moments of mundane life.
My second 4th grade teacher treated me like I was advanced. In her mind I had done it once already so I knew more than anyone else in the class. Truth be told I didn’t. I had a bad habit of living in my own mind of made up fantasy worlds. Blocking out everything around me, even peoples voices. Whether its a gift or curse I don't know. I can still do it today. I usually read with music blasting in my headphones. I can read in a crowded rooms with little effort. I usually sit at church and stay so focused on the preacher I can't even hear crowd noise until a black mother in back says "Amen".
I say all this to talk about my best friends Chet and Patrick. They are two white guys I met while growing up in high school. Here's the kicker. Had I not been held back in 4th grade I would have never met these two guys who I consider to be my brothers. Like Luz and Jesse our, color didn’t decide our friendship. Our love for each other reaches across biblical disagreements. Chet grew up in the church of the Nazarene. Patrick is southern born Pentecostal. My roots are black baptist and non denominational. We all were running the race in a different way and felt a kinship in that.
The stories never end though their life has an ending. The letter Lutz was writing for Jesse was meant to tell Luz’s son the things he said. Mr. Jesse Owens found Luz’s son eventually and was even his best man in the kids wedding. In a day and age where white people didn’t get along with black people and different countries fought wars repeatedly. We can still see this story today. No matter our differences of faith, race, or cultures we are all loved by God and can find peace in the midst of that. Jesse did, Luz did, Jesus did…..so can we.
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