glimmer

Last week I was riding the MAX to church, and I saw two billboards by the side of the tracks.  Multnomah County’s Cold Case division is trying to solve murders from a few decades ago.  To get people to come forward with information, they’ve begun a public campaign for clues.  There was just one problem – on one billboard there were pictures of four suspects, and they were all black.  And on another billboard, there were four pictures of victims, and they were all white.

My heart sank as I thought of the damage this suggestion would do to the black community –  that a race that makes up less than 10% of Portland’s population would have committed 100% of the crimes.

On my way home, I was waiting on the platform for the train to come.  It was cloudy and cold, and a five minute wait turned into nearly half an hour.  As I was standing there, trying to stay warm, I noticed a black man beside me.  He, too, was blowing on his hands and stamping his feet, trying to ward off the cold.

I complimented his yellow shirt and purple tie.  He said, “Yellow’s my favorite color.  I wear it during the long Portland winters to remind me of the sun.”

“I’m glad you’re my brother,” I said as he boarded his train.

“Sister,” he smiled, “I feel the same.”

The next morning, I prayed for my brother.  While I was praying, I thought of Martin Luther King Jr, who said, “A lie cannot live.”  And I gave thanks to God, in whom truth cannot die.

Even in our disparity, He is uniting all colors and languages and nations in Himself.  He is tearing down the walls — and the billboards — our sinful hearts have raised.  And He is reminding us with glimmers of hope and splashes of yellow that our black-and-white world will soon see the splendor of Kingdom Come.

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