Fifth Sunday in Easter - May 18, 2003
By Ginny and Kitty Rice
Kitty: "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." 1 John 3:18. When Ginny and I were looking through these scriptures earlier this week we realized that this was our one chance to inform adults what typical American teenagers thought.
Ginny: But when we looked closer into this weeks scriptures, this one passage, that we skipped over when first reading, brought back a painful yet unforgettable memory for both of us. Surprisingly, this situation that comes to our minds truly had nothing to do with us but has affected us for the past 6 months.
Kitty: It began on a not so important September day; we had just begun our carrer as freshmen at Lee's Summit High School, fresh from Junior High. Intimidated by the crowds of the 2,500 plus teenagers and the senior boys that were taller than our father, we were trying to act confident and sure while blending in the crowd at the same time.
Ginny: Coming straight from Symphony Orchestra into the cafeteria we were both a little tired and irritable from a class with over 200 kids in it. We stopped at the vending machine with some of our friends and were talking about how Melissa (one of our best friends) had finally broken up with Chris. We got our normal healthy diet of Cheez-Its and a Mr. Pibb to make sure we got our daily dose of caffeine and sugar. Heading towards our social sanctuary (or "lunch table" as the outside world calls it) we were greeted by our fellow freshman and the unfamiliar face of Marissa's newest boyfriend.
Kitty: There were the typical conversations about the recent paper in history, the typical smells of the unknown substances called "cafeteria food", and the typical blank stares coming from the football players. Just an ordinary day in a suburban high school. Suddenly, across the cafeteria there was a burst of laughter loud enough to be heard over the 800 students. Then came an eerie silence.
Ginny: Both Kitty and I are cradle Episcopalians and have always prided ourselves on sticking up for the underdog. When our family moved our membership to this cathedral about four years ago, Christianity landed a bigger role in our lives than ever before. We joined the Youth Group, were confirmed, went to Cliff Springs and Missionpalooza, joined the acolytes and Youth Choir, and became Episcopalians through and through.
Kitty: Missionpalooza was a huge step in our spiritual growth and social activism. Along with Father Ben and 5 other members of the Cathedral Youth Group we hung out with the rest of the Episcopal youth of the metro-area. We cleaned a shelter basement, painted houses, fed the homeless, and talked one-on-one with mothers who were suffering from addictions. The both of us had a glimpse of life outside our sheltered worlds.
Ginny: After Missionpalooza, we decided we would go back to Lee's Summit High School and change it for the better. When we arrived at the high school, as lowly freshman the pressure of conformity was stronger than we ever anticipated. It's social suicide to step out of line. Risk is not a part of a freshman girl's vocabulary.
Kitty: As we sat innocently at our table that day we never guessed that our entire Christian outlook would change in mere minutes. Every eye was focused on the upper-classman area of the cafeteria. We saw David, a freshman boy, standing on top of a table with a numb look on his face. Because it was Spirit Week, which is notorious for freshman hazing, we assumed he was just up there to sing the senior song. But we quickly realized it was not just another harmless prank.
Ginny: Around the table that David was standing on there were about 5 to 6 popular senior boys who were well-known for their dislike of homosexuals and African-Americans. David has been made fun of since the fifth grade for signing his name with hearts and wearing what is considered feminine clothing. The boys surrounding him started whistling, laughing, catcalling, and asking for dates. In high school it is the greatest sin to be different. At that moment, standing on the table without a friendly face in sight, David represented every kid who had ever been an outsider and everything that those boys didn't understand, feared, and consequently hated.
Kitty: In a school where the administrators swoop down on you for holding a rubber band because it is considered a weapon, not one adult made a move to help a 16 year-old boy whose very fabric of being was being shredded to pieces. But this sermon does not only concentrate on David's story, it also concentrates on our story. Not only did the administrators not help, neither did we.
Ginny: A couple of minutes later the bell rang and the cafeteria was empty in seconds, but David's life was changed forever. So was ours. To many in that cafeteria David's humiliation just joined the file of other forgotten teenagers who suffered harassment, but it was imprinted in our hearts and minds. The next day, everything was back to normal and we pretended like everyone else that nothing had happened, but in our hearts we felt just as guilty as the senior boys.
Kitty: This incident haunts us. Jesus stood up against the strong for the weak, but we did not have the courage to stand up against injustice. We kept telling ourselves that if we had time to plan or write a script of some kind we could have faced anything. It was over in a few seconds and then it was to late. Through all the T-shirts, slogans, rings, necklaces, and Christian clubs we all tend to forget that being a Christian is about taking risks.
Ginny: David's experience taught us that persecution is not only on the evening news but in our daily lives as typical suburban students. Jesus calls us to take the scary and sometimes messy path of actively loving other people. "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." AMEN.