I grew up in Minnesota. In those days, when Minnesotans used the phrase “mixed marriage,” they meant that a Swede and a Norwegian had wed! Now many us count mixed race marriages in our families and communities as normal. My own family celebrates the inclusion of Japanese Americans, Laotian Americans and Chinese Americans, as well as my adopted grandchildren from Sri Lanka and Uganda.
When I’m with those grandchildren, and their older sister and brother, I am aware of folks watching us, even as many of them try not to look conspicuous. Others just stare. I can become annoyed about this incursion into our privacy, but then I step back and take a look at us. We’re a pretty interesting sight, we people of chocolate-, mocha-, almond- and wheat-colored skin. I will be glad when families like ours are such a common sight that no one will give them a second glance.
This scene is a foretaste of what God’s reign will look like, isn’t it!
Today is the 13th Sunday after Pentecost. This message was adapted from “Chocolate, Mocha, and Almond” written by Sue Gamelin that first appeared in the June 2011 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine
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