Mistaken Identity

I was leaving the grocery store today when I was approached by someone seeking donations for their organization. The solicitor greeted me and asked how I was doing, but it came in very rapid Spanish. This isn't the first time this has happened to me in Glendale, though. One of my favorite places to visit is a Cuban bakery on Brand Boulevard. On a couple of occasions, I was greeted with conversational Spanish. I at least know enough Spanish to have a very basic conversation, but it's a very limited vocabulary. I've laughed with the people behind the counter concerning my mistaken identity, but sometimes, mistaken identity has really hurt my feelings.

In my candidacy essay, I shared a negative churchgoing experiences as a practicing Hindu. I was curious about Christianity and thought visiting a church for a Sunday service would help satiate some of that curiosity. I stated in my essay,"I attended local churches out of curiosity. The comical experience (which was actually NOT comical at the time), was being mistaken as a foreign exchange student."

I attended this church with one of my high school friends. I was not regarded as her friend, but as "the other," the foreign person that lived with her family. I was filled with hurt when I explained, in my non-existent accent which revealed my Midwestern American childhood, that I was in fact born in the United States, a resident of the state of South Carolina with my biological parents, and had a pretty decent grasp of the English language.

But this is our human nature. As humans, we're faulted. We make mistakes. We make judgments, even when we declare our open mindedness. Even the people we admire, the ones we look up to and hold dear to our hearts can make these same mistakes.

One of my favorite pastors made prejudiced judgment. Someone of eastern Indian origin attended service at the church he was serving. After the service, he asked this person if they liked the church service, and if it was the first time they attended church. Much to the pastor's surprise, the eastern Indian said they loved church services, especially in their native India, where their uncle served as a bishop in the church. The pastor was horribly embarrassed assuming that appearance can reveal faith.

When I was baptized, someone gave me "The Lutheran Handbook" as a gift. One of the entries that still resonates with me is "How to Tell a Sinner from a Saint." The entry has a picture of a saint and a picture of a sinner. Funny, the pictures are of the same person! Saint and sinner both? Or that their external appearance does not reveal that they are a saint, or a sinner? Yes. Sinner and saint, but that they way a person looks, their clothing, their hair, the color of their skin, their handbag, their shoes, their odor... they are your brother, my brother, your sister, and my sister in Christ.