Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.

– Psalm 6:4

At the time of this writing, I’ve just learned of a terrible car accident. The current reports are that Tiger Woods rolled his car over and had to be cut out by the Jaws of Life, a tremendous cutting tool that slices through metal to extricate folks from wrecks. We haven’t heard yet, but odds are good that his injuries will not be trivial.

Hoping for Good News

I hope he’s okay. I’ve never followed the game of golf, never watched any sports that closely, but I am aware of him by his celebrity. It’s a celebrity that’s been quite punishing at times. In spite of the fact of his record-breaking athleticism, he’s come under a lot of fire for his personal life. Apparently, his marriage withered after the revelation that he’d had multiple affairs.

I remember many years ago people making a very big deal about it. I also remember certain individuals holding their heads at an angle and rolling their eyes and saying things like, “well, you know how it is.” They didn’t finish the sentence, but I knew what they meant. They were displaying their racism, hinting, without actually saying it, that white people have decided that men of color have a reputation for that kind of conquest.

Not Speaking Up

I remember being aghast, but I also remember not speaking up and not calling them out. Why? Probably because they went to my church. Because I didn’t think it was my place to speak up. Because I thought I might wind up in a big confrontation.

I was wrong.

I should have spoken up; I should have called them on it. Not to humiliate them or to rub their noses in it, but rather to help us both move past racist assumptions. I should have given us the opportunity to name it and to reject it.

I hope Tiger’s okay. Not because he’s any more special than anyone else, but because he’s as special as anyone else; flawed, searching, athletic, accomplished, and worthy of our care and God’s love.

Prayer: God, rescue us from danger, and deliver us from accidents. Heal our bodies and make us whole. Give us the courage to call out racism so that we can heal our world. Amen.