A nice person, and racist

At my last congregation, I often preached at a small Saturday evening service in our chapel. I came to call it, affectionately, the "early edition." One of the occasional attendees was a nice older woman who I came to know pretty well. Sometimes she came early and we had an opportunity to visit.

Did I mention she is very nice? She liked my sermons. She said I gave a good "Lutheran" sermon. Sometimes she worshiped with the Methodists on Sunday, but she was a Lutheran at heart. I think we have pretty awesome theology, what with radical grace and the reality of brokenness and the paradox of being a saint and a sinner at the same time, so I would take this as a compliment, although every once in awhile, I am not so sure.

A few years ago, well, 2008, to be exact, I remember a conversation I had with her, either right before or right after the worship service. I remember because it was about the presidential election, and she was afraid. Very afraid. She was afraid that Barack Obama would become president. She was afraid of what would happen if he became president, and she was also afraid of what would happen if he did not become president, because if he lost, she was sure that "the blacks would riot," and terrible, terrible things would happen.