Reflecting on Racism

In the aftermath of yet another horrific crime motivated by white supremacy, I wrote this reflection to my church:

As Jesus people we are called to take notice and care for the pain and suffering around us. This proves uniquely challenging in our digital age as we are bombarded with wave after wave of suffering and injustice every time we unlock our phones. How can we remain attentive and compassionate to injustice while recognizing our own inability to hold it all?

Yet, there are moments we must pause to take notice and consider how God calls us to respond.

2020 was one of those moments for our church and our denomination. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder and heightened racial tension, corporate lament and reflection was necessary. Within this context our denomination penned these words:

Racism and racial injustice should not only be addressed after tragic events, such as those our country has recently experienced, instead, we are called to be about our Father’s business all of the time. Again, in the words of our Articles of Faith and Doctrine, “Jesus Christ commissions the church to make disciples of all the world’s peoples. The church is called to share the gospel in every culture and stratum of society. Evangelism includes bringing people to a saving faith in Christ and to responsible membership in the church. The people of God are also called to be a redemptive influence in the world, confronting corporate sin and seeking to overcome evil with good. They are to be a voice for righteousness, peace, and justice”

This past week we witnessed another horrific crime, fueled by racism, at a supermarket in Buffalo New York. In the aftermath of this event and the racial tension that ensues, it's important for us, yet again, to remind ourselves of who we are:

• We are a people who see the inexpressible worth in every human being. What a life-altering belief this is. Central to the life of a follower of Jesus is to agree with God that every single human being has unsurpassable worth. Consequently, any narrative of racial hierarchy, white supremacy ideology or racialized violence are completely antithetical to God and his kingdom and must be denounced by the church.

• We are a people who stand in solidarity with those who are suffering. As a result, we mourn for the lives impacted - even ended - due to racism. We remind ourselves of the real people whose lives were lost and cry out to God asking for racist thoughts and actions to be purged from our hearts and our broader society.

• We are a people of peace and justice. It takes great courage to set aside our antagonistic cultural conversations on justice and begin to think biblically and theologically again. Peace and justice was a way of life for God's people in the Old Testament(Leviticus 19:9-10, exodus 23:1-13, Deuteronomy 15:7-8, etc.), for Jesus himself (Luke 14: 12-14, Luke 11: 37-44; Matt 25: 31-46, Matthew 23:23-24, etc.) and the early church (James 2:14-16, James 1:27, 1 John 3:17, etc.). Therefore, peace and justice ought to be a way of life for The Meeting House and is an expression of our worship to God (Isaiah 1:10-20, Isaiah 58, Amos 5:18-27, etc). Nothing less. Our God cares deeply for the vulnerable and oppressed. God is at work to restore all things that are broken, including individuals and systems corrupted by the sin of racism, and longs to partner with us in this effort.

• We are a people called to represent the cross-shaped love of Jesus. As we look to the cross, we are reminded of God's love for all people, including those involved in the greatest injustice of all-time...the murder of God. The love of Jesus moves us to courageously call out injustice and stand with the oppressed. Simultaneously we resist any idea that hating perpetrators is the pathway towards peace and justice. We pray that those who advance racist thoughts and actions in our world would encounter the love of God and find freedom and liberation from their bondage to the destructive sin of racism.

Our desire to be formed into a community that embodies God's peace and justice is a decades long project. The courageous learning, unlearning, listening, lamenting and action necessary to live into our identity as God's people won't happen overnight. After all, discipleship is a life-long marathon, not a seasonal sprint. This recognition should foster commitment, not complacency. As we run this marathon we believe peace and justice are critical to our understanding of discipleship and mission and are committed to creating spaces for courageous learning and action. In the wake of another horrific tragedy - and the racial division it reveals - we are reminded yet again of the importance of this work.