I think I’ll read from two passages, Matthew 12:49-50 and I Corinthians 12:25-27. I’ve included them below if you’re not familiar with them or don’t want to run and grab your Bible to look them up. It’s the passage where Jesus says that his mother, brothers, and sisters are those who do the will of God and the passage where Paul talks about the church as the body of Christ. I think that these are two very important passages when thinking about racial injustice (or any injustice for that matter).
We recently read a book for Sankofa called Being Human by Dwight Hopkins. In it, Hopkins writes about the concept of one human race. For Christians, because of Jesus’ redefinition of family, not only are we a part of one human race, we are part of one Christian family. This has both global and local ramifications. The Anglican woman living in poverty in Kenya is my mother; the Christian women murdered in Iraq last week are my sisters, and the African-American pastor living with the realities of racism on the south side of Chicago is my brother.
When one considers the concept of the Christian family, one cannot hold on to ignorance and apathy about the injustice throughout the world. These things are happening to members of my family! This should not only awaken us out of our apathetic, ignorant slumber, it should spur us on to action.
Paul’s metaphor of the church as the body of Christ is equally powerful when considering racial injustice. No one part of the body is greater than the others. No one part is deserving of more concern than the other parts. How can I enjoy luxurious living and the benefits of white privilege when other parts of the body suffer poverty and injustice through systemic racism? Does that not then imply that one part is better than the other? How am I affected by the sufferings of my sisters and brothers in Christ? Paul said, “when one part suffers, all the parts suffer.”
That line has really stuck out to me the past week, “When one part suffers, all the parts suffer.” It rings in my ears when I hear of various injustices throughout the country and world. Do I have any idea of what that means? To be so intricate a part of the body of Christ that when one part anywhere throughout the world suffers, their pain is my pain, their sacrifice is my sacrifice, their poverty is my poverty?
In the Sankofa class, we recently finished another book called Understanding and Dismantling Racism by Joseph Barndt. In it, he writes not only of the devastating history of racism in the US but the ongoing destruction racism still causes. When you look at the economic, education, housing, social services, and criminal justice gaps between white people and people of color, racism is as destructive a force in our society as it has ever been. I’ve been shocked to learn about some of these things in my class. Ignorantly, I thought racism was an evil of the past. I’m afraid it is alive and powerful.
So when we see how racial injustice affects our sisters and brothers in Christ, when we hear of how members of our family are being persecuted and murdered for their faith, when we look at the vast inequality between the rich (us) and the poor, let’s take these verses to heart and perhaps reevaluate some things in our lives.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Peace.
Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:49-50
…so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
I Corinthians 12:25-27
I always get stuck at the reevaluation part. So, accepting racism is an active and driving force in our society, but recognizing our sisters and brothers in Christ transcend race, where do we go from there? It so often feels like an overwhelming problem, one solved only in theoretical discussions and impossible in reality. I still don't have any answers, but as I was reading your blog, I felt a tiny glimmer of hope, like there was a hint of an answer when you wrote about your sisters in Iraq who were murdered, or the African American pastor that is your brother. I don't really know what the answer is, but it has to do with the personal aspect. Like, if Katie was being persecuted in Iraq. Or if Matt was being judged and dealing with racism. Or if you were denied the same educational benefits that I was being given. I would respond to those things! So somewhere, there is an answer I think in how to respond. What are some things your class has come up with as far as how to respond to the present-day injustice of racism?
ReplyDeleteThanks, David, for posting your thoughts. I've always read those passages but have never applied them to my view of justice. I have never thought of it in terms of, "This is my family that is hurting and being wronged." Powerful thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThanks David. Important discussion. It sounds like your class is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteNot really a helpful comment for your devotional, but in my opinion our problem in America is that we've lost our sense of Family and just don't really want to get it back.
We're so stuck on being independent that family (of all kinds) gets second place. We don't want to be hindered by a sense of duty to our mothers, brothers, sisters -- biological or otherwise.
Thanks again for the blog post.