I need to confess.
I have been silent when I should have spoken. I have spoken when I should have been silent. By not choosing to be an active part of the solution, I have been part of the problem. I am sorry. I am sorry for what I have done and failed to do.
Today, I choose to speak. Honestly, I don’t really know what to say. I feel inadequate to express things that I don’t fully understand. I am afraid of causing harm with my words, but I am choosing to risk that rather than to cause harm with my silence.
Racism is a real thing in our country. It is not the way of Jesus. Sometimes it is blatant and intentionally cruel, and sometimes it is undercover, hidden in “the way things have always been.” From where I sit, it takes work to see quieter, nicer-looking disparities between the lives of people of color and the white majority. It is uncomfortable and unpopular and easy to avoid. It requires turning my focus off of me and mine, interrupting my agenda, and risking for the sake of another.
Remember Jesus’ story explaining who our neighbor is?
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’
Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity [also translated compassion]. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ “
The directive is clear, if I choose to see it. If someone is hurting, help them. Do what you can. Don’t ignore the situation. Go out of your way to show love and work for healing. Give your presence, give your money. Help and come back to help some more.
There is a passage in Isaiah that has been heavy on my heart for quite some time. Jesus quoted it and Paul quoted it. (Isaiah 6:10, Matthew 13:15, Acts 28:27)”Go to this people and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull [also translated calloused], and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn-and I would heal them.”
May this no longer be said of me or of the followers of Jesus, the Church.
God, soften my heart. I choose to open my eyes; teach me how to truly see. Speak to me. Let me hear You and be willing to listen to all my neighbors. I want to understand. I want to understand with my heart. May I be willing to turn and act. Will You heal? My brothers and sisters of color need healing. Your Church needs healing. America needs healing. I need healing.
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…’ ” (Hebrews 3:7-8)
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)
I kneel. I kneel in confession, in humility, in prayer for healing.
-Leah
Two Sisters. One Amazing Savior. 