Last Monday evening I would have been glued to the television set if we hadn’t cut our cable the week prior. As it was I found myself staying up until about 2 AM following along on Twitter and watching a few live feeds of the rioting in Ferguson.
I was also very confused.
The morning after I tweeted this:
What had me so baffled were the responses of my Christian friends that were expressing anger and sadness at the verdict. They were calling it an injustice.
It all seemed pretty clear to me.
A grand jury decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to indict a police officer in the shooting of a guy that had just robbed a store. Case closed. He was guilty, if he hadn’t been robbing a store then he wouldn’t have been in that spot.
But as people I greatly respect started posting on the issue I found myself just scratching my head. They were talking about a messed up system and the injustices. And I get that—though I’m confident I don’t feel it as I should. But what had me confused were these Jesus-loving Christians using this as a case to argue against systemic racism. It did not seem like a basket that you’d want to put your eggs into.
The Fog Begins to Lift
I knew that I was missing something. The foggiest thing in my mind was the connection between what happened in the case of Mike Brown and systemic injustice and racism. In my opinion men like Al Sharpton where stirring up people over issues of race when what really happened was a police officer was doing his job.
I couldn’t see the connection.I saw no evidence that proved Officer Wilson acted because of Mike Brown’s race. He could have, but I didn’t think it was fair to assume such. So why in the world would my Christian brothers and sisters be talking about injustice and race on this particular trial?
The fog began to lift after reading this piece from Thabiti Anyabwile: Why I Believe the Grand Jury Got It Wrong and Injustice Triumphed
If I am reading Thabiti correctly, for him the point is not whether or not Officer Wilson was justified in the shooting of Mike Brown, he very well may have been, the injustice is that it never even went to trial.
And with that I began to make the connection. I began to see how systemic racism and injustice were connected to this trial. I heard the ignorant voices of racism that I grew up surrounded by, “Just another dead n*****”. And I began to understand the hashtag #blacklivesmatter. There are looming questions about this shooting death and it will never even make it to a trial, just like the countless other cases like it.
Continuing Reflections
As I continue to follow along with this story I’ve noticed that we aren’t actually having a conversation about race and injustices. The truth is that we are having multiple conversations at the same time.
Some folks are arguing as if this is a trial and if it can be proven that Officer Wilson was justified in the shooting then it should be end of story. But that’s a conversation that we would have only if the jury decided to indict. The issue is not about whether Darren Wilson was justified in shooting Mike Brown. Or whether or not Mike Brown had just stolen cigarillos. The issue is that though there won’t even be a trial.
This is about race.
I must confess that at first I was slightly perturbed by Dr. Moore’s statement that, “Racial division is hardly behind us”. I find myself frustrated that we were making this an issue about race when I didn’t feel racism in my own heart. But if I’m being honest with myself Dr. Moore’s statement bothers me most because it is true.
Racial division is not behind us. Nor is it even behind me. My inability to truly empathize with my African-American brothers and sisters in Christ, means that in some very profound way we are still divided by race. May Christ overcome this and give us both eyes that see things through the lens of Calvary.
As much as my fellow whites would like it to be true, we haven’t torn down the walls of racial divide. And to be upset because African-Americans are still talking about race is about as dumb as being upset with your wife because she is angry with you. If you truly care—and you truly want to end racism—then you search your heart. You don’t get defensive, you pray for reconciliation and you make it your aim to please God.
Conclusion
I still don’t understand Ferguson and all that surrounds it. I’m not sure any of us do.
But what I do know is that in Christ the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Greeks, white and blacks, men and women, has been broken down in his flesh. We are fellow citizens and members of the household of God. Christ has already brought unity and has given us a new set of eyes by which we view the world.
The problem is that I’m not yet fully redeemed. Nor are my brothers and sisters. And until that day I’ll still have a tendency to view things as white-American-male and not as a white-American-male that has been captivated by Christ.
And so I’m praying today that the Lord would give me eyes to see with His eyes. A heart to weep with those who weep (whether white or black) and to rejoice with those who rejoice. And ultimately that he’d return and set all things right and we’d all live in that land where together we’d call home. There’d be no “bad parts of town”, no “across the tracks”, no “rich section”, no “privileged areas”. There will just be home.
In the meantime lets fight to live as close to such a Kingdom as we can.
Maranatha!
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photo credit: Josh Sinn via photopin cc
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