America is not unfamiliar with social upheavals. As far back as our own revolution, Americans
have witnessed an unending series of incidents brought about by the illusive and
taxing pursuit of some of the most powerful ideals of the human
experience. Americans have fought other nations
and each other over almost sacred concepts like liberty, justice, equality and
freedom. These concepts are so mighty in
our collective psyche, that we have killed our kindred and our kind and
willingly given “the last full measure of devotion” of ourselves sin our
attempts to ascend to “higher ground.” Some
of our actions in pursuit of the collective good are noble. Sadly, on tragic days, our search for truth
and beauty finds us trodding an ignoble path, characterized by shameful actions
and pitiful expressions of our frustration with the failures of our society.
In light of the aforementioned history, the chaos that now characterizes
Ferguson, Missouri is nothing new. We’ve
had Tea Parties, tar and feathering mobs, lynchings, a War Between the States,
and a string of riots between various groups over the years, including a riot
in 1930 between Filipino-American farm workers and local anti-immigration townspeople
in Watsonville, California in 1930 over labor issues in agriculture! In my lifetime, there have been riots in the
1960’s in reaction to Dr. King’s death. Riots
over compulsory school bussing in Boston in the 70’s, and there were riots in
California after the Rodney King Trial. There
was great debate and heightened racial tension in the nation after the O.J.
Simpson trial’s conclusion and we now have national tension and rioting
revolving around the Grand Jury decision surrounding the Michael Brown shooting
incident. Unless we are willingly partaking
in revisionist history, it is clear that our American experience has always
been punctuated with episodes of civil unrest – sometimes violent, sometimes
not but always a bit scary.
Among the questions that persist in all of the discussions I’ve
seen since the Brown situation emerged on the national landscape are, “What do
we do?” “How do we deal with this?” “Is there any hope?” As a Jesus follower, I
believe the answers to these questions are straightforward, yet extremely
difficult to apply in real life, real time.
The solutions are not difficult to apply because of a lack of
opportunity to put one’s money where one’s mouth is, but they are difficult
because of the high personal costs of doing “the right things.” The answers to bring
real progress to our ongoing national conversation on race require costly, hard
core commitments to some of the simplest to understand, yet most difficult to
carry out life principles outlined by Jesus.
I’ll cite two principles for us to consider in how we can make a
difference in times of upheaval and controversy. First, Jesus calls us to love our
enemies!
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say
to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil
and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you
love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors
do the same? And if you greet your brethren only,
what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax
collectors do so? Therefore you shall be
perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
As a pastor, I can tell you that one can effortlessly
formulate a “rip roaring, feel good” sermon on this passage a feel great about
one’s grasp of the content. I can attest
to the fact that one can feel downright “Christ-like”, warm and fuzzy down to
one’s toes until someone curses you to your face. Or, someone lets you know
verbally and literally that they hate you. Or, someone uses their power,
position and resources to persecute you and make your life a living hell. Those realities make the passage come alive
with the costs of what Jesus is calling us to do when we’re punched in the gut
in a way that messes up our day, disrupts our harmony of life and wrecks our
hopes and dreams.
Jesus is calling us to a radical way of life to radically
address the mountainous challenges of our times. What do I mean by radical? I mean that the
Lord is calling us to obey our spiritual training, not our natural
instincts. What distinguishes heroic
effort from cowardly failure? Is it superhuman ability? Is it uncommon
courage? Is it exceptional
aptitude? More often than not, it is
unwavering commitment to the truth of one’s training and the ability to adhere
to that training and aggressively apply it when one’s natural inclinations
would lead one to act otherwise. It is
the commitment to not walk by the person in need in the spirit of the Good
Samaritan. It is the dogged tenacity to
pray for those who are killing you, like the first martyr Stephen. It is the
iron clad grip on the ways of Jesus, emulating his example of complete love and
forgiveness, as he prayed for those who were killing Him as He was being
crucified saying, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
It is the commitment Jesus had to see the opportunity to transform and enemy to
a friend when one who has mocked you sees the light, as did the thief on the
cross, leading Jesus to stop dying and minister to his new ally, assuring him
of a home in Glory in the midst of His own anguish. It is the ability to see past one’s own pain and
suffering to love and serve others.
Jesus managed to care for his mother and follower John even as He
suffered because His mission centered on the needs of others, not His own
comfort and relief. For the Christ
follower who feels the weight of oppression, persecution and injustice, we must
speak the truth in love but always IN LOVE. We must persevere for justice but
always loving and praying for our enemies – especially if they’re our
friends! We must recognize that withstanding
the pounding of evil doers in the strength of holiness doesn’t make one a
chump, it crystalizes one’s identity as a righteous warrior poised to shake up
the world for the good. Jesus never stopped
speaking the truth. He also never
adopted the tactics of His enemies. Our
actions must solidify our identity as Jesus’ people never relenting in speaking
and doing what is right – even if we get hurt.
On the other hand, if
you find yourself in a position of strength and control in these stormy times,
what should you do? Micah 6:8 has some
excellent marching orders: “He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” DO justice. In all one’s undertakings
and interactions. Be the person who can be counted on not to “take a side” but
to speak and act for what is just. Be the person who has a heart of compassion
and mercy when others are looking for ropes.
Remember God’s mercy towards you and walk in the humility of that
knowledge. Be the change you’re seeking
to experience.
The illusive healing we all seek will also call for a
willingness to cross cultural, linguistic, racial and social barriers over and
over again. I have spent the majority of my ministry time intentionally
reaching across barriers, not only seeking to establish dialogue, but seeking
to build a life together with people different from me. I have been and continue to be hurt in the
process. I say again, I have been and
CONTINUE TO BE hurt in the process. I’m
no one’s fool and I am very realistic about my calling. But if I give up now, what good will all the
effort have been? I’ve come to the
conclusion that true faith calls one to experience true pain and to die
figuratively every day to one’s own comfort and could even call one to one’s literal,
physical demise. Yet, the words of Jesus
compel me to press on: “What profit is it to a man, to gain the whole world and
lose his own soul?” The pursuit of
comfort has many benefits, but missing from among them is “a satisfying grasp
of eternal purpose, a peace of heart and a peace of mind.”
Why the rant? Because
tough times call for tougher resolve.
Because riots will happen again and we can’t spend our time wondering if
we’re resolved to press on for a better nation and a better world every time
our cities burn or react in shock when they do.
The fight is a life-long and our commitment must be life-long as well,
with a call to the next generation to pick up where we leave off. I may not have all of the answers for every specific
situation that arises, but Jesus has provided me with what is necessary to
stand in faith, courage and effectiveness, making a difference however I can, wherever
I can until my time is up. To this end I
am committed. Hard Core! All the way! Is
anybody with me?
With all my love, your friend and brother,
Sam J.
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