The Healing of Humility

"Pounds like thunder within my breast

All the anger, all my humanness.

And, though I call you Lord, I must confess

I''m a stranger to your holiness

A stranger to your holiness"

--Steve Camp in Stranger to Holiness (1985)

"*Reads news* *Looks in mirror*

I will not despair.  I will defiantly identify in myself that 

Which I hate in others and I will be kind"

--Nadia Bolz-Weber @sacrcasticluther 7/16/16

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”

Matthew 5:5-7, 9 NLT

We live in unprecedented times.  The degree of violence, mistrust, deception, and division within our communities seems like it has been building and building and there is a sense of an impending explosion.  We have seen tragedy upon tragedy resulting in the careless loss of life of some of country's best and brightest.  Police men killed at random, church members killed at Bible study, 12 year old child killed playing in the park, young adults, many rising professionals massacred in Orlando, and entire cities, like Ferguson Missouri living in a racial police state that was so bad and it's offenses so grievous that the it was indicted by the Federal government.

My wife and I have prayed and frankly shed tears for the victims of this sickness and continue to ask God for peace and to be agents of His peace.  

In doing that, and desiring to work for social justice, we face a tension that is both theological and practical.  It is this tension that literally seeks Justice for others but grace and mercy for ourselves.  It is the age old problem of wanting peace without seeking understanding on how things got the way  they are.  It is polarizing in order to justify oneself or dehumanizing in order to ignore, belittle, or discredit those who we perceive as threatening.

Nadia Bolz-Weber is a unconventional pastor in Denver Colorado, and her Twitter quote (above) captures the essence of understanding that we are are capable of the worst in violence and hatred, and that understanding brings a humility that allows you to treat others with respect and understand that it is only by the grace of God that you are not participating in like behavior.  That humility is essential in reconciliation.

While the Church, the body of followers of Jesus, is supposed to lead in reconciliation, it's lack of humility keeps it from even being a player in the game.  MLK Jr stated that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America and that remains true.  The Church itself is racially, politically, and socially divided and has largely abandoned its mission for the "ministry of reconciliation " (II Cor 5:19).  We love to point out the sin in others, and we wield the judgment stick often at the victims of violence, pointing out that they are "criminals, thugs" or deserving of the violence.  It is why many of the predominantly White Christian Churches were on the side lines of the Civil rights movement, calling Southern Christian Leadership Council led by MLK Jr as communist, or depraved.  Those were just labels that sought to denigrate the victims and justify privilege.

Today, we have to understand that we all bring sin to the table.  That justice is about stoping the forces that seek to dehumanize others.  It means recognizing that in many communities, Black Lives did not matter and that often the Churches in those communities supported that.  It means recognizing that Blue Lives matter and that in many communities, particularly in communities of Color, we have fostered an antagonistic, objectifying relationship with law enforcement in response.

Reconciliation begins when we develop the humility to understand that we are part of the problem.  Better understood in America: reconciliation begins when you understand that you are part of the problem and I do not care who you are.  

It's time that we look beneath the violence and look at the history and forces that have brought us to this point.  Demand that your church or community develops a forum where dialogue is fostered and safe places are developed so that true understanding can take place.  Stop blaming, labeling, and pointing fingers without first considering that you, your family, your church, or your community has made things worse. 

"True reconciliation, justice and shalom require a remembering of suffering, an unearthing of a shameful history and a willingness to enter into lament.  Lament calls for an authentic encounter with the truth and challenges privilege, because privilege would hid the truth that creates discomfort"--Soong-Chan Rah

When you see violence, look for a history of suffering.  Speak truth.  Love unconditionally.  Seek Grace and promote hope.  In other words, be like Jesus.

God bless