THE LENTEN JOURNEY: FACING HARD TRUTHS

 

I confess I have a heavy heart these days. 

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church has committed to focusing on anti-racism during Lent. Each week, a bishop provides a midweek devotion on the theme of anti-racism. It has been so powerful to hear the different voices of my colleague bishops, as well as the music and spoken word of members from their conference, provide spiritual challenge and care.

This past week was my turn, and I made the mistake of reading the comments section in the UMC Facebook page. One person wrote, “Enough of the ongoing racism barrage. How about we do something else for awhile, like celebrate a Risen Savior.” As if the Risen Savior, who has broken down the barriers, would ever say while there are people suffering, “Enough already.” Or, as someone else responded, “You’re tired of it huh? Imagine experiencing racism EVERY DAY.”

Someone else wrote: “Enough with this constant racism theme. It is Lent.”

Now, that one stopped me in my tracks because, frankly, I can’t think of a better church season to look hard at racism in our church, our world, and ourselves than Lent. Pope Francis says that “Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy and that it should be a season where we find concrete ways to overcome our indifference.”

Likewise, Catherine Doherty writes that “Lent is a time of going very deeply into ourselves... What is it that stands between us and God? Between us and our brothers and sisters? Between us and life, the life of the Spirit? Whatever it is, let us relentlessly tear it out, without a moment's hesitation.”

I can’t think of a better time for us to look inward to face the role racism faces in our lives, and how we can repent of it in order to partner with God to make beloved community, God’s kingdom come, than the season of Lent.

It isn’t easy spiritual work, but as with all spiritual work, the more we are willing and able to look at the hard truths that we’d rather turn away from, the greater the movement towards freedom found in a life of faith.

What are the things in your own life that you’d rather not face? What are those things you’d rather overlook or just dismiss? Because the more you back burner them, the more they will fester, grow, and eventually boil over. The longer it takes you to face them honestly the more your life will be dragged down by a weight that you don’t even know you are carrying.

That’s why I love Lent. It is a time for us to take this inward journey, knowing that no matter how hard it is, God is with us, our sure and ever present comfort in times of trouble, even when the trouble is something within us.

God loves you enough to help you face the hard things so that those things can die and give way for the new life found in resurrection.

Just imagine what blessings could be found on the other side of confessing our racism and committing ourselves to anti-racism?

I have been reading this Lent Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison. It is a great book and I encourage you to get a book group started in your church.

She helps us face the hard truths of racism by giving us an orientation we should use when doing this work, so we can stay in it and not turn away when the going gets too hard or too close:

“If you’re White, if you come from the majority culture, you’ll need to bend low in a posture of humility. You may need to talk less and listen more, opening your heart to the voices of your non-White brothers and sisters. You’ll need to open your mind and study the hard truths of history without trying to explain them away. You’ll need to examine your own life and the lives of your ancestors so you can see whether you’ve participated in, perpetuated, or benefited from systems of racism.

“If you’re Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American, or part of any other non-White group, you’ll need to come with your own posture of humility, though it will look different from that of your White brothers and sisters. In humility, you might need to sit with other non-White groups and learn their stories. You might need to confess the ways you’ve perpetuated oppression of other non-White people. People of color may need to confess internalized racism and colorism.”

We all have this work to do. May this Lent find growing in you a humility to make space for the lived experiences of those who aren’t like you, may it challenge you in a good way, motivating you to learn more, as we all grow in a deeper understanding of the ways of God, so all God’s beloved children may live in a world of love, dignity, and equality. May our commitment to do this work be a sign of our discipleship as Christ followers. And may others know us by this love we dare to live out.