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.
