Given what our country has experienced over the past two weeks, these readings strike me as being quite timely. From coast to coast, the death of George Floyd has sparked an outburst of violence and protests. The actions of many remind me, “This is indeed a stiff-necked people.”
We witnessed a blatant and horrible injustice that has shaken our nation to its core. By kneeling on his neck, a police officer in Minneapolis killed a handcuffed man. That wasn’t the first time police brutality has taken the life of an African American nor will it be the last. There have been many other such instances even recently in Tacoma, but this death ignited an anger and frustration that had been simmering for some time fueled partly by the pandemic quarantine. We may be alarmed but are we surprised?
Throughout our history, despite the efforts of many in our lifetime, African Americans have often been the victims of unjustified brutality at the hands of someone in authority. Not only that, but their efforts to be heard as they protested civilly are often marred by the criminal acts of looters. Their pleas for justice fade into the background where they continue to be unheard and ignored.
In a recent statement, the American bishops noted, “Just as the Church in America speaks out consistently against abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and other forms of violence that threaten the dignity of human life, we must also speak out about how racism threatens and is an attack against the dignity of human life”… They added, “ People of good conscience must never turn a blind eye when citizens are being deprived of their human dignity and even their lives. Indifference is not an option… As bishops, we unequivocally state that racism is a life issue.”
In that same statement, they reminded us that we are all made in the likeness of God. Thus, every person is obliged to advance the values of life, charity, and justice. All peoples of good will have an inherent responsibility to practice the art of reconciliation when injustice, racism and other divisive issues blind us from loving one another in the manner that Christ puts before us when he said that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love one another. We cannot do one without doing the other.
It is heartbreaking, the bishops noted, that not all Catholics respond passionately to the injustice experienced by people of color. The Lord is calling us to an authentic change of heart that prompts us to undertake actions that will overcome the attempts of those who sow racial division and hate. By working together to find creative ways to challenge those who fail to acknowledge the gross injustices around them, we will usher in a more complete understanding of the sanctity of all human life.
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, was one of the first bishops in our country to protest that black lives matter. In a pastoral letter written last year, he noted that for some people their thought patterns were influenced by racially prejudicial ways of thinking and that it’s not just a benign problem in our country. He observed, “For people to reach their potential as God intended, they also need to be seen as God sees them, but when others look at them with distrust, without the goodness that God sees in them, it’s also hard for the person to see him or herself that way and that is one of the subtle yet extremely important ways that this systemic prejudice influences people.”
Last week, Pope Francis commented, “My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life. At the same time, we have to recognize that the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost.” He also pointed out that racism is a sin.
The problem is sin, not skin. The answer is grace, not race. How blessed we are that our Lord is a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity. On this feast when we honor the Holy Trinity, we heard timely advice from Paul, “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
God sent his son into the world not to condemn but to save. Those who believe in God also love, for God is love. Our God is a triune God for love cannot exist without a relationship. I recall a painting my cousin had in her home in Minneapolis that featured the Father embracing the Son and the two of them being embraced by the Holy Spirit.
Racism isn’t an abstract issue we can ignore. As Christians our mission is to further Christ’s work of reconciliation when injustice due to racism and other divisive issues is being manifested. AB Tutu cautioned, “If we are neutral in situations of injustice, we have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Sadly not all Catholics really care about this challenge yet the Holy Trinity is calling us to do just that, to love and judge one another, as Dr. Martin Luther King once said, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Will his dream become reality? Hopefully yes at least in the manner that we will hereafter treat one another.