God and Raceनमुना

You know the feeling you get when your house isn’t in order, and someone comes over to visit? We’re quick to speak up in those moments with comments about the kids or our busy schedules or our lack of storage. We feel this way about our homes because we take personal responsibility for our space. We stand up, speak up, and do what’s needed to be done to find some order. But are we willing to do the same when racism is the reason things are out of order in our churches and in our communities? 

Unfortunately, far too many Christians have remained silent about racism for far too long. So many of us are content to say good enough instead of that’s enough. We feel like it’s good enough we aren’t racist or don’t hang out with racist people, but good enough is not enough. We are God’s plan for racial reconciliation as the church. And yet we are hesitant to stand up and say something when others are treated like they don’t matter. We're hesitant because we’re afraid of what it will cost us.

Perhaps this is because the moments when we stand up against racism and say that’s enough are expensive—they cost us something. History shows us those moments cost us our reputation, friendships, our job, even sometimes our lives. For Jesus, it cost him all of those things.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday to find the outside Temple court filled with vendors and money changers, his response was costly. The temple was supposed to be a place of prayer for everyone. But the Jewish people of Jesus’ day were resisting people from the outside by intentionally blocking them with vendors and money changing tables, making it nearly impossible for the Gentiles to worship and experience God in the Temple court. Blocking the outside court to prevent people from worshipping was not a spiritual issue, it was a racial issue. When Jesus saw what was happening, he stood up to them and overturned their tables as if to say that’s enough.

And now it’s time for us to say that’s enough, too. When we are willing to stand up against racism in our homes, in our communities, and in our churches, there will be breaking points that bring about change.

Reflect: 

What memories or experiences do you have of you or people around you sticking up for someone else by saying “that’s enough”? How did that courage impact the situation?

What memories or experiences do you have when you or others didn’t stand up for what was right? How did the lack of courage impact the situation? What do you wish had happened?

What else do you notice about the story of Jesus in the Temple Court? What spaces, activities, or ideas need “overturned” in your church community today so that all are welcome to worship Jesus?

According to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, who should we be standing up for in the world? How does this impact our response to racism?

Pray: 

Talk to God about what makes it costly or fearful for you to stand up against racism. Ask God to show you the small, simple, tangible ways you can start exercising those muscles right now so that you’re ready to stand up against racism when the cost is high.