Fighting Hatred: A Christian Response to RacismSample

Day 1: The Reality of Racism

Shortly after our pastor first arrived at our church, he celebrated a funeral and preached the sermon. Afterward, one of the funeral attendees was talking to staff member at the church, and they said, “That priest is amazing!” The staff member agreed with him, but the attendee went on, “No, no, no, that priest is amazing! His English is amazing.” Our pastor, who is the son of Indian immigrants, was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, and lived there his entire life. In fact, English is his first language. The man had made an assumption about our pastor based on the colour of his skin.

Our pastor shares this story and laughs, but it is still a very telling story. This man is not the first to make assumptions based on skin colour. When our pastor travels, he always make a point to trim his beard very neatly, because otherwise, he gets pulled into secondary screening at the airport often when he flies. This is frustrating for him, as you can imagine, as he only has to deal with that kind of treatment because of the colour of his skin.

Racism is a very real force in the world today, whether we experience it personally or not. If you’re a visible minority, those two examples of different treatment are likely a common story for you. If you’re white, or a in the racial majority where you live, these stories may not seem as familiar to you, which is why it’s important to take time to read and pray about racism. As Christians, we are called to identify with the marginalized so that we can advocate for justice.

For these next five days, we are going to look at the issue of racism; how it can be seen throughout our lives, and how we can look at it through the lens of one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith, that God is Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. We will ask God to show us how racism is a sin, how we can react as Christians to that sin, and what we can do to make the world a more just place for everyone, led by the Holy Trinity.

Prayer:

We stand in your holy presence, knowing You are with us, Lord. We pray for all victims of racial discrimination, that you would bring healing to their life, and to hear the cry of their hearts. Amen.

Reflect:

1. Have you experienced racism in your life? What did it look like?
2. What would you say to someone who makes a presumption about someone you know based on the colour of their skin?
3. What do you think a Christian should do about racism in our world?