FriJun222007
Dr. King used to talk about a beloved community. The past two days we have been learning about how to be reconciled to one another and how to be teachers and agents of reconciliation.
We viewed a film about a group of people, who were diverse in their racial and cultural identities, and their attempts at reconciliation. It was difficult to watch them meet and try to connect. First, there was the problem of lack of grace. Some of the participants may have been Christians, but this was not a Christian group. Many of us added our own subtext of how a Christian would act differently. Second, it was difficult, but important, to realize the hurt people of color carry living in a majority culture that reminds them of their identity every day. I learned to appreciate that sharing their stories with us means reliving the pain and should be considered a sacrificial gift. I also learned that having to relate to the majority out of one's minority identity masks for society whom they really are, the beautiful person underneath. Finally, it was difficult to watch as a member of majority culture because of the gradual realization I had of what I carry internally and how I act it out in the course of my life that is racist. This has nothing to do with intentionality; this has to do with the accumulation of history, cultural norms, experiences, media, behavior patterns, assumptions, attitudes, decision making--the milieu that made me.
On the heels of that personal revelation, Dr. Kehrein spoke yesterday about the admonition in Romans 12 not to be conformed to this world. Once we become aware of how we conform, we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This Justice Journey has educated me about the America built on racism. I need, we all need, the reconciling and transforming grace of God. Turning to Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." By this grace, we can set our sights not on the world any longer, but on God's world. We see the Christian vision of a world reconciled together and in God in Ephesians 2:19-22, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."