Solidarity
First of all I didn’t hear them saying that we ‘whites’ were horrific blatant racists. The surface issues are not the more obvious blacks-sit-in-the-back-of-the-bus, or that only-whites-become-NFL-coaches, or Hispanics-should-be-doing-menial-lawn-jobs. These actions would be easy to identify and would at least on this campus be anathema. The founders of this college were among the early abolitionists in the 19th ct. when abolition was not popular in the US. In fact, this particular school has a wonderful reputation of multiculturalism and appreciation for people no matter what their skin color may be.
I think that ‘Solidarity’ was that speaking of a more subtle dishonoring that humans have long participated in our go-to strategy of amnesia. The benefits for amnesia is of course that it allows a new government to focus its limited resources upon building the future versus being consumed with unraveling and dealing with the issues of the past. To draw the thick line between the future and the past is reasonable in so many ways. But the result is lingering unresolved injustices that taint the present and the future, often for generations.
This is important for Christians to understand. We are not just individuals who are only responsible for our own choices and actions. We are part of—and to some degree morally accountable for the actions of larger bodies that we are ‘covenanted’ with; e.g., Americans, Students of a particular college, the followers of Jesus Christ. To the same degree, we are also part of composites of people that transcend history and are to some degree morally accountable for decisions that we had absolutely no personal part of. I am my father’s son. This is not just a statement of biological birth, it is a statement of covenant. Some of his narrative—good and bad– rubs off on me. This would include all of his stories regarding those who betrayed him, robbed him, or treated him with dishonor. Then there is his father’s story, and his father’s father. To some degree, I live as a convergence of all of the composite residual injustices of my ‘people’. I carry the IOU’s on their behalf. A residual corporate memory lingers in the shadows of my soul. Imagine then the composite unresolved injustices and amnesia that shapes me unaware.
One of the aspects of the great news of the Bible is that there will come a time when the perfect God Judge will sit over the trial of every injustice ever done to every man, woman and child. There will be a perfect trial, judgment and penalty. He has no amnesia. If you read the minor prophets, God’s perfect memory of injustices to His people transcends generations. We offer this to victims of all stripes and races. This is good news.
So now, back to Solidarity. Imagine now a young black student, a descendent of slaves. He may have been treated with great privilege and honor throughout his life. He may not have personally known blatant racism— but in that core converged narrative of his soul, he is not a stranger to racism and its devastation. There is a lingering generational memory perhaps one generation removed, or two, or three. Though things are better now, his deeper narrative, the foundational story, the composite past has not been fully healed yet. Doesn’t this explain the intransigence of the racism issue in our land. In spite of the amazing strides forward in our generation even, the sense of residual composite dishonor lingers in the shadows.
Is there hope for a healing and reconciliation today that involves perfect justice and consolation without any amnesia? Absolutely. This is the exclusive good news of Christianity. Jesus now sits on the throne of judgment and such cases, even complex historic ones can even now—by faith—be brought to Him for resolution and consolation. The work of Jesus Christ in his atonement death and resurrection offers us a powerful means to experience the healing of our stories—even generational narratives. The healing of historical memory is possible.
Alternate Steps Forward
How? Solidarity, this is where you can provide real leadership for perpetrators and victims alike. There needs to be a public spiritual trial before the only objective Judge who alone can discern all of the complexities of past events. He is objective and knows justice. Appropriate due diligence needs to be done—not for God’s sake, but for ours. God, of course was an eye witness of all events. There needs to be ‘truth telling’; who did what to who and why. The victims and children of victims need to be given a seat of respect and voice where they can give proclaim their losses and sorrows and experience the value of being treated with respect— their stories including generational ones heard again. There needs to be a measuring of the consequences—What was taken? What was lost? What is the value of the losses. The losses need to be mourned. There needs to be a sentencing phase of the trial where the victims finally hear the perpetrators declared guilty for charges. There needs to be a place where the victim can hear and see in the eyes of the perpetrators (in this case symbolic composite ‘descendents’ of the perpetrators) that they truly understand the pain and loss and are indeed repentant. There needs to be a deep public honoring for true healing to begin to take place. Then of course, the final work needs to be the work of Jesus Christ. By faith the victims and perps bow before Him as he lavishes His full payment over them—for only He has the deep pockets to truly pay for the losses, for the injustices. He draws the final think line of consolation. He signs the indictment, “It is finished!” This is the truth that sets a people free. Then we can pursue unity together.
Once again, the majority class historically seems to forget that it is light years easier for the perpetrator to draw thick lines than the victim. Not all ‘thick lines’ are equal. Also, once again, the victims seem to forget that guilt is a horrible motivator if true unity and intimacy is the desired outcome. The victim’s robbed moral value cannot be regained through anger, vengeance, punishment, new government policies, affirmative action, or even reparation (though there may be some powerful symbolic benefits to the latter). Their sense of moral worth can only be restored by their Creator doing what He does best– speak into the chaos and create new life.
Strategically speaking, this will have another result, God willing. Imagine if we began to live out of this present gospel privilege and discipline; how this can open up new gospel bridges to the many people who have indeed been beat up by institutional Christianity. Enough of our use of ‘thick lines’! Can we finally really acknowledge some validity in Islam’s cries against Christians that goes back to the cruelties of the Crusades? Muslims, hear this, there will be a trial. Can we hear the cries of the Native American people against Christians of dishonor and so many other crimes against humanity? Can we hear the cries of children abused by Priests? Can we hear the cries of the descendents of slaves that something seems to have been covered up? Fellow image bearers, there will be a trial and full judicial consolation.
Solidarity, from your small podium in the heartland of the US, begin to lead us forward in a new direction. Lets together deeply regret the decades and centuries that we sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have wasted at odds, in class warfare, in dishonor, in bitterness and begin pursuing a different path built on true Biblical forgiveness. Remember, we are all victims and perpetrators and in unified need of the final thick line of Jesus Christ.
Solidarity, humbly lead us—as fellow perpetrators–into the grand Courtroom of Yahweh for fresh consolation and participation in the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ.