Empathy with God

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”; a familiar verse from the Gospel according to Matthew. But what does it mean to mourn? Is it simply a sense of sadness or melancholy? Thomas Long in his commentary on Matthew says this: “The kind of morning referred to here is not so much mere sadness or weeping, but prayers of lament over the hurt in the world. This mourning grows out of the difference between the world as it is and the world as God wills it to be.” Attempting to hold a vision of the Kingdom of God in juxtaposition to the current state of the world, this nation and our community, is to glimpse and deeply feel an awful disparity; driven to our knees, we long for the wholeness and shalom that God desires for humanity and all creation. It is inevitable that if we desire to love who and what God loves we will know pain, we will lament.

Avoidance of mourning and lament is no longer an option for many of us in the face of the suffering and death arising out of the pandemic, and the ongoing manifestation of racism, violence and injustice perpetrated against our black neighbors. The convergence of the pandemic, and the witnessing of the unjust slaying of George Floyd are difficult to process and comprehend; many, black and white, are overwhelmed. 

Fasting, prayer and repentance are traditional religious responses to tragedy, especially when events unfold on a national scale and impact our collective consciousness and relatedness. Some have argued that the pandemic, and its real and anticipated consequences have been overblown. Others have observed that in death George Floyd has achieved undeserved glorification, when in fact he was just a common criminal who died an unfortunate death in the custody of the police. The meaning of the death of George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer presents an important, even crucial question America must address. George Floyd’s cry, “I can’t breath1” and the repeated pleas of the bystanders for mercy and compassion echoed, I believe, a collective chorus of voices coming from black men, woman and children for the last four centuries. Those of us who heard his cry and watched his life ebb away were transfixed and exposed in an intimate way to the suffering and injustice that has long been the common experience of our black brothers and sisters. We have been unwittingly drawn into an experience, and into a common dialogue that we’ve avoided for far too long. For many, witnessing the death of George Floyd, and confronting that reality can bring on an overwhelming sadness and a troubling sense of guilt; some will seek to deny or avoid answering the question of what it means, but none can unsee the manner in which Floyd, a fellow human being, died. We had the experience, will we miss the meaning?

Fasting, prayer and repentance is an initial way we can respond to the consequences of racism and radicalized social systems that have existed for generations. It is good to begin by asking: what does God require of us in these times and circumstances? I urge you to consider Isaiah's prophetic word that provides insight into God's character and what he desires for his people. I’ll quote briefly from Isaiah 58 here, but I strongly encourage you to prayerfully read and meditate on verses 1-12 on your own.

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him...” Isaiah 58:6,7

Cain posed a question to God when confronted with the killing of his brother Abel: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Can there be any doubt as to God's answer? Every human being, regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender or culture is made in the image of God and is beloved of God. If human life is sacred, then every life is sacred. We had the experience, pray we don't miss the meaning.

I believe our lament should and must lead to a fast that is pleasing to God, to prayer and to repentance that results in redressing the longstanding inequities and injustices experienced by black Americans, and other marginalized peoples, from education to jobs, from health care to public safety, from poverty to judicial reform. Pray to God for transformation of our communities, that justice becomes our watchword, and mercy and love our way of being with all people.