What Next?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
It’s been incredibly difficult to gather my thoughts to express how I really feel on this Racial Justice Sunday. Yet two emotions come to the surface – a mixture of thankfulness but also one of huge frustration and righteous anger (or maybe just anger!).
On the one hand, I’m deeply grateful for the resilience, strength, courage and commitment of those who work tirelessly in the fight for racial justice. Yet I also feel despair at the seemingly glacial progress of it all.
I’m tired of headline after headline exposing verbal assaults, brutal beatings (of a young schoolgirl recently) or the killing of another unarmed black man or woman… I’m overwhelmed when I see a grieving mother, father, child or a family forever traumatised and changed in the worst possible ways.
This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the racist killing of the Black teenager Stephen Lawrence at the hands of a group of White youths. I desperately wish and pray another world were possible… and that it was one in which Stephen and others like him were still alive. I’ve often wondered what he’d be doing now, what kind of man he would be and what his contribution to society would look like… Then I get angry all over again as I remember the failure of both police and the criminal justice system when his murder was being ‘investigated’. Then I’m inspired again… as I think back to the tireless campaigning of the Lawrence family in their relentless search for justice. It’s no wonder I’m exhausted…
It's 30 years on and thankfully the church is more engaged than ever before and many more will mark this Racial Justice Sunday. Yet there is still so much more we can all do, to shift the dial on racial justice within our communities, churches and organisations. And with the challenge of James 2: 26: Faith without works is dead ringing deep within us, the dial must first be shifted in our own hearts, minds, and actions too.
So, this is my prayer for you this Racial Justice Sunday…
May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
And turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen
*You’ll find this Franciscan benediction on page 24 of the Racial Justice Sunday 2023 resource from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
