As Christians, we are invited to trust in the creative power of God who not only is not defeated by evil but also is able to take even the worst of evils and transform it into a redemptive possibility. With respect to racism, this means that while it is an evil scourge on our churches, in the hands of God it offers an opportunity for a redemptive possibility.
Our faith is rooted in an affirmation of God’s intention for creation. Whether it be in creation itself or in the separation of the androgynous creature into sexually specific male and female, life is the result of division that leaves a yearning for reconciliation.
God also yearns for that reconciliation. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to God’s self” (2 Corinthians 5:19) Such reconciliation is not the homogenization of our differences but a celebration of the richness of our differences that enrich the whole.
For Christians, this is most clearly depicted in the economy of the Trinity. God, Christ, and the Spirit live in relationship to each other in perfect harmony and yet with appreciation of the distinctiveness of each.
The variety within our creation, including races, was part of God’s intention in preparation for the full reconciliation with the divine. Our inability to relate to each other with appreciation and respect for our differences demonstrates our distance from God who is utterly different from any of us.
It is only as we learn to live in the midst of the diversity of creation with rejoicing in the otherness of those who are different from us that we can grow closer to God. Full reconciliation in a world that can celebrate the beauty of our diversity prepares us to gaze upon the beauty of God.
Or our response to the racism can offer an opportunity for redemptive possibility?
