As It Is In Heaven

George Floyd.

Ahmaud Aubery.

Breonna Taylor.

These are the names that have echoed in my brain relentlessly over the last several weeks. I will never have enough words to mourn them. So I must mourn, but I must also move for justice.

My position, while not that groundbreaking, apparently is revolutionary. Apparently, saying Black Lives Matter is a battle cry, casting off all other races and creeds. I had no idea. I just knew there were brown bodies dead in the street, and there seems to be no justice. No recompense.

All my life, I’ve said these words: I’m not racist. I’ve modified that a little these days: I’m anti-racist. So was Jesus. His earthly ministry began at a time the Jews were heavily oppressed by the Roman empire. They were murdered and crucified to prove a point. This was not the first time the Jews had lived under leadership who didn’t care if they lived or died. Remember Daniel? Remember Esther? Remember Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego? Christ’s birth was in the midst of great social injustice and oppression. The Jews wanted a King because they wanted someone to unite an oppressed Israel and lead them into battle, and ultimately, to freedom. They wanted Hebrew Braveheart. Imagine all the young men at temple, reading the Scriptures, devoting themselves to study, to the practice of looking and waiting for the Messiah. When Jesus finally came, when the revolution began with His earthly ministry, it looked like they never dreamed it would.

If you “church” on the regular, you know that the day of Pentecost is celebrated by many. This is the day we remember how after Christ was crucified, He sent the Holy Spirit to fill His people. For context, read Acts 1-2. I’m Pentecostal (No, not like that. Yes, I know what you’re thinking.), so this is kind of a big day for my denomination. It’s one of my favorite “church” days, because for me, it marks the day that the disciples began their personal journeys towards loving Gentile believers.

If you just sat back and looked at your screen like I am crazy, hold on. Don’t worry, I’m going to walk you through my thought process. Jesus, the Son of God, was love incarnate. His heart was for all people: for prostitutes, for thieves (Matthew the tax collector), for doubters (Thomas), for racists (the disciples… yeah, they were at first), and for the oppressed (remember the Samaritan woman?). He moved through Israel loving the unloved and the outcasts. The disciples who walked with Him, the beloved twelve, they weren’t quite there yet. They totally believed in Jesus, they participated in His miracles, they wept at the foot of the cross. And here’s the great thing about Jesus: He knows where you are today. He sees the prejudice that we all have, that determines our words and our thoughts about others. He accepts us as we are, but He demands that we run towards love.

Back to the day of Pentecost. Imagine with me this scene: the disciples and followers of Jesus are in a room, praying. They saw Christ die and resurrect, and after running around doing miracles, return to Heaven. The religious leaders are still being pretty wild, and the Romans were suspect on a good day; which frankly, they had not had much of lately. Jesus was gone again. If I’m the disciples, this is what I’m thinking. He said He was sending… a comforter? The Holy Spirit? Okay, whatever that means. I wish He would have explained more. They’ve been praying for days. Seeking peace. Praying for safety. Praying for hope. Praying that whatever Jesus said He was going to send would come quickly. And then it did - all at once, and in a way no one expected. Just like Jesus. Acts 2 says this: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. But the really interesting part of this chapter (I know, that should be the most interesting part, right?) is that when they began to speak in other tongues, they spoke in languages known and represented in the city of Jerusalem, by Jews and Gentiles alike. These disciples who followed Jesus were speaking in languages they had no business knowing. This moment is a landmark in the church. Peter preaches the gospel of Christ to everyone who would listen. Everyone. Not just people at the temple. Everyone. As the New Testament progresses, we see the disciples navigate discussions of racial purity, of who is “allowed” to be family, of circumcision. But this was the first moment without the physical body of Jesus leading the way that they did ministry among those who didn’t look or speak like them.

Do not mistake Jesus to be only as gentle as a lamb. He is as fierce as a lion, the avenger, the restorer, the deliverer. Should you have any questions about the lengths He will go through to avenge and restore His people - all of His people - maybe flip back through the Old Testament. He came for us all. Black, white, loving, prejudiced, all of us. He meets us where we are, but He demands that we run to Him, that our flesh is less, and His love is more. When people meet you, do they meet Jesus? Do they meet the Savior who washed feet, who called restless fishermen, thieving tax collectors, prejudiced men and taught them what it meant to give everything they had for the Kingdom? If the past few months have grieved you, that’s good. But it should do more than grieve you - please pray, please grieve and lament. Don’t stop there. Jesus prayed and he moved through the countryside. Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus did AND He prayed.

NEXT STEPS TO PURSUE ACTIVISM AND AWARENESS:

• If you don’t or can’t protest, use your voice to raise awareness. Use your wallet to support causes you trust.

• Read books, listen to podcasts and watch documentaries and media to understand systemic racism and its effect on our culture. I will be posting a collective list of these that I have found thus far.

• Find Black activists and LISTEN: Pastors (Michael Todd, Transformation Church), Teachers (Jackie Hill Perry and Preston Perry), Artists (Lecrae, Propaganda). This is NOT a comprehensive list. There are incredible people that I follow on instagram and twitter that will be included in the previously mentioned research list.

• When people act stupid, and you know exactly what I mean, SAY SOMETHING. Be bold.

As my friend said recently: You will mess up. You will say the wrong thing. You will do a racism. But then you learn, and you do better.

May we all commit to running toward love. May we commit to anti-racism. May we commit to NO MORE HASHTAGS. May we commit to racial reconciliation. May we commit to “as it is in Heaven” with our spiritual family of every language and color. May we commit to justice and love at any cost.