What happened at Charlottesville, Virginia, and threatens to happen throughout the country, turns my stomach. Read the signs of the times, brothers and sisters. The whole fabric of our nation is in danger of being torn apart. The soul of our nation is being invaded by a terrible hatred which is being secretly sanctioned by some of those who have the highest seats in our government.
With my whole mind, heart, and soul, I decry the evil and pernicious White Supremacist Movement which proclaims that our country should have a white hierarchy because whiteness is superior. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, - AND GOD IS NOT WHITE!!!! I decry the evil and pernicious Nazi Movement that proclaims that Jews are inferior - JESUS WAS A JEW! I decry any movement that wants America to have a Christian Totalitarian government: JESUS DID NOT COME TO FOUND A POLITICAL KINGDOM; HE CAME TO FOUND A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.
Perhaps many of us secretly believe what I believe, but are afraid to say it out loud. The time has come to speak up! The time has come to be prophets and stand up for the Truth, because Jesus, the Truth, came to set us interiorly free to have the courage to speak what needs to be spoken for our vulnerable and persecuted brothers and sisters. Jesus, the Word of God, is a Two-Edged Sword Who will separate those whom the Holy Spirit has set on fire with Love for Him from those who are fearful and luke-warm. Whenever we refuse to speak out for those who are persecuted, we crucify Jesus Who lives in them. As Fr. James Martin, S.J., says
"Every time you shout 'White Power!' you might as well be shouting 'Crucify him!'
And any time you lift your hand in a Nazi salute, you might as well be lifting your hand to nail Jesus to the Cross."
David Potter, from "Sojourners" magazine, who was in Charlottesville, gives us this witness:
"On Friday, I traveled to Charlottesville, Va., to bear witness. What I saw there deeply unsettled me. White supremacists, gathered for a rally at a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, boldly manifested the evil legacy of America’s original sin. Unfolding in streets throughout the city, the heritage of whiteness was revealed in full display.Perhaps most disturbing was the unashamed nature of this hate-filled display: In 2017, white supremacists wear no hoods.
"They carried flaming torches, proudly flaunted Confederate and swastika-emblazoned regalia, and chanted “Jew will not replace us,” “Sieg Heil,” and“blood and soil” — and there was simply no need for secrecy. Former KKK leader David Duke said the rally represented the “fulfillment of Donald Trump’s promise,” and several demonstrators wore “Make America Great Again” hats — leaving no question that white supremacy is far from fringe, but is deeply rooted in the identity of the yet-to-be United States. Donald Trump’s rise to power was established on a bedrock of strategic racialization, and his less-than-subtle coded language has galvanized a base of white nationalism that had always been there, even if disregarded.
"Those claiming that “this is not who we are” are woefully misguided. For hundreds of years, the lie of human hierarchy has been constructed and upheld by white people."
Later in the same article, he states about the White Supremacists at Charlottesville, "This struggle was waged not just for those seeking to create a white ethno-state, but on behalf of all institutions and people benefitting from whiteness – which includes the ethics, policies, and theologies that reinforce a lie of superiority and suppress the inherent image of God throughout all of humanity. Many surprised observations have been made that the demonstrators were students and professionals, largely undifferentiated from the hypothetical young white man living next door, or sitting in a pew on Sunday morning. The desire to project the problem of white supremacy unto the recesses of society is simply too convenient. The same air these angry extremists are breathing also exists in my lungs."
Perhaps, we think that we are not racist. But we should think again. Someone I know said to me recently that she was afraid to get her DNA checked because she was afraid that she might find out that one of her ancestors was black. Why should this frighten any white? There is only one human race. Scientists have different hypotheses about how different skin colors have developed.
For example, it is pretty obvious that people whose ancestors come from Northern Europe or Japan tend to have lighter skin than people whose ancestors are from sub-Saharan Africa or Australia. The reason for these differences may have to do with the amount of sunlight in each place. Imagine you lived somewhere cold and dark. Your skin wouldn't see much sunshine. How would your body get enough sunshine to make all of the vitamin D you needed? Well, if your skin had less melanin (which would make it lighter colored), then you would need less time in sunshine to make enough vitamin D! So it's possible that lighter skin evolved so that people in darker places were able to get all of the vitamin D they needed to stay healthy (and have kids). So the skin color you have might be a result of how much sun your ancestors got!
Now we know that skin color is just a matter of how much melanin you have. The versions of the skin color genes tell your body how much melanin to make. All of this means that the difference between dark and light skin is only a few changes in DNA!
Why should such insignificant realities such as differences in skin color genes make people think that lighter skinned people are superior to darker skinned people? I can vouch for this: in a room with no sunlight, I could not tell the difference between my white and black-skinned grand-children's hugs and kisses. I also could not tell the difference between my non-Christian and Christian friends' hugs and kisses, or my straight and gay or lesbian friends' and relatives' hugs and kisses. Each one's caress, the feel of each one's lips, is precious to me, is human to me, is God-touched for me.
Now is the time for true Christian witness, and it happened at Charlottesville. Potter continues,
"The psyche of our nation has been largely disturbed by the profound ugliness championed in the “beloved and besieged” city of Charlottesville. Yet, in its midst, the gospel of Christ was boldly proclaimed. A group of clergy and faith leaders convened by Congregate Charlottesville counted the cost and willingly entered conflict with a presence of deep abiding love. What unfolded was dramatic in its opposition. As several hundred residents and those who traveled to answer the call for support packed out St. Paul Memorial Episcopal Church for an interfaith service, several hundred torch-wielding demonstrators gathered across the street on the University of Virginia campus, evoking the hovering legacy of the Ku Klux Klan. Demonstrators violently clashed with university students standing in opposition to racism, while those departing the church were told to hunker in place because the situation outside had become too volatile.
"Saturday morning the group marched silently through the city, wearing stoles and clergy collars, processing from a sunrise prayer and commissioning service at First Baptist Church to stand face to face with white supremacists and paramilitary armed with assault rifles. As insults and threats were hurled at them, these ministers knelt on the curb along the edge of Emancipation Park and offered prayer and song. Rarely have I understood the gospel more clearly than in witnessing an eruption of “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” cutting through an angry shouting match. As the clergy chanted, “Love has, love has, love has already won,” the story so desperately needed was told in full."
Love has already won: our Savior Jesus the Christ died on the cross and rose again for people from every race and tongue, people and nation. If He died to set us free, can we live to set others free in His Name? Does the Light of Christ shine not only in our hearts but in our words and in our lives? Do we have the courage to speak the Truth, regardless of the cost?