A Word from Pastor Lisa: Getting Tired
Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up.
—Galatians 6:9 (NRSV)
Today is Juneteenth, the annual holiday honoring Black freedom and resistance on the day the last slaves learned of emancipation in 1865. I’m embarrassed to admit that as a white person, I had never heard of or attended one of these celebrations until 15 years ago, when I served a church that hosted a community celebration. At our Farmer’s Market, we had a marvelous mix of story-telling, music, and food that drew in neighbors and parishioners to honor Black heritage. Before I went, I had to Google what I would be attending. White revisionist history had once again shaped my narrow perspective and lack of knowledge.
Decentering white voices, history, and narrative is the work of the anti-racist Church right now. I’ve noticed how difficult and painful it seems to be for some of my Christian friends and colleagues who are white. As a predominantly white church, we have to ponder what this means for us. We are used to having the power and being in charge. We are accustomed to privilege. We expect to get the microphone. When our siblings who are Black, Indigenous, and of people of color (BIPOC) ask us to take a backseat, to listen to their voices, and to do anti-racism work in our own lives so we can work to dismantle systemic racism, we struggle as white people. I have seen or heard the following from white people in my circles this past week:
“I’m confused.”
“I’m not privileged.”
“I’m not a racist.”
“I’m not responsible for slavery.”
“I didn’t realize police brutality against blacks was a problem.”
“I don’t see why we keep lighting that candle.”
“I stand and salute during our National Anthem.”
“People who never owned slaves should not have to pay reparations to people who have never been slaves.”
“Why is saying all lives matter not appropriate but saying certain lives matter is respectful?”
“Why would we want to defund the police?”
“I’m tired of the protests and riots.”
As white people, we have no right to be tired. Our friends who are BIPOC are the ones who are exhausted. As one protest sign I saw at the Bloomington march conveyed so eloquently: “I’m 400 years kinda tired.” Racism, white supremacy, and white privilege never go away for people who are BIPOC. They have been marching, fighting, resisting, sitting in, protesting, and trying in vain to dismantle the system for centuries. At our best, white people have joined them for a season, and then gone on with our lives feeling better about our contribution. At our worst, we’ve ignored the struggle, made it about us, or perpetuated injustice and oppression. For people of color, the battle never stops.
So as a predominantly white church, how do we combat racism fatigue? In his letter to the Galatians, Paul exhorts the early church on how to live together, to hold one another accountable, and to carry each other’s burdens. He believed God’s judgment was coming soon, and so he was encouraging them to not grow weary or tired in doing what is right. They were to keep working for an opportune time for the good of all, so that the harvest at the end of time would be even greater. Because centuries have passed since Paul’s writing, his words don’t carry the same urgency of impending judgment. But this Scripture can still encourage us to never tire of caring for one another’s well-being. Paul invites us to imagine that God, through Christ’s Body the Church, bears our burdens, says New Testament scholar Sarah Henrich.
When our siblings in Christ are oppressed because of the color of their skin, we who are privileged cannot tire of doing good. We have to bring our best reflection, our best study of Scripture, and our personal experiences of God’s Spirit as we ponder what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18), to “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8), or to “show mercy” (Luke 10:37). We need to think about our privilege before we post or speak. We cannot rely on people of color to teach us. We must keep repenting and doing our own work around race. We must give our siblings of color a break and let them rest while we do the work of fighting to dismantle the systems of oppression. We become “woke” to injustice by fighting on behalf of others. This isn’t a time for white folks to fall asleep again. We need all of us working together to set at liberty those who are oppressed so we might create the beloved community God dreams for us.
P.S. We will be doing more work around systemic racism in the coming months through small group study, service, and advocacy. I hope you’ll join us.