From Cornel West in "Hope on a Tightrope."
Black people were moved by the image of the God of history who sides with the oppressed and the exploited - a God who affirms one's own humanity in a society that attacks and assaults black intelligence, and black beauty, and black moral character through white supremacist ideology. This message spoke to black folk very deeply.
There was also a political reason that black folk held fast to Christianity. Through its message, black people could engage in a critique of slavery, of Jim Crowism, of second-class citizenship, while holding on to the humanity of those whom they opposed. This is the great lesson that Martin Luther King, Jr., who is a product of this tradition, taught us.
This is not my storyline. And yet, it is important to hear how the Good News was and is "good" in and through lives that were not seen as "good" by the dominant culture. Behind the strength to love is the God who promises liberation. Within the act of liberation is the gift of seeing the other not as someone to destroy but someone who must be seen as another part of the humanity that is within all of us. It is not an easy way - this way of seeing the humanity in the other when the other is an oppressor. And yet, it is a part of following the way of Jesus. It is a way that may end at the cross...end at one's stand with and for and alongside others...end and become a part of the promise of resurrection. New life is always waiting to break loose. New life breaks loose each time we do not act like the old age...in us or in them.
Connection: We are always being invited into a life in which we re-view all things. In that action we are never sure of what we will see...and yet it may be a part of the promise that is always available to us.
Come, Lord God, and stir up our hearts. Just as you have promised to lead us to the promised land of your Reign, remind us in this day that your Reign is at hand and you have promised to to abide with us in and through all things. Amen.
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