The Pain of Racism Through the Lens of Calvary
By Rev. Dr. Versey Williams, Contributing Writer
Navigating racism in the 21st century means Eastertide 2021 holds an even deeper significance for me. Termed “Jim Crow 2.O,” I have always known God grieves when we are marginalized, ridiculed, and murdered at the hearts and hands of those who live out Satan’s decree to kill, steal, and destroy. God Incarnate, in the person of Jesus, gives us hope.
Although it is difficult to stomach, racism has gotten better for us as a people. However, better is not good enough. We deserve to be valued and respected for who we are. We are good enough and lacking nothing in our personhood. Racism is evil personified to destroy us (John 10).
I heard only a few minutes of the trial for the police officer who murdered the late Mr. George Floyd. I became so angry! When I was a little girl, I recall traveling to Mississippi with my parents. It was a somber trip. I learned someone was lynched. When I saw, again, the picture flash on the television with the officer’s knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck, I wanted to scream! Yet I know those who kill us could care not less about my cries.
As I cried out, this time was different. I know that by Jesus’ strips I and we are healed. This time, God opened my eyes with deeper meaning and purpose. My insight brings me no joy or excitement, only the assurance that the person killed was held in the heart of a loving God.
God knew people of African descent, and others, would suffer at the hands of evil. Every time Jesus was beaten, spit upon, ridiculed, stripped naked, and ultimately killed, God was bearing the unbearable for us.
If I had another message to black men and women, it would be that God has not forgotten us. God could have opted a means to bear the unbearable another way but God chose Calvary. God gives us free will and we have a human responsibility to be good stewards of our life. Maybe that’s where justice comes in. We judge each other but Calvary welcomes our brokenness. He bore our iniquities, grief, and sorrows. Yet, the fact remains that life has been cut off.
I remember feeling so broken that I became bitter. I was faithful but someone hurt me beyond what I could bear. I felt hopeless but I also trusted God. That night and several months after, I prayed a psalm. The same psalm might help others as they live with injustice. As people of God, we must trust God; and within our integrity, we must seek change. We are God’s righteousness and our prayers avail much.
Vengeance indeed belongs to God. I get it. Sometimes the pain makes us react in unhealthy ways. God wants us to ask for God’s help. I leave you with the 137th Psalm.
