Advent Reflections (Part 2)

Have you ever paid attention to Christmas carols? During Advent, we sing of revolution:

Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
(Angels We Have Heard on High) 

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
(O Holy Night)

We're still in the in-between time, waiting for Jesus to bring his Kingdom fully, so oppression is still on full display. Recently, that's been easy to see in the extensive race-related pain in our country.

At a staff conference last month, we were challenged to consider what effect laws and major events have on the next generation. American citizens with Mexican ancestry were "repatriated" to Mexico during the Depression (which was worse off than the US), then allowed back into the US when financial stability returned. What would that communicate to their children? What would that do to their financial stability or their trust in the law? How did that affect the next generation?

The Chinese were the first illegal immigrants. After a couple decades of politicians fighting over whether the Chinese should be allowed to work in a country they had legally migrated to, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 declared the Chinese couldn't move to the US for 10 years. This separated families hoping to reunite after a little money was saved, and made it impossible for young men already here to start their own families. It set off the first great wave of human smuggling. How did that affect the next generation?

Political cartoon from 1882

When the US was founded, Black people were counted as 3/5 of a person. Only 150 years ago, they were slaves. Only 50 years ago, they were kept separate from people like me. How did that affect the next generation?

And I wonder, how did those events and laws affect the next generation of white people? I think we've learned to interpret progress as everything being okay now - so any more complaints about the state of things are frustrating. We've learned to feel shame that it wasn't okay before, and we try to avoid blame. I think we've also learned fear. Fear of others, fear of losing what we've earned.

The fear and blame-shifting is subtle and insidious. It's why we latch onto arguments like black on black crime, or that it's a sin problem not a systemic problem, when we're faced with accusations of racism within the legal system (which was countered well here). As if one kind of brokenness makes another kind of brokenness okay. Or we point to our own or our family's experiences of injustice, because of course we're only safe and well off now from our own hard work. And I guess anyone who hasn't pulled themselves up by their bootstraps must not be as hard working as I am. Or we throw up our hands and fume, "What do you want me to do about it?" But we're afraid of the answer.

None of those are gospel-filled, grace-brimming, chain-breaking, Kingdom-bringing responses.

Life without trust that laws will protect you, without dignity, without safety, is oppressive. But the suspicion and fear that underlies race relations is oppressive too, and it too must cease. Jesus is Lord. As he becomes the Master of more of our lives, I believe that oppression will cease. But how?

During Advent, we sing of revolution... and radical love:

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
(O Holy Night) 

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
(Joy to the World) 

The nations do prove how wondrous God's love is - that he still loves us after all the awful things we do to one another is wondrous! (Ba-dum-chh)

But seriously, imagine a world where love is the law, where we demonstrate God's glorious ability to make everything right. Imagine a world where every culture (including mine) is celebrated for the good things that reflect God's Kingdom. Imagine a world where fear doesn't reign, but truth and grace.

Will white people choose to see minorities as brothers, who are sometimes afraid to be seen at all for fear of the consequences? Will minorities love white people, who often only experience fear and guilt when race is brought up? Come Lord Jesus, and make it so!

If you want to be a part of that, take a practical step, trusting God to protect and guide you. Get into a conversation with a friend of a different ethnicity about how they have been affected by the past year's events, and just listen. Visit a church whose members are predominantly another race. Spend your money at a minority owned business and talk with the folks working there. And whatever you decide to do, start praying for Jesus to end the oppression of fear in your heart and teach us to love one another. That's a start. What comes next, only God can tell.

Rembrandt's Adoration of the Shepherds

Advent made the tension between this broken world and God's Kingdom come alive for me. We anticipate the joy of Christmas and make goals for the new year, but live in the messy here and now. Even all the traditions Kyle and I enjoyed did not shield us from times of waiting or frustration or pain. This world is still broken. But as Silent Night resoundingly declares, Jesus has brought:

the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth