Theology Blog

In the midst of life, ministry, ALS bucket challenges, beheadings, Israel & Palestine and the start of football season, there is something I just cannot get my mind off of: Ferguson. Ferguson is getting a lot of press, but not a lot of conversation. The dynamics of what has and continues to happen in Ferguson, MO are deeply complex. It is hard to sort through all of the information, spin and emotion.

The truth is that what happened in Ferguson is a tragedy. A young man is dead. A police officer is the one who shot him. Loss is always painful. It is often more painful when the victim is so young and the circumstances are so painful. My heart breaks. I do not have words, and the words I hear around me are not words of healing, but words of anger, defense and judgment.

It is natural to want to know the truth in a situation like this one. We want the truth so badly that we piece it together in hopes it will bring closure, but instead we find emotionally charged, often inflammatory partial truth. Truth matters, but people matter more. Answers may be necessary, and only love can triumph. This is a tragedy. We desire justice and truth, but neither will fully come. All parties and perspectives will not be satisfied. We will never know exactly what happened. Any justice that comes will fall short of expectations. It looks and feels like a great battle and a potential war zone. There is a lot of passion being expressed: passion for justice, for answers and much more. Lines are being drawn, and sides are being taken. Those with a more liberal perspective use the situation to illustrate what they already believe. Those with a more conservative perspective also use the situation to illustrate what they believe. More hate speech, more judgment, and more division.

My heart is saddened by all the inflammatory language expressed around this situation. I am disturbed to listen and watch as so many good, Christian people recite a perspective that is anything but gracious. I am disappointed in the people of faith who sound more like the talking heads on television than the representatives of Christ and his Kingdom. I hear a lot of politics and no theology.

There lies in this situation, in my humble opinion, a theological tragedy. It is something that is being missed completely in Ferguson and perhaps even more so in the Christian church in the United States, especially the white Christian church. I have yet to hear much, if any, conversation about reconciliation. No one is talking about reconciliation. Maybe it is because it does not make for good media. Maybe it is because we don’t want it. Maybe it is because we are in denial that it is needed. Maybe we don’t believe it is possible. I believe that whatever the reason, all these excuses fail. This situation requires reconciliation. Reconciliation between the participants of the actual incident and their families. Reconciliation of a community. Reconciliation between the authorities and the people. Racial reconciliation. Something terrible has happened and a young man is dead. It is time for us adults, especially those of us who profess to follow Christ to rise above this horrible situation and the toxic responses by all parties that have resulted. It is time for us to look for, be a part of and help bring about reconciliation. I believe God can make something good of this tragedy and that will happen when we all come together and make reconciliation a priority.

So much sadness. So much pain. It’s a tragedy. The good news is that we can look to and trust God to take this difficult situation and redeem it. We as the church should look for and be a part of this redemption. May we have a heart of grace, the eyes of acceptance and the priority of reconciliation.