This week at CATALYST Youth Online, we tackled a pretty important (and heavy) topic-- what the Bible (and in particular, Jesus) has to say about racism and injustice, and what that means for people who are Jesus followers.
The word "racism" describes the hate or mistreatment of someone based on the colour of their skin or their cultural background. For people who haven't experienced racism first hand, it perhaps came as a surprise that racism still exists in 2020. The death of George Floyd in the U.S. has brought a lot of awareness about this issue, and it has sparked a great deal of outrage. People are sick and tired of injustice and evil in our world, particularly surrounding this issue. People who have experienced racism personally, are speaking up about how hurt they are. George Floyd's death has certainly re-opened a lot of wounds. All through the world (and in the U.S. in particular) there have been protests where people are marching and standing together (during a time of pandemic no less) to show their cities, governments, and their countries that #BlackLivesMatter. Of course, these mostly peaceful protests have been marred by some people who see this all as an opportunity to be violent, commit vandalism, loot businesses, and commit acts of hate. Through it all, it has been interesting to see peaceful protesters actually helping to stop vandals and help the police arrest them. Needless to say, it has been a crazy couple of weeks.
This week, we looked at Jesus' life and ministry and how, despite a lot of racism and hatred towards other cultures in his day, Jesus stood against this in some very counter-cultural ways. What did he say and do? How does Jesus want us to respond as his followers?
1. JESUS LOVED PEOPLE WHO WERE EXCLUDED
One example of this is seen in Matthew 8:1-3 where Jesus showed compassion to someone who was excluded and looked down on by the rest of society, a man who had leprosy. Lepers were people who lived with a disease, so they were excluded from their cities, kicked out of their families, and weren't allowed to be in community with other people. While this wasn't a case of racism, but a case of people wanting those with a disease to stay away, in this passage, Jesus showed that he CARED about people who were excluded and treated less-than-human. Jesus spoke to someone who nobody spoke to. He touched a man who hadn't been touched by anyone for years, and then Jesus healed him.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
Who are people who are left out, excluded, mistreated, or abused? Maybe it’s someone in your school who doesn’t have a lot of money or doesn’t dress well? Maybe it’s someone who has a disability or is living with special needs? Maybe it’s someone who has a different colour of skin or comes from a different culture?
Jesus models that we should have COMPASSION for those who are excluded and we need to do what we can to help those people feel INCLUDED. Jesus literally healed people so they could be restored back into their community. For us, bringing healing in someone's life might mean something as simple as sitting with someone that NOBODY wants to sit with or being friendly and talking to someone that NOBODY wants to talk to.
2. JESUS LOVED THOSE WHO WERE HATED
In John 4, Jesus was passing through Samaria. This alone was shocking because at that time, Samaritans were HATED by Jewish people. There was a lot of racism that existed between these two groups. Incidentally, this is one reason why Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan was so shocking to people at the time--- it involved someone who was hated and treated like an enemy actually stopping to help someone from the culture that hated and mistreated him.
It was shocking enough that Jesus was actually walking through Samaria, but then Jesus stopped and talked with a Samaritan woman. The disciples didn’t like this. Not only was she a Samaritan, but she was a woman…and at that time, women didn't have rights. They weren't considered to be equal to men. In most cases, they were seen as objects instead of people. Jesus ignored the separation that his Jewish culture tried to impose on Him, and he spent some time sitting and talking to this woman. Through conversation, Jesus told her that she could find love and forgiveness for the sin in her life THROUGH HIM, revealing to her that He was the Messiah (the Saviour). Because of this conversation, this woman and many other Samaritan people experienced God's love and forgiveness.
This wasn't the only time that Jesus spent time with a person who was hated. In fact, one of the reasons why the religious leaders hated Jesus (and ultimately had him killed) was because Jesus kept hanging out with HATED people. He would have dinner with tax collectors (people who would steal from the Jewish people). He would hang out with “known sinners”—people who didn’t love and follow God and made all kinds of bad choices with their lives. These were the kinds of people the religious leaders said Jewish people should stay away from. Jesus also had disciples who were women (something that was totally outside the box for that time period), showing them the same love, respect, and value that would be given to men. In fact, the first people Jesus appeared to after he was raised to life were women, and in John 20:18, Jesus made Mary the first "evangelist", telling her to go and tell the other disciples (mostly men) that He had been raised to life.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
We need to stand against racism around us (and fight against it in our own hearts and ways of thinking). Jesus showed love and value to EVERYONE he encountered…even if they were a part of a hated culture or an excluded people group. The things he said and did showed equality with others. Jesus never acted or lived like he was better than someone else, even though he was actually the SON OF GOD and was legitimately better than EVERYONE! We need to treat EVERY human being with love, respect, and value. This includes our brothers, sisters, parents, people from other cultures, and even our ENEMIES!
3. JESUS STOOD UP FOR THE RIGHT TREATMENT OF OTHERS
In John 8, a crowd had gathered to actually THROW STONES AND KILL a woman who had been caught cheating on her husband. Even though this was the law at the time, Jesus actually stood between the woman and the crowd and then challenged them that anyone who HAD NO SIN should be the first to throw a stone. They all dropped their stones and walked away. Then Jesus turned to the woman and told her that she should turn from her sin.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
If we see people being hurt, mistreated, bullied, gossiped about, or made fun of, whether it’s because of the colour of their skin or for any other reason, we should stand up for them and speak out against it….even if it might not make us popular. This kind of thing happens EVERY day in real life, and we have opportunities to do something about it instead of just standing back and letting it happen. In fact, in the case of George Floyd, the other police officers were charged, BECAUSE they could have stopped hate and violence but chose not to get involved. Jesus got involved and stood between the attackers and the person who was being mistreated. When you see someone who is being bullied, when you hear people gossiping about someone, when you hear people making fun of someone, what will YOU do?
4. JESUS MODELLED NON-VIOLENCE
If you've been arrested or falsely accused of something you didn't do. If you've experienced hate, Jesus can relate to what you've been through. It happened to him too. When Jesus was arrested, before he was to die on the cross, Luke 22:50-51 says, “The disciples, said, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!”And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
Here we have a case where Jesus, GOD’S SAVIOUR, was being arrested and the disciples were ready to fight! They drew swords! If there was ever a case where violence would be ok, it would be to defend Jesus, right? But Jesus actually put a stop to it and then healed one of the men who had come to arrest him.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
As Christians (Jesus-followers) we should stand up against injustice and be a voice for the voiceless, but we’re not honouring God if we are vandalizing, hurting others, stealing things, or responding in violent ways. It's GOOD to be angry about evil and injustice in our world. God is angry with it too! But there is a right response and a wrong response. The Bible tells us that “in our anger, we shouldn’t sin” (Ephesians 4:26). We need to stand against wrong and injustice in ways that also shows that we love and follow Jesus. The way we respond shouldn't create more problems, but it should make this world a better place.
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