In Christ, There is Neither Jew Nor Greek

I tried finding a gentle way to write this post.  I really did.

But I am still upset and saddened, even if George Zimmerman is using his newfound freedom to do good deeds.

Because an innocent seventeen-year-old boy is still dead, and even after following Trayvon Martin, disobeying a police order to stop following him, confronting him, engaging him, and shooting him to death, under Florida law, George Zimmerman did not commit a crime.

But what about under God's laws?

Of course there is the big commandment, one of the Ten: You shall not murder.

But whatever happened to, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord?" (Romans 12:19)

Or submitting to governing authorities (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2) rather than taking the law into your own hands?

Or, dare I say it, acknowledging that in Christ, racial differences are no more? (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28)

I have to think that there is much about this entire affair that offends God, not the least of which is that even if the acquittal of George Zimmerman was the legally correct decision (and I'm no legal eagle, but people smarter than me kept saying that the prosecution screwed the pooch on this one), the spirit of justice was not served in this case.

Nor do I have much faith that justice will be served in similar cases in the future.

Precisely because we refuse to acknowledge that in Christ, racial differences are no more.

I caught the tail end of President Obama's presser last Friday where he talked at length about the Zimmerman verdict, and I have to say I agree with him about one thing:

What if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed?

Put a different way, why hasn't the NRA and its allies lobbied for black men to arm themselves to protect against vigilantes like George Zimmerman when, in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in December 2012, the NRA very publicly called for armed teachers at every school in America?

Most of the children and staff slaughtered at Sandy Hook were Caucasian.  As were the victims of the Aurora theater massacre, whose one-year anniversary has just passed, and some of our leaders then were quick to trumpet the need for wider gun ownership.

I know people like to say we live in a colorblind nation.  We like to say that America is the last great meritocracy, where someone can make it through hard work and talent.  We like to say that in America, like in Christ, there is neither Jew or Greek, Black or White, Asian or Hispanic.

I call shenanigans.

Why is it that we react to the shootings of white children and a black child so differently?

Seriously.  If we truly believe in colorblindness, or in Paul's words in Scripture, why do we react to one by calling for more guns, and react to the other by not calling for more guns?

And I REALLY do not want to hear anyone throwing the "race baiting" card at me.  I'm an ambiguously olive-skinned man with thick facial hair.  The times I have been treated with disrespect at airports after 9/11 were mortifying.  I once was asked by a TSA agent why I even bothered wearing the Christian cross I wear around my neck.  And I believe those experiences would likely be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg for me if I were African-American.

This is what I don't get about the people saying that by acknowledging racial disparities, we are promoting divisiveness.  That divisiveness was ALREADY PRESENT.  It's called white flight, it's called de facto segregation where, even if we are an integrated nation, our churches still tend to be some of the most racially homogenous institutions in the land.

If we really believe that all persons are equal in the sight of God, then let's act like it.  Let's ensure there is equal justice for the Trayvon Martins of the world who get confronted because of what they look like.  Let's ensure that there remains equal access to the coveted status of middle class for all peoples.  Let's ensure that we don't dismiss a person of color's experience without trying to walk the proverbial mile in their shoes.

None of these things are easy.  I won't pretend that they are.  But to pretend that we are a colorblind people is far worse, because in doing so, not only do we refuse to listen to the stories of our brothers and sisters of color, but we also perjure ourselves before the authentically colorblind God who made us all.

And that is why I'm still saddened by the George Zimmerman verdict. The civil laws were followed,  yes.

But in doing so, I worry that we incriminated ourselves before God's laws.

Yours in Christ,
Eric