America has recently been faced with yet again another brutal reminder that racism is alive and well in this country. We have seen a viral video of a fatal shooting from two armed white men of an unarmed black man who was jogging in a Brunswick, Georgia neighborhood on February 23, 2020. The unarmed black man/African American's name was Ahmuad Arbery. He was only 25 years old at the time of his death. There is no doubt that this was a racially motivated hate crime. The perpetrators made up some story about Ahmuad fitting the description of a burglar or break-in somewhere in the neighborhood to try justifying their murder of him. They took the law into their own hands under the so-called "citizens arrest" law in Georgia. But Ahmaud committed no crime; other than being black. They pursued him. Followed him. Blocked him from jogging anymore. Murdered him in cold blood for everyone to see. It took some 74 days to pass after Ahmuad's slaughter before there were any arrests made. Disgusting. Disheartening. Painful. Shameful. Sinful. Abhorrent. Foul.
The legacy of America (whether we want to acknowledge it or not) is one in which the earliest settlers from Europe bought, sold and enslaved millions of Africans for some 250 years on this land. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862, African Americans were still not free in this country. They were subject to the horrors of the Jim Crow laws of segregation in the South, the domestic terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings, unequal treatment under the law, and much more. And even though black men were granted the right to vote in 1870, they could not freely exercise that right to vote after the Reconstruction Era (1864-77) ended.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited unequal application of voter registration requirements, and racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations. The following year, we had the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It gave all blacks the universal right to vote without discrimination. Both of these were landmark Civil Rights laws.
In 2008, America elected Barack Hussein Obama (First African American) to the Presidency of the United States for two terms. BUT we clearly still have a long way to go towards racial justice. Laws don't change people's hearts. Only God can change hearts. And as human beings, we must be open to a better way. To God's way.
What does God think about race? How does he feel about discrimination? Does he care? To answer these questions, we must turn our attention to the Holy Scriptures.
In the New Testament of the Bible, Acts 10 presents a powerful turning point in the history of the Church. This is the all-important moment when God brings in the Gentiles (Non-Jews) to what was only a Jewish Church at the time. It is the story of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion (Officer in Charge of 100 Roman Soldiers) of the Italian Regiment. It is a story both of redemption and racial reconciliation.
For centuries, Jews and Gentiles did not like each other. Jews looked down upon Gentiles as "unclean" people. This was because in the Old Testament Scriptures (Tanak), Jews were said to be the People of God. They were the only people and nation on the earth in covenant with the God of the universe. Over time, this caused them to look down on other people. They even had laws that forbade intermixing of Jews and Gentiles. One of Jesus' earliest and most devoted followers (Simon Peter) was a Jew who upheld these restrictions.
He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean" - Acts 10:28
God had given Peter a vision of a sheet let down from heaven with all kinds of animals on the sheet. A voice told him to 'kill and eat,' to which Peter said that he had never eaten anything unclean. For 1,500 years Jews had been instructed to keep 'kosher'. That meant that they could only ingest the food that God had approved of, according to the Torah found in Leviticus 11. But God wasn't talking about food in the vision that he had given to Peter. God wanted Peter to get rid of his old belief system in the superiority of the Jewish people over others and get in alignment with God's love and acceptance for ALL People.
When Peter embraced God's vision and agenda, he came to this conclusion:
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" - Acts 10:34-35
Hallelujah!! That's awesome! But what does it mean? The Greek word for 'nation' is ethnos. That means ethnic or ethnicity. It means that God ACCEPTS EVERY ETHNICITY!! God is NOT a racist, and he does NOT want anyone down here on earth to be a RACIST! As you continue to read the story through the end of the chapter, you will discover that Cornelius and all of his household became disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The commitment of the Church must be found in the Great Commission from the Lord Jesus Christ, who said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20
Let's Love God, and Love ALL People!
REMEMBER .... GOD WANTS YOU!!
