Neutrality is Not an Option

I can’t get the shooting of Daunte Wright off my mind.  It is heart-breaking, horrific and hard to comprehend.  Events such as this have been happening with far too much regularity.  There is no excuse for complacency or shrugging our shoulders and saying, “Some things will never change.”  Friends, it’s time for change.  When it comes to the killing of people of color in our country, it is high time for change.  Police killings of unarmed Black men have been happening with such frequency and for so long that it now is one of the leading causes of death, with 1 in every 1000 young Black men killed by police officers in this country.  As people of faith, we dare not sit back as though there’s nothing we can do.  Raising our voices and actions calling for justice is precisely what is needed.  
 
Some might say that as Christians we shouldn’t get involved in political issues, but this is not simply a political issue – it is a moral and societal issue and our faith has something to say about it.
 

“Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you.”    

Hebrews 13:1-3

There will be no easy solutions going forward, but I believe more than ever that a good starting point is compassion - compassionate, Christ-like caring that dares to walk alongside those who suffer offering respect and a hand of support. We need to look into the eyes of others and love others - especially those who do not look like us and who experience a world totally different than our own.  This means taking the time and having the concern to explore actual human stories beyond today’s headlines.  It means looking into the faces of victims and seeing their individuality and character, not their shortcomings.  It means demanding justice as if we were their own family and friends.  Isn’t that what being part of God’s family is?  Imagine how you would feel if what happened to Daunte Wright happened to one of your children or grandchildren.  When it comes right down to it, that’s the thing I just can’t get out of my mind.

 
Longing for Compassion and Change,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister