Black lives matter.

The phrase itself sets off a flurry of conversation. Of course black lives matter, because all lives matter.  So, why has this phrase become a phrase when other “lives” don’t have a phrase of their own?

Somehow there is a need to open a conversation that has been locked into sound bites and statistics.  There is a need to prioritize talking about something that takes us beyond what is familiar.  There is a need to look at the assumptions that undergird our understanding.  There is need to listen and trust.

We could talk forever about what got us here- to this point.  But the fact of the matter is that this is the point at which we find ourselves.  And we can’t go forward without setting aside our fear of shame and confusion and the possibility that things could be different.

For those of us who have the privilege of limited and mostly positive assumptions placed upon us, we can open ourselves to listen, allowing ourselves to be influenced and shaped by those to whom we listen.  When I feel myself become defensive, I wonder to myself, How could that have been told to me in a way that I wouldn’t feel defensive?  Often I come to realize that my defensiveness is simply because I don’t want to hear it.

It is God that draws us together in our common humanity for the sake of all humanity.  And for the love of Jesus, we are called to listen to one another and allow our futures to be shaped together.

For the Human Family, BCP p815

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son:  Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.