Today’s Scripture Reading (September
11, 2015): Leviticus 27
A recent
opinion article declared that “All Lives Matter” equals White Supremacy. The
article goes on to challenge the reader to do the math – and the author states
that in American politics all has never meant everyone. And while I see the reasoning
behind the argument, I still feel that there is cultural shame heaped on us
when we need to make statements like “Black Lives Matter.” The fact that “Black
Lives Matter” should be ingrained in us so that our cultural response is
amazement that some may not think that that is true. A few weeks ago I was
speaking in front of my congregation and I outlined my vision for the church
that I pastor. My dream is that we will experience a time when Black, White,
Yellow, Red and Olive are colors that painter use on their canvasses, because
we simply refuse to see them as dividing lines in our society. In making that
statement, I am not trying to put down any culture – I love the idea of a
cultural mosaic. But we must stop seeing one race as being better than any of
the others.
The opinion
article, written by Sean Eversley Bradwell, quotes Talib Kweli who recently told
an audience that “All lives will matter when Black Lives Matter.” But the
problem is that this is patently untrue. At best, “Black Lives Matter” moves
the Double Standard somewhere else. Our culture does not feature just a
Black/White rift, although that might be the most prominent one at this moment
in time. But illegal immigration - and no, I am not talking about Canadians
sneaking over the American Border – has revealed another cultural rift. Latinos
also suffer in a White dominated society – but “Latino Lives Matter.” Where I
live, north of the American-Canadian Border, the major dividing line is neither
Black nor Latino, it is Native American. Native Americans suffer under an
unfair burden in the culture in which I live. Their spirituality is maligned
along with their character traits. But “Native American Lives Matter.” I would
also like to argue that “White Lives Matter.” Every time I get to hold one of
my grandchildren I am reminded of the incredible value of every life – and Mr.
Bradwell, I mean every life. We do not need to move the double standard
somewhere else – we must erase it. “Black Lives Matter” does not erase the
double standard – it just moves it somewhere else.
Leviticus
winds down with this thought – anyone devoted (that is, anyone who the law has
convicted and stands guilty of a capital offense) must be put to death. There
is no penalty that they can pay to buy themselves back. There can be no double
standard. Being rich or being a Jew does not get you less punishment. And being
poor or a foreigner does not get you more. Those who are accused and convicted
must die. There is to be not even the appearance of a double standard at work
here.
And this is
not good for any of us, because the Bible also says clearly that we all stand
condemned. There is no way out. Death is what it is that we have earned – all of
us, and by that I mean everyone. However, as Christian we believe that Jesus
has taken that penalty on to himself – not just for some, but for all (meaning
every person.) Christianity has fallen, at times, into the double standard, but
when it does – it fails.
The Apostle Paul
describes it this way - You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly. Very
rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone
might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8). The
price has been paid, not just for the few, but the many – in fact, the all
(meaning everyone.) It was paid by a man of olive skin for those of all colors
and cultures – because “All Lives Matter” – or, if you like, because “Every
Life Matters.”
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers
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