I will not presume or pretend to understand the plight of black Americans. I know that I cannot imagine the strain of living in such dangerous times, wondering day in and day out if you will run into someone who thinks your life is not as valuable as theirs. As a parent, I sorrow with those parents in the black community who sit up anxiously waiting for their young ones to return home, only to go through the same thing tomorrow. And I am willing to listen and learn and sit with them in their anxiety and stress.
And I don’t really understand the rioting and looting going on right now. But because my experience is so different, I don’t really feel that I have the right to pass judgement on a group of people who have been put down and mistreated for so long. Yes, there are people who are using this opportunity to cause destruction just for the sake of it, and they must not be allowed to distract from the important work to be done. But, when you have lived at the mercy of a rigged system for so long, maybe this is what happens when the anger reaches a boiling point. And being quiet and polite was not getting anywhere.
But, for those who think that the destruction invalidates the protest, let me offer something to think about. In Matthew 21, we read of Jesus going into the temple and turning over the tables of the money changers and other merchants. Why would he do this?
The temple was the center of religious life, and it was to be open for worshippers, but the area that was open to all was crowded with those trying to make a buck or two from the pilgrims who had come to pray. The system of the temple spelled out the appropriate sacrifices that people needed to make, and some enterprising merchants were only too happy to provide animals for the sacrifices, at a profit of course. Oh, and they only took local currency, so if you travelled to Jerusalem for this, you would need to change out your money with a different merchant, at a profit of course.
The system, that was supposed to be open to all and to facilitate worship, that should have been life-giving and life-supporting, had been turned into a money-making scheme that took advantage of those with less connections and resources. Sound familiar?
I am not saying that these things are completely equal, but I am saying that there is some precedent for attacking unfair systems, and even for breaking some furniture along the way. Makes me wonder how Jesus would respond to this system. Maybe he is watching those who claim to be his and wondering the same thing.