Reflections on Ferguson and Faith

Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, author of the book Ferguson and Faith, will speak at St. Mark Presbyterian Church Wednesday evening, May 18, 6:00. The stories - the interviews – that she tells us in her book are mostly from our St. Louis people who profess and practice faith in God and who are black. Their personal life experiences can cause them to develop different sensitivities and perspectives than are mine, as a female white Christian middle class suburban person. Perhaps my attendance at this event will help me better understand the feelings and perspectives of people, who are also of good will, but who might see societal problems differently than I.

As Paul writes in I Corinthians 12, the body of Christ has many parts, yet all belong to that one body. Paul reiterates that each part (or member) of the body is to be respected for being different. I believe that the Body of Christ is made up of peoples of various colors. For a body to work efficiently and effectively, each part needs to acknowledge that the other has its own sensitivities and perspectives stemming from experiences that bring different challenges to living life well.

Eyes and hands have different ‘lived experiences’ yet can coordinate together to juggle balls. Neither the eye nor can the hand can dictate how to juggle. Neither can do it alone. They have to work together. Balls will be dropped many times before there is rhythm and achievement. If eyes get so frustrated with the hands (and vice versa) and decide to quit before allowing enough time to figure out juggling, success will never be enjoyed. Parts of the body need to pay attention to each other before there can be coordination. The eye or hand cannot know how the other operates (feels) unless there is awareness of the differences and share that perspective. Each part has to ‘trust’ – take a risk – step out of the shadows, allow light to shine on ourselves in order to illuminate what is keeping us from working together.

Letting the light shine is a risk because it may reveal some ugliness. And who wants to look at ugliness, especially in ourselves?! We want to avert our eyes, avoid, maybe deny, the ugliness. But allowing the light to shine, not just on what is good and pleasing, but on the ugliness of despair and suffering may help us to do transformational work. When the hard work brings about beauty, we will all be delighted that the light is shining brightly.

How do we go about seeking the will of God and finding the Kingdom of God in this world of racial turmoil? Do we need to step into the light that reveals good, bad, ugly, and discomfort in all of us – brown, white, black folks alike? I believe that we may have to do just that, as part of the process of finding beauty and peace in this racially complex Body of Christ. We have to look and listen to each other together. We have to feel our own hurts, aspirations, and see our own ugliness. We have to listen to the hurts and aspirations of others to become compassionate. We need to do all this work before we can produce constructive critique and heal. We need to persevere. We need to try to share and understand over and over. Only with practice will we can get better at ‘eye/hand’ coordination and become a stronger Body of Christ, emoting the light of love and goodness.

“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is – what is good and pleasing and mature.” Romans 12:2 (Common English Bible version)

Hope you will be there Wednesday, May 18, 6:00p.m., St. Mark Presbyterian Church, Ballwin, MO. Speaker Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, author of Ferguson and Faith. For more information, click here.

Written by Victoria Sherman