Jesus\u2019 resurrection three days after his crucifixion shows that neither the lynching tree nor the cross have the final say about those whom God values. The state thought that violence could stop God\u2019s purposes. For the Christian, the resurrection makes clear the futility of the attempt. Further, Jesus\u2019 profound act of forgiving his opponents provides me with the theological resources to hope.<\/p>\n
Dare we speak of hope when chants of \u201cI can\u2019t breathe\u201d echo in the streets? Do we risk the criticism commonly levied at Christians that we move too quickly to hope because faith pacifies? Resurrection hope doesn\u2019t remove the Christian from the struggle for justice. It empties the state\u2019s greatest weapon \u2014 the fear of death \u2014 of its power.<\/p>\n
Hope is possible if we recognize that it does not rule out justice. It is what separates justice from vengeance. Howard Thurman wrote in his classic work \u201cJesus and the Disinherited\u201d about how rage, once unleashed, tends to spill out beyond its intended target and consume everything. The hatred of our enemy that we take to the streets returns with us to our friendships, marriages and communities. It damages our own souls.<\/p>\n
Christians contend for justice because we care about black lives, families and communities. We contend for reconciliation after the establishment of justice because there must be a future that is more than mutual contempt and suspicion. But justice and reconciliation cannot come at the cost of black lives. The only peaceful future is a just future. And because Christians should be a people for peace, we must be a people for justice even when it seems ever to elude us. Too many black lives have been lost to accept anything else.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n This was not easy to write. I tried to speak as honestly as I could in @nytimes<\/a> about Black Anger and a theology of hope.https:\/\/t.co\/eeGrjbRvDN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Esau McCaulley Ph.D (@esaumccaulley) June 14, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n