The images coming across my computer and television screens
this weekend are simply horrifying. I would
never have imagined that at this point in our nation’s history, with the gains
that we saw from the Civil Rights movement of the 60s and 70s, after an African
American president served our country brilliantly and effectively for eight
years, that we would retreat back to the dark days of our racist past. And yet, there it was. A band of angry white
men marching in our public streets, wielding clubs and screaming racist and
Anti Semitic epithets and slurs, braced for violent conflict. And violent
conflict is what transpired, as peaceful counter-protesters were mowed down by
a white supremacist terrorist using a car as a weapon. Apparently, our racist past continues to be
our racist present.
I am an Episcopal priest, steeped in the liturgical language
of my tradition, and the images I saw coming out of Charlottesville this
weekend brought to mind a reading from 1 Peter that is part of our night prayer
service, Compline: “Be sober, be
watchful. Your adversary the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” (1 Peter
5:8-9a) The roaring lion of racism is
still all too alive and well in our country, prowling through our body politic
seeking someone to devour. Untold
numbers of African American men and women are devoured by it every day, and it
is only a matter of time before all of us will be food for that roaring lion.
I struggle with these sickening events, drawing upon my Christian
faith for the wisdom I so desperately seek to navigate these critical
times. I also draw strength from my
interfaith colleagues, friends, neighbors and students – Muslims, Jews,
Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahai, Evangelical and Mainline Protestant
Christians, Roman Catholics and many sincere and concerned “spiritual but not
religious” people who care about the future of our nation and our planet. The
Interfaith Chapel at the University of Rochester is committed to creating a
place and space for people of all different creeds, nationalities, religions,
races, and ethnicities to come together to learn about and from one another and
to create a safe and welcoming space where students, faculty and staff can grow
and learn. The events in Charlottesville
this weekend are the antithesis of the values we hold dear as we work
constantly to build bridges, promote understanding and cooperation, and foster
friendship across all lines of difference.
All of the wisdom traditions of the world’s religions call us
to be compassionate, merciful and loving in our approach to the “others” we
meet on our life’s journey. The various
religious traditions may use different terms for it, but all agree that racism
and violence constitute what we Christians call “sin.” And all religious
traditions call us to overcome our own ego centeredness and move towards an
approach to the world that is “other directed” and that acknowledges that we
are all connected. We will flourish or
perish together. Those who seek to
divide and alienate us one from the other are steering us toward our common
destruction. The roaring lion will
devour us all if we do not resist.
Next week the University of Rochester will welcome the Class
of 2021. In that class, international
students make up 32.5% of the whole, and minority students are 18.4% of the
total. We intend to make these students
feel safe and welcome on our campus, and in our country. We want our international students to know that
Charlottesville does not define America, although it certainly represents a
deep and dark shadow of our national psyche.
We want our African American students to feel confident that what
happened in Charlottesville will not be tolerated on our campus or in our
community. As an interfaith community we
stand together to protect those who are vulnerable in this volatile and hostile
time in our nation’s history. We will
not be silent when the roaring lion seeks someone to devour. In our
various faith traditions, we will stand firm, and resist any form of hate
speech or violence. We will continue our
mission to work diligently to create a community that embraces and welcomes
all.
