The Church, and the Vision of a Church for All Nations
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the Lamb."Revelation 7 v 9
Stephen Lawrence and Racism Today
Just over a week ago marked the thirty third anniversary of the horrific racist murder of Stephen Lawrence on 22 April 1993. Stephen was just eighteen years old when he was brutally attacked and killed whilst waiting at a bus stop in Eltham with his friend Duwayne Brooks. It is sobering to think that Stephen was slaughtered just a few miles from Orpington by a gang who also lived on our doorstep, for no other reason than the colour of his skin. Credit goes to his long-suffering parents, Neville and Doreen, who have campaigned tirelessly to bring their son's murderers to justice as well as exposing systemic failures in our criminal justice system. And in case we are tempted to think these kinds of racist attitudes are a thing of the past, we need only reflect on the repugnant racism directed on social media to the three young black footballers who missed penalties for England in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
It is deeply disturbing to see the increase in anti-semitic attacks over recent years in the UK – the latest one happened in Golders Green the day before I wrote this piece. British Jews cannot and should not be held responsible for the behaviour of Israel. As Christians we worship a Saviour who was and is a Jew.
When the Church Got It Wrong
Racism is surely one of the most irrational yet deep-seated evils lurking in the human heart and the organisational structures of our fallen world. It is a no brainer to say that it ought to have no place in the hearts, minds and structures of those who belong to Jesus, but sadly the evidence tells a different story. In the Book of Acts we read of the first church in Jerusalem which was thriving in the early days after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It was a church on fire. And yet, in Acts 6:1 we see racism at play in this Christian community. The church ran a daily Foodbank which catered especially for widows with no family to look after them. Widows from a Greek language and cultural background were being excluded by the those from a Hebrew language and cultural background, and they had to make a formal complaint to the apostles who put arrangements in place to make sure there was equal access for all. What an indictment that racist behaviour had found a foothold among God's people, and tragically the church has from time to time demonstrated similar racist tendencies in the years since the New Testament. Shamefully the Church of England was complicit in supporting the transatlantic slave trade, one of the darkest evils in human history. And when, centuries later, the descendants of those trafficked into slavery from Africa to the Caribbean came to Britain to answer the call to help rebuild the country after the devastation of World War II, they faced explicit and implicit racism, even in the church. Some of the Windrush generation who were Christians headed to their local parish church only to find a cold shoulder and, in some cases, a typically polite English request not to come back next week! Some of the sad stories shared with me in my former parish by members of that generation and their children made me weep.
A Biblical Vision for All People
The Bible is crystal clear – God created every human being equally in his image; Jesus (who wasn't a blonde-haired, blue-eyed European, but a dark-haired, olive-skinned Middle-Eastern Jew) died and rose again for every human being; the Holy Spirit makes his home in every person who submits to Jesus; and heaven will be populated with people from every nation, tribe, people and language. Hallelujah!
So, racism is a sin, plain and simple, whether it shows itself blatantly or hides in the kind of unconscious bias that is so prevalent if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Our Vision at Christ Church Orpington
One of the joys of my life over the 30+ years I have been in ministry has been to lead a number parishes where I have served on a transformative journey to become more demographically reflective of their wider community and more intentional in embracing and celebrating ethnic and cultural diversity in the church. Part of my vision for Christ Church is that we do the same, becoming more and more a church for all nations and of all nations, where everyone genuinely feels at home and able to fully participate, whatever their skin colour, culture, food, language or dress, and where we are enriched by each other's heritage, united in our common love for Jesus and each other.
Looking Forward in Hope
We do this, conscious of our own personal failings in this area, and longing for the return of Jesus when racism will be consigned to the bin of history, along with every other evil, and the glorious words of Revelation 22:2-3, describing the New Jerusalem, will finally be a reality:
"On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse!"
Speed the day, Lord!
Blessings,
Rev Rob
