Daily Devotion – July 2, 2020 – Hannah Papenfuss
Psalm 69
You know the insults I receive,
and my shame and dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
Insults have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
and for comforters, but I found none.
They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
I want to begin this devotion by acknowledging my position in the world as a white, middle-class woman. As such, I hold various conscious and unconscious biases because of my race and class, and I perpetuate these systems of inequality. It is my intent to share to the best of my ability my thoughts on the murder of George Floyd and its aftermath. However, this reflection may be flawed; we must continue to lift up the voices of black and indigenous people of color on this issue.
As individuals, and as a society, we cannot repent for sins we do not name. In that spirit, I would like to address the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent aftermath. I use the word “murder” intentionally here, because even though the legal ramifications of this tragedy are yet to be seen, the devastation communities across the country are facing stems from a pattern of brutality inflicted on black bodies. There has been polarizing debate about the language marginalized people use to express their pain, and while some may never agree on the effectiveness of looting, marching, and property destruction, we need to understand both the protests and the riots as inter-related languages of pain, with different orientations. Peaceful protest seeks to create change from within existing systems. It is what people in power are most comfortable with because it allows us the luxury of turning away from the ugliness. Riots, on the other hand, are explosive; they seek to bring attention to a particular cause by publicly defacing outward representations of oppressive systems. We cannot turn our eyes from flames, after all.
I want to reiterate that while some may never agree with the riots or protests, we must understand their roots. The word forgiveness has been misconstrued over the years to be synonymous with absolution, particularly within Christianity. So, I want to be clear that forgiving should not mean forgetting. We cannot forget the role our religion has played in the preservation of segregation and other, more subtle forms of racism. After all, to be racist in today’s society does not only mean to be intentionally malicious to people of color; it also means to benefit, passively or actively, from biases and belief systems that prioritize white people over others.
Therefore, we must shift our connotation of forgiveness. Instead of attempting to erase the pain of wrongdoing, we must draw from the pain as our fuel to work for a better world. A vital part of that work involves practicing empathy and curiosity. In these divisive times, it is far too easy to build up walls and see the people on the other side as the enemy. While it is not necessary to agree, it is imperative to seek to understand. Please stay curious during these tumultuous times.
Sincerely,
Hannah Papenfuss
