Our Commitment to Racial Justice
Near the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus prepares the congregation to receive some of his more challenging ethical instructions by telling them that their righteousness/justice must exceed that of the religiously scrupulous if they are to participate in the new thing that God is doing. Jesus calls it the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).
In the aftermath of the police and para-police killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and George Floyd, and in the long shadow of countless additional examples of our society’s sinful disregard for the lives of black, brown, and indigenous people, we do well to interpret Jesus’ eternally confounding words again, for this particular time and place.
It is not enough to avoid flagrant racism and speak publicly about how evil it is. It is not enough to mouth solidarity with our black, brown, and indigenous siblings. Our righteousness/justice ‘must exceed that’ if we are to participate in the new thing that God is doing in Jesus. As individuals and as the church, if we intend to participate in the “Kingdom of heaven”, we must live in ways that actively—not just vocally—counter the racism and white supremacy within ourselves and our society. This means beyond our signals of solidarity, that we would work with the Spirit of God toward the redemption of systems and institutions which fail to serve their 'righteous,’ God-given purposes. We also must examine ourselves and not distance ourselves from our own participation by thinking in terms of systems without being conscious that we are critical components of those systems.
To that end, the staff and board of directors of the Presbyterian Student Center repent of this ministry’s participation in the sin of white supremacy, and of choosing personal comfort over communal justice. We redouble the Presbyterian Student Center’s commitment to proclaiming that Black Lives Matter, and to the active and persistent embodiment of that ideal in our work for racial justice. In addition to flying flags, posting messages of support and solidarity, and hosting trainings to learn about racism, unconscious bias, and anti-racist theory and theology, we further commit to educating ourselves and our students on those structures and institutions endowed with the responsibility of maintaining equity and justice across our campuses, city, state, nation, and world. Whenever and wherever systemic injustices and inequities are identified within these institutions, we further commit to naming, unmasking, and by any faithful means necessary, compelling them to reform and justly repair any harm done to people and communities of people who are made in the image of God. As those who call ourselves ‘people of God’, this is our inescapable mandate: to DO Justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).In the immediacy of the present moment, the PSC commits to the following actions:
Inviting students to participate in peaceful demonstrations for racial justice taking place in Athens, or wherever they may be;
Providing resources for students and staff to educate themselves on anti-racist methodology, and providing opportunities to discuss and employ these methods as a group;
Posting to our official social media accounts in support of particular movements for racial justice, the aims of which are in line with Christian discipleship and mission; and
Encouraging and equipping students to call, write and otherwise engage their government in support of systemic solutions;
We make these specific commitments publicly not for the sake of receiving congratulatory pats on the back from like-minded people, but in the hope and expectation that you—our community of support—will aid us in these efforts, and help hold us accountable to seeing the work through … not for the month, or for a semester, but for the long haul—until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness an unending stream (Amos. 5:24).
Sixty years ago, our forerunners in ministry at the Presbyterian Student Center made a faith commitment to actively and publicly support the heroic students who first integrated the University of Georgia. A number of these students still drop by our building from time to time and share their stories. They are stories of challenge, yes—but finally of enduring joy, which springs forth from the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit beckons us again today—as She did back then—to have faith that it is precisely in a courageous, boundary-defying commitment to justice that we arrive and find ourselves at home in Christ’s New Creation. Only when our commitment to justice exceeds our commitments to respectability and tranquility are we able to truly celebrate what Martin Luther King, Jr. called the beloved community; what Jesus calls the ‘Kingdom of Heaven.’
The Presbyterian Student Center is committed to seeking this ‘Kingdom’ community, and to seeking it on Christ’s terms alone—with a justice exceeding that of the religiously scrupulous. We trust that in so seeking, Christ’s ‘exceeding righteousness’ will multiply to fill and transform the world, praying as we seek:
O God, come quickly to save us. Amen.