The Blood Cries Out

“And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!'” Genesis 4:10

Ten miles from where the trial of Derek Chauvin is taking place, Daunte Wright was shot and killed yesterday by police during a traffic stop. Lord, have mercy.

I am currently reading Esau McCaulley’s Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope. Dr. McCaulley does excellent exegetical work exploring the New Testament and a theology of policing. Throughout, he speaks of his respect for police officers, acknowledging the inherent difficulties and challenges of their vocation. But he also speaks of his fear:

Now we come to the heart of it. Black hope for policing is not that complicated. Paul articulates that hope quite plainly in Romans 13:4. We want to live free of fear. When I am pulled over for a traffic stop, I am afraid precisely because the police have been a source of terror in my own life and the lives of my people. This terror trickled down from a national government that often viewed our skin as dangerous (p. 40).

We must acknowledge the sins within the systems in which we live, and the sin without our own hearts, too. We must stop creating a world built upon fear and oppression. We must repent. We are called to do so. The Easter proclamation is one that calls us out of fear. May we follow the risen Christ in creating a world in which fear, especially fear created to perpetuate racism, has no place.

I can think of no good reason for Daunte Wright to be dead today. None whatsoever.

Black Lives Matter.

Be well, friends. You are loved.

God, you are the Lord of life. We continue to deal in the ways of death. Forgive us, and help us to overcome our sin to create a world without fear.

No picture today.