I spent the morning reading articles about what happened a few days ago in Charleston, South Carolina.
A 21-year-old white male visited a Bible study at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church, a historic black church. He sat with members of the church for awhile, and then open-fired, killing nine brothers and sisters.
His brothers and sisters.
Oh God, why this racial violence? How could the shooter not see that those sons and daughters bear Your image?
I can only pray, Lord, have mercy.
Open our eyes to see the racial prejudice in our country, in our hearts.
I am making feeble attempts to lament this tragedy. And a friend reminds me to repent as well. So I repent of the racial prejudice that creeps round my heart. It subconsciously lurks, having been fed by a narrative of white privilege. I am still learning how to grapple with this, how to think truthfully, however difficult that truth may be to swallow.
So, today, in honor of my brothers and sisters in the South, I made sweet tea.
(Though, slightly-tweaked from traditional iced tea. This one has green tea, ginger, mint, lemon and honey.)
I sat with the horror of what happened, trying to remember that God is not absent, nor deaf.
I lament this tragedy. I try to understand. I repent. I swallow grace. I pray. And I wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us to eternal life.
