A Word About the Culture

By: Brian Greenfield

The division in our country is on most peoples’ minds. A division that is the total antithesis to the Catholic faith. A division that goes against the Universal mark of the Church. The George Floyd murder opens up fresh wounds and sparks a peculiar sensitivity in others. Racial division and racism, in our country, is something that is continually being dealt with but never remedied.

We have preliminary discussions, in which people hold on to a comfortable narrative, and without much follow-through and much change. People often say that race relations now are better than they were in the past, which is true, but if the standard is not being openly assaulted, killed, or enslaved, then there is no cause for a pat on the back.

The alarming events of the past months have brought to the surface a number of questions in the hearts and minds of everyone. The questions vary from ones of self and personal responsibility to ones about the motives of other groups, and to others about God’s presence in these volatile moments.

I have had numerous friends reach out to me and with pure hearts, asking me how I am processing everything that is going on. Out of all of the discussions and interviews I’ve had, the two questions that I have been asked the most are, “How is this different?” and “How do we move forward?”. These are deep questions with equally deep answers.

I don’t claim to be an expert with exhaustive knowledge about race, or the voice of an entire people, but I am in a unique space. I am a Black, American Catholic, who is also a national speaker. This is not an effort to floss on anyone, it’s just that there are not many of us in this position. This means that my identity is rooted in American Culture.

There is no specific island or country that I can point to as being my heritage or my country, and I have no cultural practices that I trace back to a specific people or region. The “homeland” that I could have a connection to is totally foreign to me and my family. Slavery has directly affected my ancestors, as well as the history of segregation and Jim Crow. Those are the cultural practices that I can look back at, which points to my origin and identity, and the bias and prejudice that persists in that culture affects me and my children.

I am also active in the Church, which is still making efforts to pull in more black Catholics. Most other nationalities, with a common culture, have been able to find community in the church. Black Catholics are still searching. We believe and are striving for holiness, while simultaneously trying to heal from hurtful memories of times, and blurring the lines separating the thinking of the church and thinking of the mainstream culture.

So, the first question is, how is this different? There are many tragedies in George Floyd’s murder. There is the tragedy of oppression and hate. There is the tragedy of witnessing a man act in a manner contrary to the inherent dignity that he was given by God. There is also a separate tragedy that I am experiencing, the tragedy of numbness. I am used to this stuff happening right now, and what happened to George Floyd is kind of par for the course with what we have been forced to witness within the last 10 – 15 years. The humanity of a person being ignored, the dignity of a person being torn down, and the result being the totally avoidable loss of life.

When the culture feeds its people a diet of death, then death will be the end result. When there is a refusal to deal with racism or see it in your thinking, or when change begins to happen, but people try to change the narrative to something more comfortable, there can’t be peace or unity.

Over the years, the church has seen numerous incidents where people were vilified because of their race. In those moments, some people stood up, and while other people searching for facts or proof to validate or invalidate the experiences of the victims. Some people tried to make substantial differences, while the efforts of others were purely cosmetic.

So, How is this different? One main thing that makes this different is Covid. We live in a culture dealing with Covid, and this disease has changed our lives in dramatic ways.
It has slowed us down, rattled our foundations, and taken away distractions. In the past, we would see injustice, Eric Garner, Philando Castille, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, etc... but there was also a task that needed to be completed, money that needed to be made, or a sporting event that needed to be watched.

When we began to think on a deeper level and our hearts would get invested in a cause, “Life” would step in and take our minds somewhere else. This kept us unreflective and docile. Unfortunately, many people benefited from our docility. Now, we have nothing to run to, and we are given the opportunity to think and see on a deeper level. We are having a conversion moment right here and now.

Now, the second question, “how do we move forward?” We need to move forward withempathy and courage. The dilemma is that many people in the church have tried to fitChrist into an already established view of life, instead of having Christ shape their worldview. This is why there is a lack of empathy, and an excessive desire to justify behaviorand just move on. I have heard and read people say that it’s about Christ, not about color.

They don’trealize that if I mention the hurt that I feel, when people look at me differently orbecause they judge me based on my skin color, it is not an effort to cause division andtake people from Christ and His Love. In reality, it is a plea for help and understandingto the people who should be the most eager to help, and the most able and willing toempathize. Every believer agrees that it is all about Christ, but if one part of the bodysuffers, every part suffers with it. If this were an isolated event, and the underlying hatedidn’t consistently reverberate in other areas of life, then it would be easier to receivedon’t focus on race, focus on Christ.

I have been reading and reflecting on Revelation 21:7-8. It speaks about the“cowardly”, and how there are no cowards in heaven. There was a hesitancy that I hadabout writing this because I knew that some people would refuse to understand what Iwas trying to convey. I have witnessed friends get ostracized for sharing their hearts,but if believers don’t speak, then the misdirected will be the dominant voices The church has a unique moment right now where it can shine and bring unity andhope. Clarity is not going to come from celebrities or elected officials, because the Church has the foundation and wisdom to lead. The Church already is, what the culturehas vocalized that it wants to be, united, loving, etc... We have to move in humility,empathy, and courage. We must bring light to illuminate the dark places and to pointpeople to Jesus.