Blood

Matthew 23:35 – “That upon you shall come all the blood of the righteous shed upon the earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of the righteous Zachariah, son of Barachiah, who you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.”

This will come as a result of the scribes and Pharisees killing, scourging, and crucifying the prophets sent in their time, including Jesus. They’ll be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets, which will keep them in their place of misery.

I’ve been reading “For Your Own Good,” a book discussing German child-rearing practices and the trauma they induced. Those same techniques were and are prevalent in the US. The author, Alice Miller, makes a point that I agree with – in order to move ahead in our inner lives, we must first make peace with our history, our past. In the book, of course, it was the trauma caused by the parents, but in real life, there could be any number of things we must get past.

This was true in my life. For years, I unconsciously tried to change my past into a different one. (Spoiler alert: this doesn’t work.) When I became aware of this, I was able, with great difficulty to face what happened and move on. Without that, I would still be floundering. Reconciliation required facing and accepting the truth. It was painful, which is why denial is so popular. We tend to put off such painful and difficult endeavors, sometimes permanently.

I think the same is true of communities and nations. Peace circles are popping up in some cities to try and address this truth. Rather than turning an offender over to the police, community leaders talk with and listen to the person. That second piece is key. Rather than punitive justice, the goal is restorative justice. We need to listen to those who are caught hurting others in order to understand the entire picture. When the offender understands their offense, the community is brought together to discuss appropriate amends. The rift will be repaired. When the amends are made, the offender is welcomed back into the community. This process is intense and requires honesty and trust. But, it results in stronger, healthier communities. (I may have some details wrong.)

Of course, nations are too big for such a process. However, peace and harmony are not achieved by pretending slavery wasn’t that bad. Rather, they are achieved by recognizing the evil that was done and coming up with appropriate amends, reparations in the manner of the peace circles. But first, we must all agree on the facts. The US is not a country that agrees on the facts, so our challenge is education. Reforming education in elementary schools so that we no longer pretend that slavery is ever justifiable. Making certain that we teach everyone the awful truth of what our leaders have done and are still doing to those they deem unworthy; Black people, Hispanic people, poor people, disabled people, women, LGBTQ people. Only when we as a country can face the truth, can we heal the rift created by our long denial.

Until then, we will continue to shed the blood of gun-violence victims, people dying for lack of insurance, modern-day lynchings of Black people by the police, traumatized refugee families, mistreated and suicidal of LGBTQ people, harassed Muslims, disabled people who are left to fend for themselves, and all those experiencing poverty, homelessness, and/or hunger. Their blood will be on our hands. Only by facing, accepting, and making amends for our wrongs, can we move forward together as communities and as a country.