The Trauma Remains

Matthew 24:29 – “Immediately after the persecutions of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light; the stars will fall out of the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;”

Jesus is describing the beginning of judgment day, the day of the Lord. It will not be a day to look forward to according to Jesus and the prophets he quotes here, but rather a time of terror. To see these things happening would be terrifying, especially after persecution. The sun, moon and stars represent stability and consistency. Jesus is describing a world gone amuck. In fact, he could be describing depression; the feeling that the world has gone dark and that nothing makes sense or matters. Note that it comes after the persecution described in the previous verses. Anyone would have depression, mental instability, or PTSD after surviving what Jesus describes.

So it will be with all those who are oppressed, persecuted, caged, targeted, survived gun violence; they will be changed. Many will suffer after effects. The trauma isn’t over when the persecution stops. This adds to the viciousness of separating families, caging adults and children in unhealthy conditions, letting police shoot Black people with impunity, doing absolutely nothing to curb gun violence, letting Donald tweet out his racism so others can act on it. The trauma remains. In fact, while targeted groups have it worse, there is a lot of trauma in the US and around the world right now.

When freedom comes, the trauma remains until it is dealt with. We don’t always know about the trauma others are dealing with. Let’s keep those points in mind as we work to end these injustices.

B