Witness

Witness

A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.

KENDRA AND ELLE LED THE WAY, hand in hand, taking us toward the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis. I was the caboose, making sure we didn’t lose anyone. Our field trip that sunny midweek morning consisted of two moms and five kids, and my heart ached as we passed by boarded-up businesses damaged by riots three days before, barricaded streets, and homes with signs in their front yards: We Can’t Breathe.

Drawing near to the spot where a black man, handcuffed and unresisting, had been unjustifiably killed by a white officer kneeling on his neck, the collective grief was palpable. Those present were silent and contemplative, moving around one another carefully and slowly. It was a wake, but instead of being in a funeral home, it was open air and blocks long. Murals and poetry covered the plywood on windows and the asphalt beneath our feet. The smell of flowers filled the air from hundreds of bouquets laid out and wilting beneath the sun.

We were there to feel the anger and grief, to hear the rallying of a community as citizens cleaned up streets, to see local churches buzzing with activity as people distributed donated supplies to those who needed help. We were there to bear witness.

Being a witness is a sacred task. It requires those who see, hear, smell, taste, and touch to report accurately to those who were not there. Without witnesses, justice is elusive. We are commanded to seek justice, and in order to do that, we must be willing to look unflinchingly into the face of evil and speak up, with no agenda and with nothing in it for ourselves. Police brutality is evil. Systemic racism baked into our legal system is evil. Pretending that everything is okay in this country when an entire people group, many of whom are brothers and sisters in Christ, is telling us otherwise is evil.

Lord, forgive us our obliviousness to injustice in our communities and neighborhoods. Open our eyes and ears, that we might bear witness to injustice—in any form—occurring in our vicinity. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Look for injustice in your community. Bear witness to the evil underlying the injustice —whether that involves being physically present at a location, doing research, or something else. Prayerfully ask God what action he would have you take.