It sounds eerily similar to the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he stated; “We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know we will win, but I have come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house.”

When you visit places like this, the reality of how the deep sin of racism has shaped everything sinks in. There’s something significant that only the Holy Spirit can do in you as you look at the evil of racism directly in its face. I’ll never forget what Cecil, my friend who’s black that went on the trip with us said to me on the van ride home as I sat in shock at what I had experienced. He looked at me and said, “I think you now get it.” By the grace of God I got the pain that he was in. I got the context of his past history.

May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May your new humanity invade our world here and now as you reconcile your church across color, class and culture. May we capture your heart for righteousness and justice here and now as you reconcile as back to you and to each other.

We are a part of this system that did this, particularly the white majority culture. Like pollution, we have inherited something. None of us caused pollution, but we are affected by it by what happened before. We now know that trauma carries over generations and those of us from the majority white culture have to enter into this trauma.