A Reflection on George Floyd
By Alexis Finnell
Another black man is dead.
A knee to the neck, and the last words he can express are – “I. can’t. breathe.”
I bet Jesus thought of him.
A drop of blood-sweat in the garden for this man’s sin and another for the way his sin would be used as a weapon against him. A weapon used in an attempt to justify the lie that his life was not worth preserving.
I can imagine Jesus thought of him as He too struggled to say His last words, dying on the cross that slowly suffocated Him. As He couldn’t breathe, He said, “I thirst.”
And man, does He thirst. For our souls – while we’re weeping at the foot of this cross – and while we decide in which individuals we’d prefer to meet His gaze.
It is hard to see Jesus’ face amidst fear – I admit. But why is this country so afraid of men of this race?
Since the day this nation was built on the backs of slaves, Jesus’ gaze has been loud in the brown faces of those who want to know where their place is. We belong at this table that is meant for every human person, but here human hands have grasped at seats which are now coveted and reserved.
And yet, despite this terrorizing sin, we have a Jesus who sees. And He descends into our misery and meets us in our suffering and where there is noise and outrage and pain – where there are excuses and justifications and shame – where the devil is stirring his chaos and trying to block our ears from hearing His name, Jesus says, “Look at me. Just look at me.”
My name is Alexis, and I have been a missionary for the past two years with Christ in the City in Denver, Colorado on a mission to know, love, and serve the poor. I am known most easily by my laugh, and one of my favorite pastimes is "wasting time" with others in good conversation. It is a special gift for me to get to receive the heart of another person.
This is the first article in what we hope becomes a series that discusses race. If you would like to contribute, please email us at hello@theycw.com. Even if you have only a few sentences to share, whatever color your skin is, we want to hear from you.