Skip to main content

A Response to “Our Souls Cry Out” by Lukeythia Bastardi

Dear Tiffanie,

One thing I want you (and others reading) to be sure to understand, and to hear as you read this, is that "you" also equals "yours," as in the entire AAPI Diaspora. One, among many wonderful shared cultural mores between Black and Asian people, is that we are a collective people. We use singular and plural personal pronouns interchangeably. That is how it ought to be as followers of Jesus, together adopted into his family, together sharing in his inheritance, and together breaking bread. You bring the chop sticks, I'll bring the hot sauce.

My soul is (again) groaning, all the while knowing,
That a change is gonna come. It will be missed by some.
That "already to the not yet" time will be done.
(That simple promise has kept my people from coming undone.)
Our Lord Jesus will see to it,
That your enemies (who because they are yours are also my enemies)
Will get what He sees fit.

Sister Chan, please know that you can
Come sit at my table (lowered and sitting on pillows if you like),
Knowing that God is able (in all of His might)
To make a good meal out of Wonton Soup with a side of Collard Greens.
(We could invite Julie - she'll bring the yummy Korean Kimchi.)
I'll put on some gospel music that puts words to your woes,
While I pray God be your shield from your head to your toes.
We could lean on each other, like a beloved sister or brother.
You could share your history, allowing me to better see,
How the Lord God might be calling me,
To care for you, cover you, and protect you if need be.

I hope to bear your burden just as you've carried mine.
We will be unstoppable when our Holy Ghost Wonder Twin Powers combine.
Together we'll run this race and cross the finish line.
There is no White supremacy or "Christian" Nationalist Neo-Nazi, gun-toting wanna-be
That can separate your people and mine or come between you and me.
Bound by His blood, Sisters we will always be.
The battle is real and those who harm your people will reap what they sow.
Let our prayer be for them that they'd be in the know,
And receive the gift of salvation with "Heaven-Bound" on the bow.

I hear you (and the AAPI community) crying,
See on IG your vulnerable elders dying and your young people sighing.
I see you, Tiffanie.
Treasured and strong as real fine bone china is,
The Master Clay Shaper has marked you as His.
It is just so amazing to look at your face,
Enjoying the beautiful truth that by God's grace,
We're both made in His image despite the difference in our race.

Sister Chan, Dear One, I hope that you know,
One meaning of your name has been translated as "Snow."
Snow as in "whiter than snow," having been washed in Christ's red blood,
Both of us having been formed in the very same mud.
That blood has power that it will never lose,
And it is available to us if trusting Christ is what we choose.
With God on our side, it's impossible to lose.
I don't know if you hear it, I'm hoping that you do,
But what I'm trying to say is that I love you.

Your pain is mine too.
I am my sister's keeper.
The Battle is won.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The ARC of Racial Justice - a Reflection and Exhortation from Pastor Matt Lorish

Here we are again. The video footage of Ahmaud Arbery is all over social media. It is a time for lament and a time for righteous anger. I write this blog post as a continuation to the initial posts offered by Northside Church members. My aim in this post is to help my fellow white brothers and sisters think about where we go from here. At the close of Jemar Tisby’s book, The Color of Compromise , he introduces a framework that he calls the A.R.C. of racial justice. Using Jemar’s framework, I’d like to humbly offer some application points that I think are important for me and my fellow white sisters and brothers at Northside Church to move towards. I also write this as a Christian pastor. Christians of all ethnicities are Bible people. The end-game for us isn’t just racial justice. The end-game for us is conformity to Jesus and honoring Him. Racial injustice is one of the areas in which we need God’s Spirit to change us, grow us and conform us (Rom 12:2, 2 Cor 3:18). My prayer is

What is This? - A reflection by Christine Bor

“What is this?”, I demand, frustrated that God would allow this. “What is this?”, I cry, in anguish that God would allow this. “What is this?”, I sigh, exhausted that God would allow this. What is this thing that disrupts me from my day, my life, my comfort, my routine? What is this thing that once again disproportionately affects marginalized communities who have experienced the systemic oppression of food and housing insecurity and healthcare inequality for centuries? What is this thing that exposes and highlights the compounding of racial disparities and blatant prejudices? Manna is manhu, which in Hebrew translates to “What is this.” It’s an honest and brutal question. The Israelites were starving in the desert and when God gave them something to eat, they had the audacity to ask, “What is this?” But here I see the same audacity creep into my heart, my thoughts, my prayers. I question everything He places in my life and instead question, “What is this? How dare you

His face was set for Jerusalem, so we can choose suffering too

My heart was arrested and blessed as I received my sister's prayer request this morning and saw her covered-up body (but sure-can't-cover-it-up glory). As is so often the case, she reminded me of our veiled-in-flesh Jesus. When she set out for Stanford, I wonder how excited those were who knew her. I wonder if they imagined how she might use that crown. What fame, what riches, what glory might follow. As He set out for Jerusalem, I wonder how excited those were who knew him. I wonder if they imagined how He might use that crown. What fame, what riches, what glory might follow. It was no mistake that He found Himself in Jerusalem. His face was set for it. To pay the penalty for our sins, to die while rescuing. He knew all along why he was going and what it would cost him. But we were worth it to Him. It was no mistake that she found herself with Covid patients today. Her face was set for it. Because He did what He did for her, she can risk while rescuing. S