By Sean Roberds, Executive Coordinator, Mid-Atlantic CBF, Herndon, Virginia
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the one who knew no sin
to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NRSVUE
“Look, new things have come into being!” Paul writes to the Corinthians. Pay attention, Paul commands. New things are breaking forth from old structures, and you don’t want to miss it.
Not far from where I live, you can still see the remains of an old segregation wall in Arlington, Virginia—a wall built to divide the community, to keep Black people from white people. I went to see it one day and, to my surprise, it didn’t look as old as I thought it would. I guess our ugly past isn’t as distant as we would like to believe. The wall is old because its purpose belongs in the past. The old structures and sinful ways in which we try to order our lives are passing away, and something new is breaking forth!
A few years ago, a storm washed a large section of the wall away. (I guess it was built on sinking sand.) All walls of injustice are built on fleeting foundations! They will fall and something new will break forth.
I know the past is painful and much closer than we like to admit; but there is something new at work—even now! Our hope is not in forgetting the past, but in seeing through the past to the new creation God is forging out of the rubble of old structures. New communities are being formed where old walls once separated. More churches are speaking up about the racial injustices they see, even within themselves. Last year, the Lenten devotional was one of the most downloaded resources in CBF’s history. Look! New things have come into being.
Where do you see God’s newness forming out of yesterday’s broken systems? How might God be calling you to be an ambassador of Christ who makes all things new?
JUSTICE NOTE
The Arlington Segregation Wall stands as a stark reminder of America’s not-so-distant past, where racial division was intentionally built into communities. Structures like this, both physical Note and systemic, represent the legacy of racial injustice that continues to affect society today. As we confront these remnants of segregation, we are called to work for a new reality—one rooted in justice, equality and reconciliation. May these images serve as a visual testimony to the persistence of injustice and inspire us to be part of the transformation toward a more inclusive and equitable future
Learn more:
www.arlingtonmagazine.com/once-there-was-a-segregation-wall-in-arlington/ www.stayarlington.com/directory/halls-hill-segregation-wall/
