HAL BRADY: Where we as a people stand

There comes a time in life when the thing we do and the word we speak matters little, but the place we stand matters much. Relating to the recent Grand Jury decision and the people’s response in Ferguson, Missouri, and around the nation, I write this article concerning the place we stand in a tragedy.

TO STAND IN THE SHARING OF PAIN: Most certainly our hearts have been saddened by the tragic death of Michael Brown, and we want to extend our sympathy to the Brown family, their friends and our fellow citizens. It may not seem so, but your pain is our pain. Your sense of justice is our sense of justice. And your hope that something like this will never happen again is also our hope.

The late Henri Nouwen says that when he reflects on his own life, he realizes that the moments of greatest comfort and consolation were moments when someone said, “I cannot take your pain away … but I can promise you that I won’t leave you alone …”

TO STAND TOGETHER: The issues before us are not black issues or white issues or any other color. They are human issues — issues of dignity, respect, justice, freedom , equal rights, the betterment of all, unity and above all, mercy.

William Sloane Coffin in his book ” Living the Truth in a World of Illusions” said that “God has made of one blood all the peoples of the earth. Black, white, yellow, red, bright and not so bright, starved and stuffed from nations (cities) large and small, whatever our creed, we all belong to one another. That’s the way God made us.”

And so we will keep on talking about inter-dependence rather than independence, inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness, community rather than privatism, and co-operation rather than non-involvement.

The old slogan is correct when it says, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

TO STAND TOGETHER OVER THE LONG HAUL: The issues of this nation are serious and will not go away overnight or even necessarily when the investigations and demonstrations are completed. If any possible good can come out of this tragedy before us it will be in a renewed commitment on the part of all of us as citizens to improve the lot of all citizens—our brothers and sisters. And this renewed commitment will include expanding the table and welcoming more people to the discussion. It will include listening carefully to those who differ and putting aside all stereotyping. It will include getting beyond the generalities and accusations to the specifics in our efforts. It will include not only dealing with the criminal justice system but other issues as well such as education, jobs, poverty, homelessness, drugs and complacency. It will include all communities committing more of our resources both human and financial. And it will include greater co-operation with all organizations committed to that end.

Finally …

TO STAND TOGETHER AS GOD’S FAMILY IN PRAYER: It is said that we have three choices when we face an impossibility. We can be intimated, frustrated, or motivated. It is our hope, my hope, that we in this nation will be motivated—motivated to pray for one another; to pray for the Brown family; to pray for our law enforcement officials, including the Wilson family; to pray for the business owners who suffered the loss of their businesses, to pray for divine guidance for a lasting solution to the specific issues of justice and injustice before us. It is also my hope that we as a nation will be motivated to work together and address God’s greater enterprise which is always peace with justice and reconciliation.

As I said, there comes a time in life when the thing we do and the word we say matters little, but the place we stand matters much. This article is about our standing and working together for the betterment of all.

The Rev. Hal Brady is an ordained United Methodist minister and executive director of Hal Brady Ministries, based in Atlanta. He can be seen at 8 p.m. Thursdays on the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasting TV channel.