The Lost Sheep: The Lives of Our Black Brothers and Sisters Matter
I came across a Facebook post of a friend who shared a post that compared the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15: 1-7). Here's what it said:
If you are a Christian, and can't hear #BlackLivesMatter without feeling the need to respond to criticism that "All Live Matter." [sic] then crack open your Bible and hit up Luke 15.
Don't have it handy? Let me summarize.
There are 100 sheep, but one goes missing. Jesus leaves the 99 and goes after the one.
The 99: "But... what about us? Don't we matter?"
Of course the 99 still matter, but they're not the ones in danger.
The one is.
I'll say it again, #BlackLivesMatter.
My initial gut reaction was to "Like" the post and move on because an argument like that makes sense on the surface. He didn't like people using the "All Lives Matter" argument to diminish the core issue of the BLM movement. I believe many of our Christian brothers and sisters need to open their eyes to the arguments being presented with this movement. I did some more reflection, re-read the actual parable, did some of my own research, and spoke with our Subject Matter Expert, Camilla. Let's review the full scripture, shall we?
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:1-7 (NABRE)
A Christian's first thoughts would likely be - well, Jesus was talking about sinners, not about racial inequality. To that, I say - yes, true. But let's open our minds a little bit and see what the intent of the original post likely was: to get Christians to really think about how we, as followers of Jesus, should be thinking about the BLM movement. Along with that, he wanted Christians to stop using the "All Lives Matter" moniker. Let's not quickly brush off the argument just because he did a poor job with his summary of the parable and made a bad comparison.
We know that Jesus spent a lot of His time with sinners and administering to the needy (the poor, the lame, the blind, the disabled, etc.). He wouldn't always stay with the healthy crowds of people who wanted to hear what He had to say. He didn't stick with administering to the large crowds and only teach them throughout His public ministry. Sometimes He showed His Apostles and the crowds His mercy by helping the meek who sought Him out. I'm sure He sometimes left those large crowds to help those who were in need.
So the crux of the original argument seems to be this: We shouldn't say "all lives matter" simply because we think the BLM movement diminishes the importance of everyone else. We should recognize that there is a real need to help those who have gotten the short end of the stick far too often. Personally, I think the statement of "All Lives Matter" is a bad rebuttal to the Black Lives Matter movement's original wishes of bringing national attention to the issues our black brothers and sisters have faced in the past, and continue to face, each and every single day. After all, if we (as Catholics) ever said "all lives matter" when talking about the lives of aborted unborn babies, we wouldn't really be making any headway in the argument that abortion is wrong, would we?
The bottom line is this: regardless of who is supporting the movement and their personal agendas, let's not forget the original intent of the message. I believe Jesus would have chosen to leave the flock to go find and bring home the lost sheep - to help it if it were in danger. Of course all lives matter, but we have gone too long turning a blind eye to the needs of those who have been fighting a battle against the systems that hold them back.
If you don't think there is some level of racial inequality in the United States, then we ask that you open your eyes. We are trying to plant seeds of thought to open up discussions. We don't ask for you to accept what we've said immediately. We ask that you consider opening your minds, do some self reflection, and recognize any unconscious biases that may prevent you from seeing the merit of the BLM movement. Not every part of the BLM movement and not every person active in it has a good agenda, but with all things in this world, we need to try to see the good in everything and find out where we can help.
Yours, Khang
With the help of the Editor in Chief, Camilla
P.S. I will be the first to admit that I have biases. They were often taught to me when I was younger and it's hard to break away from them. I recognize that they are wrong. I can admit I was wrong; I have since changed my mind. I used to think that having friends of all races means I didn't have unconscious negative biases toward any race, but I was wrong about that, too. I'm still in the process of change.