A reflection on the 7th annual Kingdom Justice Summit.

By Dani Postma
Master of Divinity Student and Young Adult Ministry Scholar at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary

I will be honest with you; it has taken me two weeks to write this reflection, and I am actually very grateful that it did. 

My experience at the 2021 Kingdom Justice Summit was a holy one. I have been journaling about the experience, trying to respect the raw emotions of that day while prayerfully discerning what God is revealing through them. But every time I tried to write a cohesive reflection I found myself battling against the fear that whatever I wrote would not be good enough. Others have summarized the events of the day so well already, provided beautiful reflections about their experiences and points of tangible action to move closer to justice. Of what value is my reflection? 

But through the journaling and prayer of the past week I came to realize that this fear was the voice of my privilege, and certainly not what I should be listening to. Privilege comes in many forms, but I recognize this voice as that of white privilege. It was resisting the discomfort of vulnerability, restoring the blinders to release me from personal responsibility. Once I was able to recognize and name this, I began to realize that since attending the Kingdom Justice Summit I have felt the Voice of Truth whispering Luke 12:48b to me each day.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” 

All of God’s children have been given much, regardless of race or economic status. It is becoming apparent to me, however, that our brothers and sisters of color are living fully into what is demanded of them while those of us who are white have excused ourselves from that portion of kingdom work.

God placed me in a white, female body in a time and place in which I am able to participate fully in society without fear of persecution, safely raise and provide for my children in a stable family setting, and to learn within and grow amongst a robustly diverse community. I have truly been given and entrusted with much, but not so that I can sit comfortably on the sidelines enjoying the work of those who came before me while others continue to suffer. That is not the life of justice I am called to as a follower of Christ, and the voices that God spoke through at the Kingdom Justice Summit reminded me of that loud and clear. 

The ease with which my white privilege began to blind me again is troubling, and I imagine that I am not the only Kingdom Justice Summit attendee experiencing this encroachment. That is why I am grateful for my slow writing progress. It would have been so much easier for me to write about all that I had experienced and move on thinking my work was finished and that I had done what I could. My privilege would have slid back up unchecked, and I would have missed the point entirely. 

So, is the point that my unique reflection is so valuable that it must be shared? Absolutely not. The point is that I am not excused from this ongoing conversation, this ongoing lament, or the difficult parts of justice work. None of us are. Reverend Dr. Alexander Gee mentioned during the Q & A time that the broader church must lament our own history and pain before we can lament the pain of others, especially that of our brothers and sisters of color. The church has so much lamenting yet to do, as do I.

But as the Kingdom Justice Summit reminded us so well, it is through lament that we find hope for both the oppressed and the oppressor. 

“Church, when you hear my laments I am hoping you will be anything but the cause for it.”

Matthew Charles
"Eating Habits"

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