Our Gospel and First Reading this week are about fear.

Jesus says, “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Not being afraid seems like a pretty tall order, especially given the prevalence of police brutality toward African American people. How can Jesus say “do not be afraid” when people are suffering very real fear from those who can kill their bodies, fear from the very people who are sworn to protect all of our bodies? I don’t know, but I trust that Jesus knows what he’s talking about. He was a person of color himself and a religious minority in an occupied country where he was tried unjustly, tortured, and executed by the state. He does know something of that kind of fear.

As a white woman, I can’t speak to that kind of persistent, pervasive fear because it’s not my lived reality. However, there are so many wise and experienced voices who can speak to fear and all that’s happening in our country right now. Part of my call in all of this is to listen to them, listen deeply and openly and without judgement, listen with love, listen with empathy, listen with humility, knowing that I don’t really know much and don’t face these same experiences. As a person of faith it’s essential that I listen and bear witness to others’ realities and then stand with them as best as I can.

If you are a white person who feels like I do and you feel called to incline your ear for a bit, here are some helpful voices to listen to:

• From Daily Shine “How to Create Change with 'Radical Listening'”

• From the NPR podcast Code Switch, “A Decade of Watching Black People Die”

• From Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us: “Brené with Austin Channing Brown on I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness”

• From Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us: “Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist”

• From the New Ways Ministry Blog, featuring Fr. Bryan Massingale, “Harriet Tubman, Pride, and Black Lives Matter: How Far We’ve Come, How Far We Have to Go”

• From the NPR special series America Reckons With Racial Injustice: “’There Is No Neutral’: 'Nice White People' Can Still Be Complicit in a Racist Society”

If you are a person of color, you are of course welcome to give the above resources a listen, and you are also more than welcome to share your own valuable wisdom and experience. Or, you are welcome to just be. I hope you are being loved and supported and taking time for good self-care. There are many holding you in love and prayer.

Blessings, everyone. May our listening lead to compassion and love, and may our actions lead to justice and the strengthening of community.

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP