I never met Breonna Taylor, but I know her. Every urban pastor knows a Breonna. She was a young woman trying to live her best life with the cards she was dealt. The product of a teenage mother and incarcerated father, she refused to become a statistic. She was a certified E.M.T. with dreams of obtaining a nursing degree. She had no personal history with the criminal justice system but fell in love with someone who did. It was her boyfriend’s suspected drug dealing that led police officers to her apartment that fateful night, tragically ending her life prematurely.
So now we have yet another urban Black woman who is a symbolic vehicle for the priorities of others. Politicians rage and talk show hosts opinionate, activists march, entertainers cry foul, and athletes #SayHerName in their post-game interviews. No matter what position you take concerning the legitimacy of the Louisville police officers’ actions, Breonna was not supposed to die that night. Every indication is she was an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. And now everybody is angry.
Many are angry because of fear. Like I’ve known many Breonna Taylors, they know and respect police officers who perform their duties with the upmost integrity. They empathize with how hard a vocation it is. They cannot imagine police officers operating in sin and evil, so when something goes sideways there must be a righteous justification for the use of deadly force. It's too much of a threat to their worldview to consider otherwise. They believe the blue must always be backed.
And there are many others who are angry because of pain. Police officers not being indicted or properly sentenced for Breonna’s death is excruciating. It’s another reminder that Dr. King’s dream of “one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed” has not been fully realized. For them, Breonna’s death is not an isolated incident, but a cycle of devaluing Black lives that began in 1619 when the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia.
Society picks sides because in our culture sin and evil are problems of epic proportion that our political and economic systems have limited ability to deal with. Entertainers, athletes, and social commentators will provide perspectives that we resonate with. But surely, as Christians we should not be looking to them to lead us. They have no sustainable answers, so they play the blame game.
And some will not play at all. They don’t have the strength to deal with the reality that tragedies like this happen too often. And like Jonah, they have no interest in redeeming the other side. So, they sink into a sunken place of cynicism, creating alternate realities, and indifference.
What about us, Church? “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). To be blessed goes beyond having money and being happy. It is not a perpetual state of prosperity. To be blessed is to be grounded in the reality that God is bigger than our circumstances. It’s the mindset that leads to our behaviors, and in times like this what brings the blessing is peacemaking.
Peace is a major theme throughout the Bible (Psalms 28:3; Ecclesiastes 3:8; Isaiah 26:3). Picking sides over tragic events is nothing new in human history. In fact, the story of humanity is people declaring war on each other for one reason or another. Peacemaking is the ability to live the life-changing news of the Gospel, despite what’s in front of you. God reigns. There are endless reasons why Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.
Peacemaking starts with the acknowledgement that Breonna Taylor is more than a hashtag and political ping pong ball, and her life mattered. Breonna’s life was sacred in the eyes of God and she was given intellect, talents, gifts, and abilities in order to reflect God’s brilliance. She is gone long before anyone expected.
Peacemaking stands down fears about the world we live in. Which means we do not create narratives that policing is perfect. There are times when our institutions need redemption.
Peacemaking does not mimic society when it comes to dealing with pain. It will eat us alive if our only response is anger. I think Jeremiah is instructive here. The unexpected pathway to relieve the pain: “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7).
Do life in the middle of the trouble. Get married, raise kids, buy a house, plant gardens, go ahead and settle in. Racial violence is painful and may keep happening, but we are redeemed so we must live hopefully.
A friend of mine who pastors in Louisville asked me for some advice before the verdict came out. I told him the following five things: “Pray for peace; pray some more peace; pray again for peace; be the adult in the room; and understand the different perspectives and act on the commonalties. In other words, be a peacemaker.”
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