I grew up next to the neighborhood grouches, as near as I could tell. In their defense, their house was sandwiched between a family of 8 on one side (us), a family of 5 on the other, their back yard connected to families of 9, 7 and 6 respectively. Perhaps because of that, they were not the most kid friendly house in the neighborhood. Theirs was the first set of fences to go up, and they didn’t have a dog. You would never really see them in their yard, but boy did they keep watch on that back yard. And if a baseball or a whiffleball or a soccer ball went into their yard – if you weren’t super, super quick in hopping that fence, that back door would fly open, and she’d come out, and that ball would be permanently gone, disappearing into what we presumed was this huge box of balls that would then become the property of her grandchildren. (They kept such a watch, that before each game, we designated the ‘fence hopper’ so we would not lose precious time arguing over who would face her wrath in retrieving the ball.) Needless to say, they were not the favorite neighbors on the block. But they did know how to keep watch on their back yard.
I suspect that ‘Watchman’ has never been a popular profession – even while it remains an important one in our society. Part of the fracturing and pain of our neighbors in Ferguson is that sense of betrayal by the ones who were supposed to protect and keep safe. On one level, we understand the need for someone to watch over, to look after, to oversee, so that we can be safe. But many times, our experience of that role is like my experience of our neighbors – while we ‘got’ they have the right to protect their yard, we didn’t like how they did it…
“I have appointed you watchman for the house of Israel.” I suspect Ezekiel was not exactly thrilled at that calling. Yet, he faithfully did just that – speaking for the Lord and inviting his contemporaries to a change of heart and practices. And here is the kicker, by the power of our Baptism, each of us is appointed to be priest, prophet and king, and in so being appointed, is called to be watchmen in our age and time. So, what might we do best in that role? In what areas might watchmen be needed more than ever? Let me suggest two quick areas.
1) We need watchmen to point out the blind spots in our individual and collective consciousnesses. If there is one thing that the death of Michael Brown has brought to our awareness – isn’t it the blind spot that hides the reality of privilege. Our system is set up unfairly. I think we can say and admit that now. Being a young black male growing up in an area of poverty and low opportunity is kind of like being a biker who wants to commute to work in St. Louis. You can’t presume there is a path that will get you from door to door, like drivers do. More so, there are some streets without shoulders to ride on – forcing you to ride, as is your right, in traffic. And then, there is the question of how ‘cyclist aware’ the drivers are or are not as you make your way. How many people will yell at you simply because you are a person on a bike in a world that is set up for cars? And cyclist always lose in a battle with a car. Riding in a car is a privileged place in our society – because the structures are set up to accommodate cars, and not bicycles. That is how privilege plays out in our world.
So, if you are a black male, ‘cycling’ in an area of poverty, the odds are stacked against your long term success. We know that better than many in St. Louis as we have watched our Normandy school district slide deeper and deeper into failing our young. And now, like never before, we are having conversations about racial profiling as it exists in our justice system. Perhaps, in a good way, the turmoil of these days has exposed a glaring blind spot in our society – that those who got, get more. And those who don’t… (Shrug) We need watchmen to help us see when privilege becomes injustice.
2) We need watchmen for our values and laws and legal decisions – to evaluate them in terms of who is forgotten and overlooked and harmed by any law or rule or policy we put in place, on the school, parish, neighborhood, city, state, national and international stage. Brian Westbrook, a Newman Center alum who works tirelessly for the unborn in the Forty Days for Life Coalition, has a simple message in all his work. “Whenever we talk about life within the mother’s womb, the starting place is that that life is a human being – and nothing less.
Concretely – I need to know from you who I might be forgetting, or overlooking, or is in my blind spot as pastor of St. Ann. I promise not to shoot the messenger. And I invite you to seek your own feedback among your family and friends and peers. Let the watchmen of your life call you to not just to keep safe, but to keep doing God’s will.