The AACC recorded ‘The Blessing’ to remind us how interconnected we are in the kingdom of God.
By Raymond Chang
A
song entitled The Blessing has gained worldwide recognition in the last few months. The song released shortly before COVID-19 hit the US and has become a source of encouragement for many during this difficult time.
Over 100 virtual choirs from around the world have recorded versions of it in dozens of different languages.
The Blessing is a beautiful song, saturated with Scripture, beginning with portions of the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:22-27. The following lyrics echo sentiments found in Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 7, and Psalm 105: ”May his favor be upon you / and a thousand generations / and your family, and your children / and their children, and their children.”
The idea of generational blessings and curses is very familiar among Korean American Christians. It is often used to show the interconnectedness between generations; we remember how many of our immigrant parents, grandparents, or other ancestors sacrificed much for their descendants. None of us exists in a vacuum.
As the ancient people of God heard these blessings declared over them, they applied the blessings to the entire population, as well as each tribe, family, and individual. God is a God who blesses those who love him and strips curses away from those who follow him.
But what if people aren’t given an opportunity to experience the blessings of God--of coming to know him and love him and surrender their lives to him? And what about people whose lives are cut short in large part due to the ways that racialization and racism places a value on their skin color?
We have seen the country erupt with protests over matters regarding Black lives and dignity. Name after name continues to appear on my Twitter feed, reminding me that Black people live under threat simply by existing. Whether they live in an under-resourced neighborhood or a wealthy enclave, their Black skin is prejudged and mistreated.
Sadly, I also see how people inside and outside the church perceive Black skin to be dangerous and a threat. As I hear their concern and fear, I weep. I weep because this is not the way it is supposed to be.
I weep because too many Black or brown parents have to have “the talk” with their kids about how they are perceived and how that might lead to violence against their bodies. I weep because the loss of Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, Tamir Rice, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others mark the end of their familial generations.
This country has a long history of devaluing the lives of those who are not considered white. Sadly, as much as white, Western expressions of Christianity have contributed to good, they have also been a leading perpetuator of some of the deepest divides in our country. Many white Christians and churches continue to be unable or unwilling to address racial injustice and inequality in a manner that leads to meaningful and substantive change.
A recent NPR/Ipsos poll found that more than 40 percent of Americans who identify as Black, Hispanic, and Asian have taken actions to better understand racism in the US since the death of George Floyd in May. Only 30 percent of white Americans reported the same, making them the least engaged group when it comes to issues of race.
Anecdotally, I know that an overwhelming number of churches continue to have deficient racial discourse. American churches, on average, are still more segregated than the neighborhoods they are in. People of color often have difficulty being fully embraced in majority-white or multiethnic Christian spaces. Many churches take on the edicts of whiteness more than the kingdom of God.
Given the racial and political tensions that continue to roil our nation, we need to be continuously reminded of our interconnectedness and God’s desire to bless His people. The Asian American Christian Collaborative brought together people from over thirty churches across the globe, representing 21 Asian languages, to perform The Blessing. We wanted to bring together Asian Americans from a variety of ethnic backgrounds to demonstrate the diversity within the Asian American community, and to declare a blessing for all to hear.
We want to especially share this with our Black fellow image bearers, upon whom we ask the favor of God. The video includes shots from the March for Black Lives and Dignity that we organized in partnership with Chinese Christian Union Church (a historic Asian American church in Chicago) and Progressive Baptist Church (a historic African American church in Chicago). Over 100 churches were represented by the 1000-2000 people who marched with us.
Through this version of The Blessing, our hope is to be an echo of God’s heavenly chorus, declaring a blessing in the languages of the tribes, nations, and people groups we are a part of over all those who might hear.
The church has failed to be the church and live into the true peace and the true justice and the true unity that God calls us into. May this generation bring forth a new era of interconnected blessing.
Photo by Robert Nyman on Unsplash
