From Your Associate Executive for Racial Justice

“No hope?

 Look up into the stars

Or down into a baby’s face

And tell me there is no hope…"

No Hope? By Ann Weems in Searching for Shalom

“Happy endings” or “happily ever afters” in stories, “novelas,” plays, movie scripts, or Disney movies generally mean that the story is given a fortunate and prosperous conclusion. The movie “Enchanted,” a satire of Disney classics, centers on the character Giselle, a woman navigating the realities of both her “Happily Ever After” storybook and the real world. In a scene right before Giselle is sent to the real world, Nathaniel asks Narissa: “Where did you send her?” Narissa replies: “To a place where there are no happily ever afters.”

A former colleague once shared that Disney was not consumed or patronized in his household. He did not want his daughters to grow up with a distorted view of the world, where princesses are real and magically saved, and where outcomes always turn into “happy endings.” Moreover, Trevor Noah, a comedian and television host, in a podcast conversation said, “Disney did a major disservice to an entire generation because it gave the false idea of how things turn out, the way things turn out. If you’ve grown up being told that the good guy always wins, when you go out into life, you think it is a matter of time before things turn around. It is not a matter of time. That is not actually how the world works.”

As a South African, Trevor Noah observes that in his interactions with individuals from the United States, there is a level of optimism and confidence in the idea that things, no matter how bad they are, will work themselves out. In what can be argued as an oversimplification, Noah notices differences in facing hardships across cultures. He attributes the hyper-optimism found in the United States to the consumption of Hollywood and Disney movies. In a way, the stories above prompted me to think about our Easter story.

This year, Resurrection Sunday takes place in April. For the unchurched, the Easter story may seem like a “happy ending” one, where the main character, after enduring ridicule, oppression, and wrongful death, is vindicated and resurrected, and the witness of such a miracle continues today. On the first Sunday of April, people of faith will gather and celebrate the gift of life, the conquering of evil, and the “happy ending” of a story where good ultimately wins. Borrowing on Trevor Noah’s cultural lens, I invite us all to think of the countless people and communities surrounding our congregations and homes that struggle on a daily basis with keeping hope alive.

For the least of these, the oppressed, the silenced, the poor, the houseless, the abused, the incarcerated, the elderly, the differently able, the neurodivergent, the immigrant, the racialized, the marginalized, the minoritized, the sick, the story of hope, of good always wins may not be as palpable as for others who have experienced a world where their basic needs are met and then some. The “least of these” demand urgency when it comes to hope, stability, restoration, and peace. The least of these, the forgotten, the invisible in our society, know too well that good does not always conquer evil, that kindness is not expected and received, and that the real world does not work like the stroke of a pen where a “happy ending” can be given to a narrative.

This resilience that the “least of these” carry and share with us is an invitation to celebrate Resurrection Sunday in a nuanced way this year. Yes, as Christians, we proclaim that Christ has risen indeed. This year, “the least of these” are demanding that we embody this proclamation. How and where does the resurrected Christ show up? As the body of Christ, how are we organizing, coming together, and noticing where Christ is most needed? As we celebrate Easter this year, worship together, decorate households, nurseries, and Sunday school rooms with eggs and bunnies, and put on colorful clothing, let us pause and reflect on the several ways we can make the story of the risen Christ a reality for all who are hurting, suffering, and systematically ostracized.

Yes, as Narissa said, this is a world where “there are no happily ever afters.” It is a world that feels hopeless and desolate for the majority. Still, God is not asking us, the church, to be happy and make everyone happy. However, God, through the sacrifice of Christ, and the solidarity and radical hospitality of Jesus, to be and bring God’s presence, love, compassion, courage, kindness, and mercy to all. Yes, let’s celebrate Easter. Let’s proclaim with a loud voice that Christ has risen indeed. AND, let’s do the work, collectively, to bring about hope, resurrection, restoration, and a healthy ending to all who are crying out, “God help me.” May we, as the church, answer, “Here we are.” “We are coming.” “We got you.” “We see you.” “We are making a way.” “We are bringing down the systems that keep you down.” Let’s turn the tables and tell the world that there is hope, and that things can be different. Despite our cultural lenses, yes, things will turn around. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, may we be strengthened, enlightened, and illuminated to do so.

Let us pray:

O God of fire and freedom, deliver me from my bondage to what can be counted and go with me in a new exodus toward what counts, but can only be measured in bread shared and swords become plowshares; in bodies healed and minds liberated; in songs sung and justice done; in laughter in the night and joy in the morning; in love through all seasons and great gladness of heart; in all people coming together and a kingdom coming in glory; in your name being praised and my becoming an alleluia, through Jesus the Christ. Amen.

“Go with Me in a New Exodus” by Ted Loder in Guerillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle

¡Paz y bendiciones (peace and blessings)! 

Ruth-Aimée (Root-Eh-méh)

Ruth-Aimée Belonni-Rosario

Associate Executive for Racial Justice

248-752-3697 (cell)

ruthaimee@synodofthecovenant.org