By Deborah (Debo) Dykes
February 26, 2011
A friend used to tell me, “Sin that matters is the sin that’s in the water. We all participate.” She was referring to systemic sin.
My first awareness of this kind of prophetic sin was in a little town outside of Shreveport, Louisiana. I was a schoolteacher. The faculty was required to be at school prior to the 7:35 am bell in the small, rural middle school located in Princeton, Louisiana. I signed in at the front office and made my way along the pathway that led past three long corridors of classrooms, the lunchroom, and the playground to a metal building where I would spend the day with my 9 mentally challenged students, separated from the main body of the school.
Anna, one of the nine students, was eleven years old. The fact that life was difficult was just the way it was for Anna. She didn’t know life could be any other way except tough. The fact that she was in a class of mentally challenged students just seemed to be the way it was supposed to be for Anna. She accepted it. The “labeling” and teasing by other students was all part of life for her – she appeared to have adapted to it.
With only 9 students, I got to know them pretty well within a very short span of time. Within weeks, I began to seriously questioned Anna’s placement in my class and her evaluation by the Special Education Office. Anna was already in Jr. High and was quickly becoming too comfortable with not being “required” to produce at an acceptable academic level. Soon, I became convinced that Anna’s problem was not that she was “mildly mentally challenged” but that she was dyslexic. I couldn’t make sense of her evaluation. What in the world was the “system” doing depriving this precious child of an education she could surely handle – and allowing her to buy into the self-image a neglectful and unresponsive system had created for her. I was outraged! Even though I was a first year teacher with no tenure, I began to insist that she be re-evaluated.
After many weeks and many phone calls, I was finally able to schedule my first appointment with the Coordinator of Special Education for the school system in early December. I presented Anna’s file as well as new materials and evaluations that overwhelmingly demonstrated that Anna was indeed not mentally challenged; rather, there was clear indication she was dyslexic. With proper help, Anna would be very capable of functioning in a normal classroom, even complete high school – and possibly attend college. The Coordinator expressed no interest in Anna’s case and sat through my presentation as dour and gray as the walls of her institutional office. According to the Coordinator, Anna had been “fairly evaluated” and the office was too busy to re-evaluate students.
As one who has come close to abandoning Christianity all together, I am drawn back again and again by the growing body of historical information about Jesus of Nazareth and the early traditions that developed in his community. So I will permit myself a biblical reference taken from the Acts of the Apostle. Peter is speaking to a mixed crowd of believers and cynics. He is condemning those who collaborated in the death of Jesus. Peter says, “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.”
Might we allow ourselves to consider how our ignorance is involved in our understanding of systemic sin? Is it ridiculous the think we could possibly rid ourselves of this kind of sin? In most circles of Christianity, ridding ourselves of sin means purifying the sinner or, in popular religious language, “washing us whiter than snow.” People who are drawn to this belief seem to have a stake in being cleansed of sin so that they may be acceptable to God. I don’t find fault with this, but it isn’t enough for me. I’m simply not interested in the story of sin and salvation. What I am interested in is the kind of sin we all participate in that ignores the cries of those who are powerless and have no real resources in our society.
So, what are the roots of society’s systemic willingness to ignore the cries of the oppressed? Is this more of that idea that humans are intrinsically evil and selfish? Have we forget that we are ALL connected to each other; are we afraid that if we don’t make sure we have a big enough piece we won’t get enough of what we want? Are we afraid that what we care about so much is unimportant? Do we operate with the notion that there is not enough love, not enough good will, not enough property, and not enough money to go around? Do we really believe in a God that loves the humanity that God created? Do we actually love the humanity of which we are a part or do we reserve and direct our love only to those we choose? And what kind of love comes from a person who elects to parcel out one’s love with restrictions and conditions attached?
If Christians believed what Jesus of Nazareth said, and taught about God (or as Jesus would have referred to God, Abba) then we would believe that God dotes on us and dreams of the day when we will love and nurture and respect and appreciate God’s creation, as much as God does.
For the most part, it is my belief that Christians believe what Jesus taught, but too often our behavior exposes us for the hypocrites we are. More often than not, I think most folks don’t trust God. We surely don’t trust each other. If we did, we would not be behaving like we are. That’s why we fight over theology, about the Bible, about what the Church of Jesus Christ is; about who Jesus of Nazareth was; not to mention the many interpretations of who said what, when, where, and why in the biblical text. I think sin is not so much about displeasing God as it is missing out on what God intended life to be. Our behavior toward each other keeps us alienated and isolated from the fruits of our life. Therefore, we miss the love we could have and share, the trust we could have and share, the joy we could have and share in our collaborations with all others. Are we the creators and perpetrators of systemic sin?
How sad it is that we teach our children to learn the skills of gossip, whispering rumor and hypocritical social graces. Perhaps child abuse isn’t limited to the bruises.
So, our understanding of sin is radically important. Because, what ever else we may think sin is, real sin robs us, those we love, and those we don’t even know, of the bounty and the riches that God has intended from the beginning.
As I reflect once again on Anna, it took nearly the entire school year of phone calls, letters, documentation of Anna’s academic performance, and meeting with principals and coordinators. Finally, in late spring, the School Board Office agreed to have Anna re-evaluated and given a thorough hearing and health examination.
The results concluded that Anna was indeed dyslexic. She had suffered from nearly a 70% hearing loss in her left ear due to blockage. Following a simple procedure at a health clinic, the doctor was successful in removing 2 roaches that were lodged in the canal next to Anna’s eardrum. The Health Department involved Social Services who addressed the issue of unfit and inadequate living conditions, and arranged for a floor to be built in Anna’s house, along with adequate beds and other minimal accommodations such as running water and heat.
In the fall, I did not return to the Jr. High School, but transferred to another school. I never knew what became of Anna. My hope and prayer has always been that she never again had to sleep lying in the dirt.
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