Can it be too soon to forgive?

"Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace."

We all have been watching the news. We have watched the divisions. We've seen the catchphrases..."#cville"..."condemn violence"..."condemn racism"...

It seems there is a lot of condemnation being thrown around. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of just anger around the events of the weekend. Many of the expressions of denunciation also stem from wanting to create distance between "them" and "me"... I am white, my sincerest apologies, but I am not racist, I do not stand with them, please do not associate us together, please please please... There is a need to be seen as innocent, to have our hands washed clean.

This speaks to the reality that humanity is fallen. There is no us versus them when it comes to concupiscence. We all fall short. And yet, when we see others act so...inhumanely...we try to convince ourselves, and our peers, that I would never act that way... right?

We have all been eager to condemn and distance ourselves from the uncomfortable realities of pride, jealousy, rage, and fear. I have yet to see many messages of mercy. (To be fair, there have been some amazingly awesome thought-provoking blogs and articles including this and this.)

I wince even writing it, because there is an uncomfortable thought lurking that the only reason I can offer mercy is that I am not the people oppressed. That it is my white privilege to be able to forgive because I am not the one having to argue that my life matters. There is no persecution of my own that could measure to the systematic aggression toward people who look different than I, at least in my country. I am left to squirm and feel uncomfortable with this privilege...who am I to offer mercy?

God's grace is bigger than our opinions. Or prejudices. Or political parties. Or hang-ups. "Left" or "right," you're fallen and you need it. Along with the condemnation, there have been accompanying prayers for peace... the peace we need is that mercy and forgiveness are available to all. That is our unity. There is just condemnation of political and philosophical ideologies which speak lies about human worth and dignity. Those battles are worth fighting. To the individual, though, we must have the courage (and it does take uncomfortable, cringe-worthy, do-you-realize-who-you're-talking-to-and-what-they've-done?! courage) to give the Good News of God's ready mercy and grace. Because He does not take pause, as I do. He is the Father who runs vulnerably with arms open wide, without a second thought about "is it too soon?"

Never.