Would We Still Mourn Jesus As a Black God-Man?
A Reflection on the Faces of Easter by Godly Play Trainer Ebony Grisom
Faces of Easter is among my favorite stories. Perhaps it is because it’s the first story that I told outside of a Godly Play classroom, or because I told it in its entirety in one session. These days, I wonder if it is because it is the first (and only) story that I’ve told in an historically Black church when I was a seminarian eager to deepen my practice and share my passion for Godly Play. My supervising pastor invited me to tell it during Sunday school. It was the only class that day; all Sunday school classes reported to the chapel to hear Faces of Easter I-VII. Later, the pastor offered praise (“When you said, “a story”, you meant a story!”), even as he questioned the wisdom of showing Black children a white Jesus.
Here we are standing on the precipice of Lent having just climbed down Christmas tree. Epiphany lingers: God deigns to appear to we mere mortals, thereby embodying Emmanuel, God with Us. We are still basking in these seasons celebrating (with gifts, no less!) Jesus’ Incarnation in His teen mother’s womb, and Easter is threatening to thrust us to His Feet at the Crucifixion. Lent invites us to get ready: we pray, we cry, we lament. Yet I wonder, would we still mourn Jesus as a Black God-Man? The new Faces of Easter invites us to wonder together.
The Godly Play Foundation began big, wondering work in the summer of 2020. The George Floyd Moment forced the Foundation, and many of us, to recognize (some for the first time) racism as a manifestation of ecclesial and societal sin. This moment invited the Foundation to discern how to respond faithfully to nurture and affirm the Imago Dei in all of people: including and especially the Black and Brown people so often missing from our circles. Godly Play Board members and players began reassessing our mission and vision, thereby drawing the Circle wider …and browner. Enter, Faces of Easter. Our beloved story told during the Lenten and Easter seasons now features an African-American Holy Family. This change makes a profound theological statement, challenging notions of white supremacy long held (and perpetuated) by the Church. As story tellers, parents, caregivers, and faithful Christians, we aim to make Godly Play an inclusive space to wonder. Our stories convey implicit and explicit messages that impact the People of God. Sometimes, our stories unintentionally impact them adversely. Attending to our stories (language and materials) is critical to our witness, and children’s formation.
Hence, the Holy Family is Black. Some may question its “historical accuracy” or bristle at changing the traditional status quo, but doing so misses an opportunity to wonder about God’s Image and those who bear it. Whether the Holy Family was actually Black is a story for another post. This story is about unraveling the anti-Black prejudices woven into our theological formation. This story sees the Crucifixion anew. This story laments our broken world that crucifies Black (and brown) bodies on crosses of sin like bigotry, health disparities, poverty, toxic theology and white supremacy. I wonder how our circles would respond to hearing this story while looking into the Black faces of Mother Mary, Father Joseph, and Jesus? I wonder if this Faces of Easter will allow us to truly see the faces of our country, churches, neighborhoods, and schools? I wonder if the new Faces of Easter are the only Black faces that we see there? If so, I wonder if Faces of Easter will inspire us to ask why? Indeed, the mystery of Easter awaits us. And so the colors (must) change.
My former supervising pastor is now a mentor and a friend. Recently, I told him about Godly Play’s big work; he exclaimed, “Good!” It is very good. Here we are: preparing children to become active change agents who dismantle myriad societal ills, including racism. By God’s Grace, we can rear generations of anti-racist Christians who see the Imago Dei when they look up into every face. Our Circles, and our stories, will be wider and browner. Are you ready?
Rev. Ebony Grisom (she/her) is ordained in the American Baptist Churches USA. She serves as a Godly Play Trainer supporting circles in various communities.
