Remembering Genocide and Remembering Rightly

There is no school in Lebanon today.  Workers at the local super market are dressed in black. In general, things around town are different than a normal Friday.  Lebanon is joining the international community in taking a stand in solidarity with global Armenian community to remember the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.  In the spring of 1915 the Ottoman Empire embarked in operations of population evictions, death marches, and mass murder campaigns that would ultimately kill an estimated 1.5 million individuals and catalyze the dispersion of Armenians around the world.  This is not the first time history has experienced ‘crimes against humanity,’ but it is the first time the term was used to describe an historical event.  April 24, 2015 is a day to memorialize the millions of Armenians who suffered loss and lament the evil that humans are capable of inflicting on fellow humans. 

The genocide of 1915 had a worldwide impact as an national exodus sent Armenians to lands across North America, Europe and Asia.  Ruth and I saw evidence this during our honeymoon visit to Penang Island, Malaysia.  Our boutique hotel was located on Armenia Street, named for the Armenians that fled violence to as far away as Southeast Asia.  Masses of Armenians relocated to regions throughout the Middle East in search of safety, with large numbers settling in Beirut, Aleppo and other major Arabic cities.  Lebanon hosts the sixth-largest Armenian community outside of Armenia with nearly a quarter of a million individuals (fully-fledged Lebanese citizens) and all of us residents here are the richer because of it.  Lebanon boasts a wealth of Armenian educational and cultural institutions including primary and secondary schools, universities, seminaries, and conservatories of various kinds.  Ruth and my favorite district in all of Beirut is Burj Hammoud, a predominately Armenian neighborhood with the best shopping, eateries, artisans and craftsman in all the country.  Armenian Christian communities, including the Evangelical Armenian Church, have long been (and still are) a faithful witness of Christ to their neighbors near and far.  Additionally, many social organizations, such as orphanages and elderly are centers, are helping to treat social ills that permeate Lebanese society.  Yet the greatest Armenian contribution to Lebanon is the individuals who serve this country as doctors, professionals, artists, educators, faith workers and many other roles.  My family and I are honored to count them among our special friends, and we enjoy the access they provide to the wonderful Armenian culture. 

Today we somberly remember that the Armenian presence in Lebanon is a direct outcome of brutal hatred and violence.  We attest that the acts of death still linger a century later; however, memory of wrongdoing of any kind presents its own set of dangers and temptations.  Remembering atrocities can incite emotional cries to “never forget, never forgive.”  Though it is a very human sentiment, I believe that we need to remember so as to forgive, and in doing so being able to achieve a type of forgetting.  Theologian Miroslav Volf argues that remembering wrongdoings can be most unhelpful for “in the memory of the other’s transgressions the other is locked in unredemption and we are bound together in a relationship of nonreconciliation.”[i]  Memory of offenses too often prevents us from experiencing the reconciliation that Christ has made possible.  Volf challenges us to remember rightly, a remembering that actually requires a “nonremembering.”  Such a way has been made possible by the God who knows our sins but, in His fullness of forgiveness, ultimately forgets our wrongdoing! (Jer. 31:34)  Through grace by Christ, our offenses are no longer counted against us!  The evils we have committed are never held in consideration or kept on our records; they are finished and forgotten.  Followers of God must likewise strive to pursue a forgiveness to the point of forgetfulness. 

Let me be clear, I do not believe Volf’s notion of “nonremembering” means we no longer acknowledge the historicity of factual events occurred against us, nor does it fail to consider the extent of the harm caused by evil actions.  However, nonremembering means that the fullness of forgiveness is experienced to the extent that it overwhelms any enduring harm from the past; there is no longer any sting of an old wound.  Sometimes Ruth and I experience this in a very simple way when we recall a past argument or dispute.  We remember that we both acted selfishly and were hurtful to one another, yet we cannot for the life of us recall the reason for the disagreement or even what was exactly said in the heat of the moment.  There is a memory that something happened, but it is vague and inconsequential because of our forgiveness to other and the self.  This is sort of forgetfulness is pivotal to our wellbeing on all levels, for as Volf says, “only nonremembering can end the lament over suffering which no thought can think away and no action undo.”[ii]  I understand the desire for memorializing suffering, but I often feel uncomfortable with keeping the past alive so deeply that it kills hope for future reconciliation.  This can be observed in countless contexts; we all do it and a great deal of peace is thwarted by it. 

Even with the aforementioned, I do argue that it is proper, even necessary, to remember the Armenian Genocide in order to experience the ultimate response to the horrific events: forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a destination of a long and painful journey; a journey that took Christ to a fallen world, a cross, and a grave.  We must all be travelers on this road, and remembering holds an important place in this journey.  Volf states, “the memory of sin must be kept alive for a while, as long as it is needed for repentance and transformation to occur.”[iii]  An enduring tragedy of the Armenian Genocide is the official position of the Turkish government (note: not all of the Turkish people) that refuses admittance of the crimes committed by their Ottoman predecessors against millions of Armenian innocents.  This fallacious “nonremembering” that denies genocide ever occurred averts repentance and undermines any prospect for transformative reconciliation. 

Turkey does acknowledge that unfortunate events did bring suffering to Armenians during the events around WWI, but it does not admit to genocide.  There is no joining in the sorrow or regret for one of modern histories most heinous of actions.  As a result, a hundred-old wound is still very much open; the bleeding continues.  It is long overdue for Turkey to recognize the systematic genocide conducted by the Ottoman Empire.  The past cannot be changed but it can be remembered rightly and addressed with humility, honesty and grace. The Armenian Genocide should be remembered April 24 and all days until the healing work of forgiveness mends the wounds of the present, alters the recollections of the past and builds a hope for the future.  Christ achieved such a possibility when he traveled reconciliation’s complete journey.  Let us follow. 

For more information on the topic please refer to the following resources:

BBC World Service, April 24, 2015- Armenia marks centenary of mass killings by Ottoman Turks

The Guardian, April 16, 2015- The Armenian genocide- the Guardian briefing

The Independent, April 23, 2015- Armenian genocide: To continue to deny the truth of this mass human cruelty is close to a criminal lie- Robert Fisk

The Daily Star (Lebanon), April 24, 2015- Burj Hammoud: Lebanon’s Little Armenia

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[i] Volf, Miroslav.  Exclusion and Embrace. (1996)  Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN. 133.

[ii] Ibid 135.

[iii] Ibid 137.

Some thoughts about right hands, left hands and charity

“And when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”  Such a statement should be convicting to the world of Christian poverty alleviation (missions, development, and relief).   Concealment of “good deeds” is not a standard practice of the day.  In fact, we much more prefer the teaching “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  We live in a mass-communication, social media-drenched world where newsletters, blog posts, Twitter accounts, Facebook statuses, video presentations and countless other forms of media are used to let the whole world know what our right hand is doing.  Such a tendency is not limited to organizations.  We as individuals love to share what our hand is giving, teaching, painting, designing, treating, building and serving to the poor.  I do not judge the practice of informing; however, we must ponder the value of withholding specifics about what we are doing. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs, “when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)  This teaching is often taken as a call to personal piety; a command to secrecy so as to avoid becoming like self-righteous hypocrites who publicly broadcast their charity “so that they may be honored by men.” (Matthew. 6:2) No doubt this is major to Christ’s point.  Faith requires good works, (James 2:14-26) yet the ‘what’ of our actions is matched, or perhaps superseded, in importance by the ‘how’ and ‘why’.  I can do a very good deed yet undermine its goodness with a bad method and selfish intention.  Like all things Jesus, he wants us to begin and end our charity with an examination of our own hearts.  However, I believe such a teaching goes beyond our own heart’s sake and considers the practical effectiveness of our giving as well.

Within Jesus’ statement is the implied assumption that followers of God will give to the poor.  He does not say “if you give to the poor” but rather “when you give to the poor.”  In other words, the left hand should know that the right hand is doing something even if it does not know what that something is.  As I am finding in my personal situation, giving is oftentimes less complicated when it is less known.  Over the past four years Syria has descended into a nightmare of war and violence, leaving many dozens of my Syrian relatives displaced.  One would be right to expect that my parents, siblings and I find ways to help; it is what any Christ follower would do.  We desire to “fix” problems for suffering loved-ones, but our limited resources cannot extend to the overwhelming need in front of us.  The reality is some receive more help, some receive less help, and some receive no help.  We risk fracturing relationships if this giving is not navigated wisely. 

Subtle charity is a protective measure to minimize awkwardness, misunderstandings and tensions within highly convoluted poverty contexts.  All conditions of human suffering contain emotional and political fuses (even among blood relatives).  The combination of big need and limited material resources too often ignites aid and development situations, which hardly causes anyone to glorify our father in heaven.  Fortunately there is no shortage of good deeds that remain utterly harmless.  Gestures as simple as a smile, listening ear and encouraging word can shine bright in a place where despair is intense and resources are thin. Even so, we must give to the poor, and we must give materially.  Whether it is on an individual or a collective level, we will be wise to heed the instructions of Christ in practicing subtle giving.  We may actually be surprised to find how effective charity can be when it is removed from the spotlight. 

I wonder what it would look like if Christian organizations gave to the poor in such a way that the left hand does not know what right hand is doing.  What if newsletters provided no statistics, websites offered no testimonies, social media statuses made no pronouncements, videos shared no riveting messages and presentations gave no detail about how the poor are being served?  No doubt many of us in the field would ask, “How will we get donors to support our work?” But will the God who sees what we do in secret and rewards us, not also provide for His work to be done?  We may wonder, “What about our public and open witness of Christ among the poor?”  Will not the recipients of good see what they have received and credit their fortune as an extension of God’s blessing?  Or perhaps we will think, “What of our edification to the global Church.  Shouldn’t they know what we do so that they may be encouraged?”  Surely the Church has faith that Christ’s body is living out scripture’s command to serve the poor and oppressed; this should be assumed.  Perhaps Jesus is telling us to simply concentrate on the serving and let the Holy Spirit do the fundraising, informing and witnessing. 

I do not mean to judge the practices of many organizations and individuals doing excellent work to address human suffering with the compassion of Christ.  My own actions fall far too short of Biblical standard to allow me the license to judge others.  However, when it comes to poverty alleviation, I maintain that the methods of the Sermon on the Mount should be more than just theoretical.  There is a methodology of aid, relief and development that we must consider.  Limiting our exposure on all ends may not lead to a high profile among others, but Jesus has quite a bit to say about that matter.  Perhaps one of the greatest compliments we can receive when serving the poor, as an individual or a collective, is for someone to come alongside us and comment, “Wow, I didn’t realize you do all that!”