"Renisha McBride and the Imago Dei" by Drew Hart

If you don't know the name Renisha McBride, you may have missed the news story of the 19 year old woman who crashed her car and, injured from the wreck, sought help from a nearby residence, who was then fatally shot by the homeowner in what some are calling a case of self-defense gone wrong. Others are quick to point out that this may be a case of racial profiling: it's important to note that McBride is an African American woman; her shooter, a white male.

Blogger and professor, Drew Hart offers a Biblical-narrative lens for this modern-day tragedy. He writes:

...Racialized biases pervade every encounter in America. On top of that, black women always must confront not only being black, and not only being a woman, but being a black woman. Renisha McBride had to navigate this difficult space, and on November 2, 2013, it became a death-dealing space.
For anyone, who while gazing at a black woman, thinks they know her essence and nature instantaneously must now realize that Jesus still stands in deep solidarity with marginalized women. No matter how much we stigmatize black women, Jesus reminds us that they are made in the Image of God and therefore prophetically asks us all “Do you see this woman?”

His critical lens is an important one to develop as we interact with culture and news reports. If Jesus navigated contemporary American culture, who would he identify with? At which moments would he whisper, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like this."

Read the rest of Drew's blog as he imagines out loud "Do you see this woman"—as Jesus would?