If one were to look at the African American community through the eyes of the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty, you might see many Humpty's interspersed between the pockets of economic and educational success. Alarming statistics on abortions, single-parented households, standardized testing scores, illegal drug use and drug trafficking, murder rates, and family break-ups, as well as the growing acceptance of homosexuality among our people reveal a people who seem to be irrevocably fallen. Many federal, state, and local programs have been established to alleviate these and several other social ills, along with many private-sector and non-profit endeavors. But the problems remain incessant and perennial. One might ask if there is a solution to our plight.
Our Lord Jesus lived in a world equally as troubled as our contemporary communities: "Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt. 9:35-36).
As Jesus served the people in his society, he saw people with tattered and overwhelming circumstances. Rather than concluding that more help from Rome was the answer, he saw them as vulnerable sheep in need of compassionate, shepherd-like care. His response is to seek to restore wholeness to our own communities.
First, Jesus taught the people.
He educated the people about God's standards for righteous living according to the Law and the Prophets because he recognized that broken living is symptomatic of sin. Many families in our community need solid, repetitive, clear teaching of what the Lord has to say about rearing a family so that they will stand again as whole, joy-filled families.
Second, Jesus preached the Gospel.
The "good news" of the kingdom that Jesus preached is that He Himself, the very Son of God, offers righteousness and entrance to the kingdom of God. He saw that people who were heavy-laden by the consequences of their own sin needed the message of redemption. Teaching God's moral law served to raise people's awareness of their need for a divine solution to their situation. However, it is preaching the gospel that could serve to break the power of sin so that fallen people could rise from their desperate states.
Third, Jesus healed the people.
In the New Testament, healing is the ability to cure and restore people from sickness both instantaneously and completely. The Gospels and Acts are replete with examples of people of each gender, all ages, and multiple ethnicities being healed of many types of illnesses. Such miracles validated the message of the gospel from Jesus and the Apostles, while also serving the real needs of the people.
Although we do not have the apostolic ability to heal with our shadows or through power that extends even to our garments (Acts 5:15; 19:12), believers' acts of compassion can validate the Christian message and serve real human needs. When we see people akin to the leprous, demon-possessed, paralyzed, blind, deaf, diseased, afflicted, and the impoverished, we should be moved with compassion and into action just as Jesus was.
The African American community has many Humpties, Bumpties, Lumpties, and Zumpties plagued by helplessness and hopelessness. But all of the King's men and women can get them up again, if we ourselves teach, preach, and heal, so that we become the compassionate solution to our broken communities.