Divine Crack

Watching a Facebook post, my eyes stream with tears. A nineteen-year-old African American woman appears to sing before the audition judges on American Idol. Her physical appearance? Unsuitable, in the eyes of the entertainment industry, for the craft. She’s heavy set, out of shape, wearing a sky-blue jumper suit suffocating a white T-shirt, and a white pair of sneakers. She sports succulent cheeks.

Standing timidly in front of the judges her first reaction was tears. “What’s happening? Let us in behind those tears?” asked Lionel Richie. The question opens up more the flood gates of tears caressing her succulent cheeks. Not even Lionel Richie’s handkerchief was sufficient to mop up the rivers of tears. “Tears of Joy. Joy to be standing here,” she retorted.  “Why?”  In summary, a history of human suffering. Nurtured by a single Mom, changing ten schools, living in cars, motels, on the streets, Mom working several jobs. Unimaginable human suffering that unlocks the three judges’ storerooms of tears. But, she’s grateful for her Mom’s commitment. 

She performs. Her performance was like hurricane wind. Lionel Richie remarked. “Life can be hard for many of us. But God opens up just a crack, a crack small enough for you to enter. This is your crack and you have entered it.”

My mind shifted to the many cracks appearing in concrete floors, small enough to accommodate a seed to germinate. I recall observing batcha ants carrying pieces of leaves ten times their size to their homes, through cracked walls. How about psychological cracks? I remember the words of a British-Bangladesh dancer who remarked, “The body which once gave me confidence is now beginning to crack” (Akram Khan).

God appears in times of suffering because God is the crack, the Divine Crack. The Incarnation is the revelation of the Divine Crack appearing in the midst of human suffering. This Divine Crack has appeared, is, and will appear in human suffering. Haiti, Afghanistan. . . But, someone needs to be the sign, pointing out the Divine Crack and calling us to enter.

What will happen when we enter this unknown Divine Crack? Khan would answer, “I was born out of crisis.” New life awaits us. Our African-American singer entered the Divine Crack. Her tears represent new life.