Presented June 7, 2020 by Rev. Jesse Larson
Based on Ephesians 4: 1-16
As I begin my sermon for today, I want to share that I am struggling with what to say to you all in the midst of these days of protest and unrest.
I have my own opinions on white supremacy, institutionalized racism, and police brutality, and I also understand there are so many complexities and nuances to the many issues swirling around these heavy topics.
I am charged with a difficult task as a pastor—to be both a prophetic voice as well as a pastoral presence—to all of you watching this video who hold your own opinions on these matters as well. I hope not to offend with my reflections, but rather to challenge all of us to discern how God’s Spirit of love, truth, and justice is speaking to us in this moment in time.
So I turn, then, to the collective wisdom of our faith tradition. Bethany is a community of faith that is a part of a connectional denomination. That means that we all work to discern God’s voice together. Let me read to you all from one of our confessions—“A Brief Statement of Faith.” It was authored by Presbyterians in the early 1980s as the northern Presbyterian Church was reuniting with the southern Presbyterian Church after separating a century prior due to the Civil War. (Yes, we Presbyterians like to take our time, even when it comes to reconciliation!) This confession speaks about Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.
Just last week, we celebrated Pentecost—when a violent rush of wind, the Holy Spirit—brought tongues of fire upon the disciples and ignited an incredible movement which remains alive to this very day … the church. I think it is no small coincidence that the protests which were gathering steam last weekend happened on the day we celebrate Pentecost.
The Spirit is moving, there’s no doubt about it. Listen, then, to what we confess to believe about the Holy Spirit:
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church.The same Spirit, who inspired the prophets and apostles, rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.In a broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks, and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Amen! There is so much theology packed into each of these sentences, and again, this was only the section dedicated to the Holy Spirit. As I read this powerful statement again, a phrase jumped out at me—“to hear the voices of peoples long silenced.” If it found its way into a confession authored by a group of theologians, it must be important.
And it is.
This phrase gets at the profound dynamic of power that has shaped human history every step of the way. History is full of the stories of the winners—conquerors who defeated others on battlefields, parliaments, offices, and classrooms.
But the stories of those who were dominated, pushed aside, or murdered are not told. Even if we do hear a bit of their stories, they are brief and incomplete.
For example, have any of you heard about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921? 26 African Americans were murdered and planes even dropped bombs on what was the most financially successful black neighborhood in the U.S. at the time. I never learned about this racial riot in my classes at school nor did I learn about the many other incidents of racial violence in our history.
Truly, to the victors go the spoils. Our nation is and has been run by white people and its systems privilege us over others. That’s not to say we haven’t been working to make things more equal, but most of us admit that we still have a ways to go.
Many of us have felt that we are barely keeping our heads above water as each week of 2020 seems to add a new layer of stress. We have been managing a lot—personal issues, a pandemic, political polarization, political protests—I shudder to think what next week will bring.
I think that black people in our country have been experiencing such stress and frustration for generations. They not only feel unwelcome and ostracized, but many fear for their own lives in their own country. I cannot imagine what that must feel like.
As we are experiencing now, every so often things just explode. It all gets to be too much. People are screaming out in our streets, demanding to be heard. Shouts of “I can’t breathe” fill the air, memorializing the last words of George Floyd as he was murdered by police, but also acknowledging the trauma and frustration of so many of black and brown people. They want to tell the stories of their experiences and reality, and they want so desperately for those stories to change! They long to be included fully, to be recognized as individuals rather than stereotyped, they want to valued and made whole as all people do.
So the question becomes: Will we listen? Are we willing to hear the stories of these black people whose voices have long been silenced? Clearly, we need to do much more to build a more inclusive, just, and merciful nation, but the process begins by listening to those who haven’t been welcome at the table.
Thank God the Holy Spirit has our backs, because it’s not easy work we are called to.
To own up to the violence of our history and the current presence of structural racism, and to acknowledge our privilege as white Americans often involves shame and discomfort, but it means so very much to those who have been cast aside and are hurting badly. But, it is good, vital, life-changing work that needs to happen if we are to have any hope in moving forward together as a unified people.
So then, may we have the courage to truly hear one another without rushing to offer an alternative argument. May we also seek to honor one another’s intentions in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, rather than race to become outraged or offended when emotions run high and opinions differ.
After all, I believe deeply that the overwhelming majority of us really do care deeply about one another. I know so many of you cherish the diversity present at Bethany. We have people of different ethnicities, classes, genders, nationalities, sexual orientations, and opinions—and yet we are a church family who care for one another passionately.
The Spirit is presenting us with a new chapter in the life of America. The time for this holy work of listening is long overdue—so let us begin by hearing the voices long silenced.
It will be a step in the right direction of healing a nation and peoples who are so ready for a new reality. Amen.
