When the news of the deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge last Tuesday and Philando Castile in a suburb of St. Paul on Wednesday, I had a flashback to August 9, 2014, the day when Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri. One tragedy connects us to all others. Then came the massacre of law enforcement officers in Dallas during a peaceful protest on Thursday night. A solitary sniper killed five police officers and wounded seven others. My grief was compounded. These killings are not about a distant race problem in places far removed from New Hampshire. This is as close as our own hearts and minds. This is our trouble.
I spent much time last week just trying to get all this sadness out of my soul, to push it far away and to focus on other things. In the midst of my work, I still heard Alton Sterling's fifteen-year-old son wailing for his daddy. I saw the graphic videos and heard the shots reverberating in the streets. The truth is there is no easy escape from this trouble. Friends on Facebook, journalists, President Obama and the presumptive presidential candidates, pastors and preachers in the churches--all are talking about racism and the deadly fear and violence that have captured our country. These events challenge Jefferson's lofty ideals: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men [sic.] are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." All are created equal? Life? Liberty? The pursuit of happiness?
And from our scriptures, we hear God speaking through the words of Paul, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28, NRSV). I hear God speaking today to bridge our divisions: "There is no longer black or white, powerful and powerless, privileged or deprived; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Differences still matter, but they do not divide.
There is no hiding and no denying that we have a problem. The trouble does not reside in someone else's house, it is in ours. It is in our spirit. It is evident the way that we judge others without ever knowing them. It is evident in the way we select our friends and our social circles. It is evident in who gathers in our houses of worship. It is evident in the way that we separate and segregate--always offering ourselves as the standard that is superior to all others.
Too much! It is all too much today. Of this I am sure: This is the time for facing up to our trouble. It is time to repent and allow our hearts to be touched and transformed. It is time for a reconciliation that is born of hope that a better day is surely coming. This is what the psalmist teaches us to sing: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. 27:13, NRSV). I believe that I shall see God's justice rolling down, right here and right now, in this time--while there is yet time.
God, in your great wisdom and mercy, visit us in our trouble.
We have witnessed the killing in our own streets.
We have heard the wailing of children for their parents and parents for their children.
We have seen peacekeepers killed in the line of duty.
Our trouble is ever before us.
Who is innocent, O Righteous One?
We are all caught in these terrible cycles of fear and violence.
We play roles that we do not fully understand.
We speak and act in ways that perpetuate the trouble.
Our trouble is ever before us.
God, let your justice wash over us.
Bridge the brokenness.
Let all peoples find their way together.
Restore our trust; End our violence.
Our trouble is ever before us,
O Suffering Christ, your love alone can set us free.
Your love alone can raise us to new life.
Your love alone can change us.
May it be so . . . today.
Amen.
I spent much time last week just trying to get all this sadness out of my soul, to push it far away and to focus on other things. In the midst of my work, I still heard Alton Sterling's fifteen-year-old son wailing for his daddy. I saw the graphic videos and heard the shots reverberating in the streets. The truth is there is no easy escape from this trouble. Friends on Facebook, journalists, President Obama and the presumptive presidential candidates, pastors and preachers in the churches--all are talking about racism and the deadly fear and violence that have captured our country. These events challenge Jefferson's lofty ideals: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men [sic.] are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." All are created equal? Life? Liberty? The pursuit of happiness?
And from our scriptures, we hear God speaking through the words of Paul, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28, NRSV). I hear God speaking today to bridge our divisions: "There is no longer black or white, powerful and powerless, privileged or deprived; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Differences still matter, but they do not divide.
There is no hiding and no denying that we have a problem. The trouble does not reside in someone else's house, it is in ours. It is in our spirit. It is evident the way that we judge others without ever knowing them. It is evident in the way we select our friends and our social circles. It is evident in who gathers in our houses of worship. It is evident in the way that we separate and segregate--always offering ourselves as the standard that is superior to all others.
Too much! It is all too much today. Of this I am sure: This is the time for facing up to our trouble. It is time to repent and allow our hearts to be touched and transformed. It is time for a reconciliation that is born of hope that a better day is surely coming. This is what the psalmist teaches us to sing: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. 27:13, NRSV). I believe that I shall see God's justice rolling down, right here and right now, in this time--while there is yet time.
God, in your great wisdom and mercy, visit us in our trouble.
We have witnessed the killing in our own streets.
We have heard the wailing of children for their parents and parents for their children.
We have seen peacekeepers killed in the line of duty.
Our trouble is ever before us.
Who is innocent, O Righteous One?
We are all caught in these terrible cycles of fear and violence.
We play roles that we do not fully understand.
We speak and act in ways that perpetuate the trouble.
Our trouble is ever before us.
God, let your justice wash over us.
Bridge the brokenness.
Let all peoples find their way together.
Restore our trust; End our violence.
Our trouble is ever before us,
O Suffering Christ, your love alone can set us free.
Your love alone can raise us to new life.
Your love alone can change us.
May it be so . . . today.
Amen.
