Modern-day marchers continue the legacy of marchers during Civil Rights protests, including the 1963 March on Washington. Black and white photo by Marion S. Trikosko
By the Rev. Canon Kathy Walker
There are times in history when the country and its people find themselves at an inflection point. We are living in one such time now.
These are head-spinning days, when citizens are losing rights given to them centuries ago, and life-saving assistance is being withdrawn from large segments of society. The nationwide protests occurring in cities large and small harken back to people taking to the streets in the 1960s and 70s to demand civil rights, women’s rights and an end to a deadly war with no clear path to resolution. In some of these major societal issues of the past, there were churches that took big stands and were forceful participants on one side or the other. Others stood on the sideline, opting instead not to engage in what some considered politics.
Why does this matter? Well, Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25, NKJV) This is a time when those called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus can no longer stand by and simply be spectators of what is happening around us. We must find the courage, passion and energy to proclaim the gospel that “all means all,” and we are all, indeed, equal in the eyes of God.
WHY IT MATTERS HISTORY IS REPEATING
I grew up in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. Until the time I was a teenager, I had a pretty singular view of The Episcopal Church. Ours was a large, intergenerational congregation. Most of the parishioners lived in geographically close proximity to one another. Women were always well dressed for service on Sunday, wearing high heels, hats and, sometimes, matching gloves. Men wore only suits to church. There were no women on the altar—they served as the altar guild. We worshipped strictly out of the Book of Common Prayer. We sang hymns only from the Episcopal hymnal. I never knew of a service that did not include the sanctus bells and incense. “High church” was what they called it.
We heard sermons that talked about the day when we would reach the promised land. We were formed on the promise that better days were surely ahead of us and that our prayers—said and sung—were being heard by God. God will never leave us, we were told repeatedly.
We could not attend services at the cathedral located in downtown Miami. Of course, our parents never put it in that framework; it was just a fact of life. Instead, we had our own cathedral located in Overtown, a Black section of Miami. The two cathedrals were about 10 minutes away from each other, and yet they were worlds apart. The Overtown cathedral, in its heyday, was a center where many Black people gathered to discuss the political climate and its impact on the once-proud community where urban renewal shuttered local businesses and bulldozed homes. The interstate was constructed right through the middle of the neighborhood, leaving many displaced and unemployed. Black churches worked to develop strategies to care for their communities, sometimes independent of diocesan support. This same kind of story was replicated in cities and towns all around the country. There was one central theme: Support from the dioceses was often absent.
Why does this matter? As history begins to repeat itself, steps forward begin to reverse, and entire communities are targeted for disenfranchisement in a number of ways, we are confronted once again with decisions to make about the appropriate Christian response.
WHY IT MATTERS WE FOLLOW JESUS
Sunday after Sunday, we preach about the Gospel of Jesus that calls us to be generous with love and compassion. We are challenged to love one another as God loves us. We are compelled to serve one another. God had given us a blueprint for how to live in the world, and we continue to fall short of the world God has envisioned for us. In so many congregations, we talk about Becoming Beloved Community. What is that? To answer, we hearken back to the Old Testament where God promises the “land of milk and honey.”
Beloved community is a major shift in how we approach life. It is God’s promise that there is a place where all are equal, and all are treated with the height of dignity. There is no need to feel anxious because there is plenty enough for all of God’s creatures.
We cannot continue to live in a divided world. If we are true followers of Jesus, we cannot profess our faith in church, and then step out into the world and advocate for reckless, lawless deportations of human beings. Videos are flooding our media spaces showing people being dragged away from their work and homes to places unknown and due process denied. Their children and loved ones are left fearfully sitting in an upper room wondering if they are next. American citizens have even been detained in some of these sweeps.
Our response to the undignified manner in which people are being disposed is critical. We are called to bear witness to inhumanity. In moments when we speak out, whether using our feet to march, our pens to write, or our voices to complain or rebuke, we exemplify the disciples that Jesus called to active duty thousands of years ago.
We cannot praise God with tongue and cymbal, and yet advocate to discontinue services like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and deny young people and their guardians access to food. When we support the denial of basic needs for survival, we fail the test of caring for the least of these. How can we ask Jesus for what we need and expect to be answered in the affirmative, while also praying for “the other” to be dealt with severely?
There is an understanding that following Jesus is not an easy life. It is riddled with difficult choices we must make every day. There is no shortage of challenges to trip us up. It is not all black and white. And yet, we are called to wrestle with difficult issues and make definitive decisions. Whose voices deserve to be heard in the public square? How did the homeless end up unsheltered? Should that be my concern? Is everyone entitled to some level of healthcare? Should we assume that “others” have less because they don’t work for it? Was every person of color in every industry hired or promoted because of diversity, equity and inclusion?
When a determination is made to cancel all programs or opportunities or books based on a noxious supposition, real people are impacted. The question of dignity afforded should never be debated based on perceptions or opinions of what a person deserves. Our baptismal covenant calls us to respect the dignity of every human being. No conditions, disclaimers or requirements come with that promise. When Jesus went up the mountain to talk to the crowds who had followed him from Galilee through the surrounding region, he gave a lot of instructions, including the Beatitudes. One of his admonishments to his followers was about judging others. He said, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Matthew 7:1-2, NRSV)
There must be a constant return to Scripture to avoid the temptations of the world. Those temptations include living life in two worlds: the faithful and the secular. We are each one human, and we cannot serve two masters. If we love God as God loves us, our priority is and must be to build a path of empathy, mercy and love so that others may join our journey.
In an era of exhaustive news cycles, constant social media tugs and countless other notifications, help Jesus break through the noise. Live the gospel. Proclaim the good news. Above all, commit to moving all of us a little closer to becoming the beloved community.
The Rev. Canon Kathy Walker is the canon missioner for Black ministries for the Diocese of North Carolina.
Roundtables on Race
The diocesan podcast “Roundtables on Race” begins a new season this fall. The Rev. Canon Kathy Walker hosts conversations around why and how decisions in the headlines today matter across a multitude of societal areas.
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