Our worship service for this Sunday is going to be heavily framed around the scriptures selected last month, and the current events going on all around us.
Make no mistake, this will be uncomfortable.
Discipleship is always uncomfortable. It requires pruning, self-sacrifice, and the destruction of our idols. Discipleship, in essence, is the act of allowing Jesus to undo that which we have done to and for ourselves, others, and intentionally choose to live another way – His way.
This introduction to our worship is adapted from Lura Groen, a Lutheran minister from Maryland.
Dear fellow white people, are you feeling some bad feelings right now? Sad? Worried? Angry? Confused? Unsure? Dear ones, I’m sorry to tell you, that’s good. Don’t try too hard to make them go away. We need to get used to being uncomfortable.
We can’t let those feelings paralyze us, it’s true. And they are not the end goal. But the ability to experience them without forcing them to go away is a necessary emotional skill to have if we are going to do any work for a better world.
In part because they can motivate us. But also because unlearning what we’ve been taught as white people is going to be uncomfortable sometimes. And learning to participate in a more just world is not always fun for us.
There is joy on the other side. There is a more full community, a release from guilt, people to love and be loved by, pleasure, and fullness and safety for all. But we can’t skip the steps before we get there.
Christians shouldn’t be super surprised by this; it’s part of our story of discipleship, of going through the cross to get to resurrection, of giving up our life so we will save it. Let’s not forget all that when it comes to whiteness.
In Jesus’ holy name, Amen. Emmanuel, let us continue our worship.
Call to Worship (Adapted from Joanna Harader’s use of Isaiah 1:10-20)
God says, “Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.”
Are we here as a charade?
Are we playing a game?
Are our prayers just a way to show off how spiritual we are?
Why are we here?
Not to show that we are wonderful people,
but to become better people.
To strengthen our spirits as we seek to live out God’s call:
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
May this time of worship bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Scripture Reading – Psalm 34:18 (CEB)
Prayer for Government Leaders (based on Psalm 72)
O God, give Your love of justice to those who rule our land.
Help them to rule with wisdom and compassion,
so that the poor and powerless may be treated fairly and with justice.
Open their ears to the cries for help from those caught
in cycles of poverty, abuse or violence.
Give them wisdom to know how best to respond,
and courage to do the right thing, even when it may not be popular.
Under their rule, may the people flourish;
may there be lasting peace and plenty for all. Amen.
Scripture Reading – (CEB)
Meditation on Scripture and Current Events
Confession
Before we begin our act of confession, please read this thought from Amanda Quriashi. Remember, discipleship is uncomfortable. Being a Christian means we can sit in the discomfort rather than try to escape it. Jesus is with us. He will sustain us in our discomfort.
Amanda Quriashi writes,
If a random person were to approach you with a distressed look on their face, look into your eyes and say, “My life MATTERS!” – would your first response be, “What has happened to this person that they need to assert their value as a human? I should find out and help them!”
Or would it be, “Yeah? My life matters, too! ALL LIVES MATTER, buddy!” If the former, then why would our response be any different to a large group of people asserting their humanity in the same way? If the latter, then I would recommend some serious personal reflection.
Because no one feels the need to remind you of their humanity, in the most basic terms, unless they feel like it’s being threatened.
It belies a *profound* lack of empathy, and a complete lack of personal power to look at the assertion of someone else’s humanity as taking away from your own worth. If you feel powerful and secure, you are not at all threatened by someone else’s need to be seen and heard.
What we are talking about here is exercising our deepest values – of empathy, kindness, love, faith and sacrifice. You know, all those lofty things we like to pontificate about and judge other people for not having enough of.
Spend a moment in confession to Jesus our savior. Confess the places in your life you have refused empathy, kindness, love, faith, and sacrifice. May we be a people that quickly judge ourselves rather than others.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Our Lord Jesus said: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Hear the good news!
Christ died for us,
Christ rose for us,
Christ reigns in power for us,
Christ prays for us.
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.
The old life has gone; a new life has begun.
Believe the good news of the gospel:
In Jesus Christ you are forgiven.
Communion
It is our tradition to take communion on the first Sunday of each month. We celebrate a great mystery when we participate in this meal. Christ shows up. In simple elements, we remember Christ’s actions, and therefore participate in his redemptive love, his commissioning, and get a foretaste of the banquet that is to come. Scripture gives us the image of highways and byways and bushes being searched to invite all of humanity to the table – the banquet.
As you take whatever bread and juice you have in your home, utter these words and know that Jesus is with you.
Jesus, thank you for your sustaining body and blood. As we participate in this mystery, make us agents of reconciliation for your Kingdom. Amen.
Benediction
May the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control reign supreme in Christians across God’s good world. Amen.
Thanks to the 3 of you for your important Insights. Having been born in NC, I was raised for my first 6 years as in “The Help”. However, my mother always modeled how to reach out to our black maid when she was in need and taught us how the black community lived in poverty. My next experience was with my mom, sister and me living in a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Oakland among many black families. I did not understand why people did not like us. Long adventure short, I came to the conclusion that the hardest life I knew was the life of a black woman. Since that time, I have added women of many situations to my list. I have an understanding of my white privilege but do not always know what to do to make a big difference. I think I have just tried to do small acts that are not nearly enough. Hopefully, I will grow.
That was introspectively powerful and humbling. Thanks
Thank you for taking us out of our comfort areas of Scripture. We so often avoid those verses that challenge us in our walk. Blessings to you for challenging us to examine all areas of Scripture.
Thanks David, for your willingness to lead us in a difficult but necessary discussion. And thanks to Steve and Pippa for their personal stories and challenges to us. A large part of the body of Christ, the Black church, had been suffering because of our silence for too long. Thanks for leading us into a period of changing that. I know I have some repenting to do.
Thank you David, Steve, and Pippa, for being willing and so articulate in tackling a difficult and crucial topic. We don’t like to hear that we need to repent. Yet we do, both individually and as a church. David, I have found your book recommendation, Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan, to be challenging and eye-opening.
I pray for my openness, and the openness of EPC, to listen to the lessons our Lord would reveal to us, and I pray for the courage and conviction to act.
One thing I did not say in the video that I’d like to share with you now. I first heard the gospel clearly when I was a freshman in college. My response was a total and violent rejection of it, in large part because of my own pride and sin that I didn’t want to give up, but also because those who were “witnessing” to me spoke with distinct southern accents. This was in 1962, and those accents conjured up all sorts of painful images of white southerners viciously beating and harassing blacks who were trying to exercise their rights as human beings in the streets and restaurants of their communities. And many of those whites loudly invoked Jesus’ name to justify their actions. No way did I want to be a part of their Christianity.
Three years later, I did succumb to Jesus’ call. As I have almost always told the story, God and I had a long, loud, painful conversation on the night of November 20, 1965, which ended with me saying, not “Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and Savior,” but “Okay, God, I give up. Take me, I’m yours.” But there was something I said immediately following that statement of surrender that I rarely tell anyone about. I said, “But God, just don’t let me become like them!” I, of course, still had those pictures in my mind of all those southern Christian bigots.
I think the reason I don’t usually share that last part of my conversion statement is because it carries a pretty big dose of pride that I instinctively knew God needed to deal with. So in my early years as a believer I concentrated on getting to know that person who had created me and was now running my life. I did not want to go off on crusades promoting MY issues, like women’s place in the church and racial injustice. One huge plus from this silent period: God used it not only to let me get to know and deeply love him, but also to form an unbreakable bond of love with people who don’t share my politics or my view of history or my beliefs on women in the church or my feelings on race, but who DO share my love of Jesus.
But 55 years of silence? I am so ashamed that in fear of offending some of my brothers and sisters in Christ I have waited this long to stand up and say, “Yes, black lives matter! They mattered to me before I was a Christian, and they matter even more to me now.” I am so grateful that we have a patient, merciful, and forgiving God, and I beg him to give me the grace to speak out humbly and clearly on this issue as long as I still have breath.
Thoughts that ran through my head and I need to work on — I think “repent” means to regret some thought or action (which I certainly do often), but it seems to me to suggest, if not require, a need to do something better. Of course that “don’t do that” is better, but like Jesus when He called Matthew (Levi) from his job as tax collector, He said “follow me.” He didn’t say “Just do you job and don’t do bad stuff” – He gave Matthew an alternative, “follow me,” on which Matthew could start immediately. Even John the Baptist said “bring forth fruits worthy of repentance” – show by your actions that you have changed. Sometimes it is hard to know what specifically I need to do or think to bring forth these fruits. May I pay attention to God as He shows me.
On the racism (tribalism, too) of our society. I have often wondered if the extremity we see here isn’t enhanced by the absence of required public service for everyone (like the draft, but more general). Pippa mentioned a Black Lives Matter bill like the GI bill, which seems good to me; but I wonder if it might not be good to have a GI experience which throws all people (all races, backgrounds, genders) into common service to society for a time in which they must support one another for the common good and in the process might learn about each other more deeply as well as get common experiences as a base to share and compare with others (and also get training, basic food, shelter, and clothing, medical care, and education to give them a base to start pursuing happiness). I often wonder if some of our current racism and tribalism hasn’t been increased by the ending of the draft in the 70’s and the loss of this common (albeit imperfect) communal experience by many.
Thank you for the lesson today. Was a very emotional and heartfelt discussion. Thank you to Steve and Pippa for their comments and views. A lot to digest and think about this week. Have a blessed week.