"Grace, Forgiveness, and Race" - Article for July 2015 Newsletter
NRSV: 2nd Corinthians 6:13 In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.
The Voice: 2nd Corinthians 6:13 If I could offer some fatherly advice: open
yourselves up as children; share your hearts with us as we have done for you.
People of Immanuel,
When I was writing my sermon for
Father’s day and focusing on 2nd Corinthians (see here) I knew that I could take my sermon
in many different ways, but two would be on the forefront of our attention:
Father’s day, like I did, but also looking at the tragedy that occurred in
Charleston, SC that week. I went with Father’s Day as my focus because I felt
it important to address on the actual day. But, the events at Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church are important to address as well.
Despite
what many people say we still have a problem in our country regarding race and
hatred. It is something that may not affect any of us directly at any point in
our lives, but we still have to acknowledge that for many in our country, they
live in fear of their neighbors simply because of the color of their skin. It’s
to this that we need to radically apply Paul’s fatherly advice. Opening our
hearts, and sharing them with each other. We need to see that the color of our
skin has nothing to do with our being Children of God.
We need to be like the people of
Emanuel AME who responded to the shooter not with words of hatred, but of
forgiveness. (NPR Story) “I forgive you,” Nadine Collier, the daughter of 70-year-old Ethel
Lance, said at the hearing, her voice breaking with emotion. “You took
something very precious from me. I will never talk to her again. I will
never, ever hold her again. But I forgive you. And have mercy on your soul.”
(from Washington Post Article)
That is not
an easy thing, but it’s the needed thing. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “We can
no longer afford to worship the God of hate or bow before the
altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the
ever-rising tides of hate. History is cluttered with the wreckage
of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of
hate. Love is the key to
the solution of the problems of the world.”
We need to
remember our name, Immanuel or Emanuel, God with us. And that God came to us
because of love. I encourage you to read the letter written by
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton regarding this tragedy found here. I encourage you to listen to President Obama's Eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, to hear his words of God's amazing grace.
I encourage you
to read and listen to these words and pray. Pray for the families of those killed, Rev. Clementa
Pinckney, Cynthia Hurd, Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Tywanza Sanders, Ethel
Lance, Susie Jackson, Depayne Middleton Doctor, Rev. Daniel Simmons, Myra
Thompson, pray for the shooter, pray for his family, pray for all else working
to console those who grieve, and pray for love to be found.
Peace and
Love,
Pastor Erik
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