Excerpt from sermon on 06/21/2015:
As we journey with Jesus through this life, storms will rage about us. Right now, our country is confronted, again, with the storm of racism. This week, the storm of racism took the form of a 21-year-old Caucasian man. He entered the sacred space of a church and murdered nine people. Their crime? They looked different than he looks. They were African American and their skin was a different color. My sisters and brothers in Christ, in the kingdom of heaven this difference between us does not matter. That night, there was no heaven on earth in that church. That young man created hell on earth, and we all felt it’s raging heat when we heard the news.
We have heard, over and over again this year, of violence toward the “other” who is different than we are in some way. More often than not, the “others” are minorities, and the violence done to them is done by the majority. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, taught that we are to care for the minorities of the world. He taught us that what we do to the least among us we do to him. And yet, every day, Jesus is crucified somewhere by those in power today. Sometimes he is crucified by those in political power. Sometimes he is crucified by those in social power. Sometimes he is crucified by those in economic power. Sometimes he is crucified by those in religious power. Every day, the least among us are crucified by the greatest among us somewhere, all over the world. And this is Sin, with a capital “s,” and shameful.
FULL SERMON HERE
As we journey with Jesus through this life, storms will rage about us. Right now, our country is confronted, again, with the storm of racism. This week, the storm of racism took the form of a 21-year-old Caucasian man. He entered the sacred space of a church and murdered nine people. Their crime? They looked different than he looks. They were African American and their skin was a different color. My sisters and brothers in Christ, in the kingdom of heaven this difference between us does not matter. That night, there was no heaven on earth in that church. That young man created hell on earth, and we all felt it’s raging heat when we heard the news.
We have heard, over and over again this year, of violence toward the “other” who is different than we are in some way. More often than not, the “others” are minorities, and the violence done to them is done by the majority. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, taught that we are to care for the minorities of the world. He taught us that what we do to the least among us we do to him. And yet, every day, Jesus is crucified somewhere by those in power today. Sometimes he is crucified by those in political power. Sometimes he is crucified by those in social power. Sometimes he is crucified by those in economic power. Sometimes he is crucified by those in religious power. Every day, the least among us are crucified by the greatest among us somewhere, all over the world. And this is Sin, with a capital “s,” and shameful.
FULL SERMON HERE
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