In this New Year, speak more bravely
Nine days stand between us and the inauguration of a president who promises to restore dignity and justice to the office of President of our United States. Six days ago the 45th president incited a racist mob's overtaking of the halls of our government and for the first time in our nation's history, the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capital. I can make no excuses for these racist, cowardly, unpatriotic acts: not for the leaders who incited them nor the people who enacted them.
Our faith, however, calls us to the work of reconciliation and of justice for all people. Based on the photos I've seen from Wednesday, there are scores of white folks who need to be called to the defendant side of Lady Justice's scales, and so much more work we as a nation need to do. As so many of us know, the first step to solving a problem is naming a problem. Here goes one attempt.
America is a racist country through and through. While not every American is as racist as every other American; while some Americans are more often the victims than the perpetrators; while many of us—especially people of faith—try hard to unlearn our white supremacy, we must name this fact. Racism is this country's original sin, a sin for which we have never fully repented, a sin that clings too closely to each and every one of us.
What we know, though, is that God is all too willing to forgive our sins if only we ask. In this New Year, I invite us all to speak more bravely of the ways that hold us back, the privilege we cling to that separates us from true freedom, and our hopes for ourselves, our nation, and our world. Of all the untruths I have heard this past week, perhaps the greatest is from those who say last Wednesday's acts of treason "are not who America is." I disagree. The actions of last Wednesday are exactly who America has been for far too long and is still to this day.
In the book of Acts, we hear these words: "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away." Beloved, take these words to heart. Listen to your heart. I ask this of myself and ask this of you: how can I turn more to God this very day? Are we ready to create a new America, one where freedom and justice for all really means it?
Peace be with you,
Pastor Will
