[Propertalk] Proper 18 b - part 2

[Robert P Morrison]

Second part of the draft for Sunday -

	Last Tuesday, Gay Jennings, the President of the House of Deputies of
The Episcopal Church, and Katharine Jefferts Schori, our Presiding
Bishop, wrote a letter to The Episcopal Church in all of its seventeen
countries around the world, asking that this day, the 6th of
September, be a Day of Confession, Repentance and Commitment to end
Racism. 

	Perhaps it’s helpful for us to think of this call in terms of where
Jesus found Himself when He and the Syrophoenician woman engaged in
dialogue. Jesus seemed so sure of Himself, and of His role in the
world. He walked from Galilee to Judah; He stood and talked in the
massive, gorgeously arrayed Temple in Jerusalem as well as in the
small, probably plainly arranged synagogues of the countryside; He
engaged people as He walked the trade routes; and He spoke about the
inclusive love of God, the overwhelming desire of God to take care of
ALL of people’s needs. Then He turned around and was incredibly
dismissive of the woman whose young daughter was in such desperate
need of healing. 

	She was a woman. She was from a different ethnic group, albeit
probably close to being cousin to Jesus. She had an accent. She seemed
so uppity in her demands. But all she wanted was to be treated like
everyone else. All she needed was what she’d seen and heard Jesus do
and say all around her. So she took on Jesus. She called Him out for
His shortsightedness, for His lack of awareness of what was happening
and who was being oppressed. She wouldn’t give up. She argued until
finally Jesus paid her such a backhanded compliment. “Because
you’re such a wily nag, your daughter’s healed.” 

	Jesus was really amazed. His eyes were opened, His own vision of the
love of God was expanded limitlessly. And He found out first hand that
persistence DOES pay off, no matter uncomfortable is makes one feel. 

	“On June 17, nine members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in
Charleston, South Carolina, were murdered by a white racist during
their weekly bible study. Just a few days later at General Convention
in Salt Lake City,” wrote Gay and Katharine, “we committed
ourselves to stand in solidarity with the AME Church as they respond
with acts of forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice (Resolution A302
[1]). 

	 “Now our sisters and brothers in the African Methodist Episcopal
(AME) Church have asked us to make that solidarity visible by
participating in ‘Confession, Repentance, and Commitment to End
Racism Sunday [2]’ …” 3 

	 Each one of us, and each Episcopal congregation is asked to pray and
to take action, to talk earnestly with God, asking “What’s wrong
with us, that this goes on in our own communities?”  

	 “Racism will not end with the passage of legislation alone; it
will also require a change of heart and thinking,” writes AME Bishop
Reginald T. Jackson.   

	 “This is an effort which the faith community must lead, and be the
conscience of the nation. We will call upon every church, temple,
mosque and faith communion to make their worship service on this
Sunday a time to confess and repent for the sin and evil of racism,
this includes ignoring, tolerating and accepting racism, and to make a
commitment to end racism by the example of our lives and actions.” 

	 One of the tragedies of human life is that it often takes some
situation of desperation before we act. We find ourselves confronted
with all sorts of Syrophoenician women, begging for life, for
education, for food, even, for their children. Yet even when our peace
is shattered by the latest violence or atrocity we rush for our label
jar and reach in to pull out something to excuse and justify our
inaction or the behaviour of others. 

	 “It’ll cripple the economy if we do such-and-such.” “The
city cannot afford to open clinics or any more meal programmes.”
“Why doesn’t everyone else live up to our standards? What’s
wrong with them?”  


Links:
------
[1] http://publicaffairs.cmail1.com/t/r-l-fdlkujy-xihjhoid-n/
[2] http://publicaffairs.cmail1.com/t/r-l-fdlkujy-xihjhoid-p/

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