[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 10C

[joeparrish]

Forwarded: 


From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.

-------- Original message --------
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> 
Date:07/09/2016  9:31 PM  (GMT-05:00) 
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> 
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 10C 

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Seven Killings” and deals with all our lessons.  Here it is:







It’s been a terrible week! 


Tuesday morning (July 5, 2016), Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old father of five, was shot in the chest and back by a Louisiana police officer outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Sterling was selling CDs outside the Triple S Food Mart, the source said, when the homeless man approached him and asked for money. The man was persistent, and Sterling showed him his gun. “I told you to leave me alone,” Sterling told the man, according to the source. The homeless man then used his cell phone to call 911. We’ve heard the rest of the story.
Thursday morning (July 7, 2016), Philando Castile (a black man) was shot and killed in his car by a police officer outside St. Paul, Minnesota. Much of the incident was videoed by his girlfriend and shared on Facebook. This all happened with her 4 year old daughter in the back seat of the car. It scares me that this could have been my grandson.
Thursday evening after a peaceful march protesting the deaths of the above-mentioned black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota, five Dallas police officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded. The sniper, identified as 25-year-old Micah Johnson, told authorities that he was upset about the police shootings of two black men earlier this week and wanted to exterminate whites, “especially white officers.”
I told you it’s been a terrible week!
 
You heard the story of the plumb line from Amos.  You know what a plumb line is, don’t you?  When a builder is making a wall, he or she holds a plumb line against that wall to see if it’s straight.  If it is- fine; if not- that wall needs to be torn down so the building won’t fall down at a later date.  Why am I telling you about this?  Because in our Old Testament lesson, we heard that God held a plumb line up to his people and found they didn’t measure up.  You know what he saw? They didn’t measure up.  Guess what?  I hope God doesn’t hold a plumb line up to us, because we aren’t doing too well either right now. 
 
I really don’t have a sermon- just thoughts:


America’s original sin- racism.  Forget reparations- we never even apologized for slavery or Jim Crow laws and practices.  Our white person’s way of handling it, in my opinion, has just been to pretend it doesn’t happen and sweep instances of injustice under the rug.  With cell phone cameras and police body cameras- that won’t work anymore.  Technology has the possibility of forcing change- let’s pray it is positive.
What do we do in this difficult time? Change what we can.  President Obama’s task force has a training program of some sort for police departments.  Is the Saginaw Police Department using it?  What else are they doing to prevent these types of incidents?
What do we do personally in this difficult time?  “Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good” (Romans 12:21).  How? 
Don’t participate in gossip, division.  Expect the best in people.
Do what Jesus said in today’s Gospel- love (in other words- want what’s best for) your neighbor- even your enemy.  Remember, Samaritans considered Jews their absolute enemies- labeled them “half-breeds.” Remember- Christian love is tough love.
 NO REVENGE! “‘Vengeance is mine.  I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19-21).
Hold people acting in an unjust way accountable.  If they will treat you unfairly, they will treat others who aren’t as strong as you are in an unfair way.  If it’s God’s business, it’s your business.  Handle difficulties peacefully.
If dealing with an unjust situation- document, document, document- and then use the documentation to stop the unfairness. 
Protect yourself.  If stopped by the police- DO EXACTLY AS THEY TELL YOU AND DON’T ARGUE.  If you are in a car, keep your hands on the wheel or where the officer can see them.  If you document, you can deal with any injustice at a safer, later time.  The ACLU has a phone app that is supposed to document negative police encounters (http://www.aclumich.org/MobileJusticeMI ). It might be worth checking out.
 
Jesus said, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.”  Here’s that plumb line again.  May God bless us with power and endurance as we struggle to live what we believe in these difficult times, and may God bless the United States of America.


 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .

 

Blessed preaching,

Judy Boli

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw, Michigan

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