1 Lent 2009

Homily
Service of Repentance for the Sin of Slavery and Racism
The Rev. Susan J. Latimer

When Jesus picked up the scroll in the synagogue and read from the prophet Isaiah, he announced his mission to the world.
Jesus came to “bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, to let the oppressed go free….”

Jesus was a prophet, and much more than a prophet. He preached in the great prophetic tradition, which reached back into the history of the Hebrew people – Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Ezekiel, Daniel all prophets who spoke God’s word of correction and warning to a religious tradition gone off track.

Jesus used the Hebrew Scriptures themselves as a corrective lens to the tradition.

Prophets are never particularly popular with the general public, because they challenge people to look at the status quo. They comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. They ask questions, and make demands.
A true prophet will not be afraid to “speak truth to power”. Prophets point out the sin that lives within the institutions.

Sin is a difficult subject.
Prophets and Lent always calls us to look at sin, and it is always uncomfortable to look at sin
( unless of course we are pointing our finger at someone else’s sin…
That should be uncomfortable as well, but sometimes we take pleasure in it…)

The liturgy today has probably made us all uncomfortable in some way.
-- it should make all of us uncomfortable
-- it is liturgy in the prophetic tradition.

This liturgy is calling the entire Episcopal Church and all of its parts, including this congregation, to repent for sins against the African American people of this country. Some of these sins are long past, some still lingering on in the wider institution.
In our liturgy we pray a corporate confession where we ask forgiveness
for our sins,
known and unknown,
things done and left undone”.

It is often difficult to even begin to look at sin that we know we have done – not to mention uncovering unknown sins
or thinking about all those good things which we have not done….

When we look at corporate sin, or institutional sin, as we are today, it raises these questions – as a part of the Church, the Body of Christ -
What have I done or left undone that contributed to this injustice?
How have I benefited from this injustice?
What can I do to make things right?
What other injustices are there today, and how can I work towards justice?
It is this last question that I want to reflect upon a little today…

As we reflect upon the church’s history with African Americans, it is important also to acknowledge other groups that have been treated as “less than equal” by the institutional church.

In the past, the Church has used the Bible to justify slavery.
The Church has also used the Bible to justify discrimination against women, children, native peoples, and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered people.

In the past 60 years, the Episcopal church has moved from an institution in which women could not serve on a Vestry or as a lay reader or an acolyte, much less in the ordained ministry - to the place where women’s ministries are embraced in most Dioceses, and we now have a woman as presiding bishop!

We still have a long way to go, however, in the church’s acceptance of lgbt folks.

When I was ordained to the transitional deaconate in the Diocese of Atlanta in 1992, only one out of the three churches interviewing that year would even interview any of the women candidates. There were at best two or three women Rectors, and perhaps only one or two African American Rectors, out of 100 parishes in the Diocese.

My guess is that the percentages are even worse nationwide today - for church positions available for openly gay and lesbian clergy.

At the present time, partnered openly gay and lesbian clergy are not allowed to be called as Rector in this or many other Dioceses.

So what can we do?
How can we work towards justice for all in this wonderful, but flawed institution of the Episcopal Church?

First – pay attention. Stay informed. Then – join the prophets!

In the great Anglican tradition of holding Scripture, Tradition, and Reason as equal partners in the theological conversation– we can use the Scriptures themselves to critique our Traditions.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians about the radical equality of Baptism:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28

In the Episcopal Church, when we are baptized, we make this vow:
We promise to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. ( BCP 303 )

If you join the prophets, you will not be the most popular person on your block. But we can take inspiration from Jesus, and speak out against injustice and oppression wherever we find it.
We can make our voices heard and our views known in the councils of the church.

The Episcopal Church has the potential to be in the forefront of human rights work. Other denominations, mostly Black Churches, were instrumental to the civil rights movement, which was anchored in the Christian faith – faith as understood through the prophets and the prophetic Christ. This parish has a great history of social justice ministry. It is up to us to carry on those traditions which strive for justice in our world today.