Hospitality or Mi casa es su casa

Scripture.  Matthew 10:40-42. NRSV

40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

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Y’know, if I didn’t ’t know this was from Matthew’s Gospel, I would think it came from John.  "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward…”.    It sounds like John’s writing style, doesn’t it? 

Welcoming - I don’t believe I have ever heard of a church who didn’t say they were welcoming and friendly.  And yet, we know very well that some people are more welcome than others.  We find evidence, in Paul’s letters for example, that this is not a new thing at all.  “Don’t seat the rich man up front and tell the poor man to sit over there out of the way.”   In the first century church, the divisions that caused some individuals to be treated differently than others tended to be between rich and poor, slave and free, Gentile Christian and Jewish Christian, male and female.  Again, Paul points this out and says “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  Even back then, at the very beginning of the church, people had a hard time being fully welcoming of everyone who came.  And by fully welcoming, I mean every person without exception can aspire to and attain any position in the Church.   And we know that’s just not reality most places. “Nope, you can’t be (pastor or an elder or a Board member or team leader) because you’re a woman, you’re gay, your English isn’t good enough, you can’t get in the building because of the stairs.”  The other thing that happens is, “Oh good, we would love to have you as (pastor, elder, board member, team chair) because you are Black, lesbian, young, a Dreamer, transgender, and we don’t have one of your kind yet.” 

Even in congregations that are Open and Affirming and multi-racial and appear to be very welcoming, there are still signs that some people are more welcome than others, although those signs are somewhat less obvious.  If a congregation is bi-lingual but the service and the music is in only one language, some people are more welcome than others.  If a congregation is multi-racial or multi-ethnic, but worship doesn’t even give lip service to non-Western European forms of worship or music, some people are more welcome than others.   And no, we don’t all worship the same way.  I’ve been to many different kinds of worship services in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - in Spanish congregations and African-American congregations, and even a couple of Korean congregations and, while they all contain the same elements as a typical White congregation’s service, they are different from each other in style and flavor.   If a congregation is made up of people from a variety of cultures, those cultures need to be recognized and celebrated in the worship service - if everyone is truly welcome.  

Every group of immigrants to this country has faced prejudice and rejection.  When my mother’s grandparents arrived, there were signs every where saying “No Irish.”  Whether for a  job or for a rental, the sign made it very clear that no Irish need apply.  The solution was simple, of course. Drop the O from O’Grady and lose the accent.  Ta Da!  No longer obviously Irish. By the time my father’s mother arrived from Ireland, the Irish were pretty much accepted - at least as far as jobs and such.  It was the same with the Germans, Polish, Scandinavians, Russians, Northern Italians . . . (Sicilians and some Spaniards were a little dark, so they may have taken a bit longer to fit in) . . but for the most part whenever any European immigrated to the US, it wasn’t hard to for them to become assimilated.      

The same cannot be said for Asian, African, and Latin American immigrants and their descendants - whether they originally came here willingly or unwillingly.  They cannot simply change their name or lose an accent, and fit in.  And, seriously, why should anyone have to change their name to “fit in.”?   Uy Vu  is my friend, college classmate, and former choir director at my first church.  He came to the US from Vietnam with his parents when he was about 12. While he was a student at Chapman University he became a citizen, and when he got back to campus later that day, he told all his friends in the choir what it was like. Then he asked them to guess what his American name was.  After many wrong  guesses, he told them, “It’s Uy Vu.  Because - I am an American now.”   2nd and 3rd and 4th generation Asian and Latinx Americans very often meet with disbelief when they try to explain that they were born here.  They don’t come from some other country. They often do not even speak the language of their ancestors.  Which makes total sense to me. It’s not like I can speak Gaelic.  But then, nobody expects me to.  Cause I’m white.  White people speak American English. - Yes, I know that’s not always true, but it is the assumption people make.  

Although our current situation - worshipping online, not being able to use our building, not being able to see each other - is not really our favorite thing, the fact is this will be our reality for a while. And we don’t have any idea how long “a while” might be.   But you know, it’s not all bad.   

We have no building - which means no stairs - which means people with limited mobility can attend worship.  

We can’t see each other - which means we don’t have any idea about the race or ethnicity or gender of the persons attending our worship services.  Or even whether they’ve showered lately.

We can’t hear each other - which means we don’t have any idea whether someone speaks English with or without an accent.  Or whether they can carry a tune.

Online worship means we can carry the Good News far outside our building - literally to the ends of the earth.

People are welcome to join us for worship even if they don’t have transportation.  

They can feel welcome to worship even if they don’t know what things to stand up and sit down for (you can sit down for the whole thing at home.)

They can feel comfortable worshipping with us even if they would not come to worship services inside our building - for whatever reason.  

 Of course, online services only welcome persons who have access to the internet via computer or tablet or smart phone.  So some persons are still more welcome than others.  And this is sad.  

At First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Selma, California, we say All are welcome, and all means ALL.  And we are sincere in saying that, even though we know that there are some limitations to that welcome, whether we are in our building or online.  But we continue to work toward truly welcoming every person who desires to worship God with us.

Jesus said, Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me.  

And I say to you, whenever we extend welcome to any person, any person,

we welcome Christ.  

In our current reality, when we do not worship inside a building, 

when we cannot use our physical sanctuary,  

Let each of us be God’s sanctuary.

Let each of us welcome any and all who would join us,

and in doing so, welcome Christ. 

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Zombies?

Scripture: Romans 6:1b-11. CEB 

6 So what are we going to say? Should we continue sinning so grace will multiply? 2 Absolutely not! All of us died to sin. How can we still live in it? 3 Or don’t you know that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore, we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life. 5 If we were united together in a death like his, we will also be united together in a resurrection like his. 6 This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore, 7 because a person who has died has been freed from sin’s power. 8 But if we died with Christ, we have faith that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and he will never die again. Death no longer has power over him. 10 He died to sin once and for all with his death, but he lives for God with his life. 11 In the same way, you also should consider yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

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Good morning.  Happy Father’s Day.  We are officially in Summer now, so in California’s Central Valley we can expect 100+ degree sunny days for the foreseeable future.   Perhaps sheltering in place is not such a hardship right now, at least not for those of us blessed with air-conditioning, anyway.

As many of you know, I usually finish writing my message on Saturday morning so that I can record and upload it before noon, so just in case anything weird happens with the interwebz I can get it to Jordan some other way.   This week - today - instead of writing my message first thing, I tuned in to the live stream of the Mass Poor People’s Campaign and Moral March on Washington.  That was at 7 am.  It didn’t end till nearly 10:30, so I got a later start than most weeks.   There were many excellent and passionate speakers. There were testimonies by dozens of people affected by poverty, racism, as well as unhealthy air and water, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and other issues that affect the poor disproportionately.  I was pleased to see Disciples well represented by Rev. Alvin Jackson, Pastor Emeritus of Park Avenue Christian Church, and the Rev. Teresa Hord Owen, Disciples General Minister and President.  And of course, by the co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign, The Reverend Dr. William J Barber, II, who delivered the closing message.  It was kind of strange to listen to him preach with only one or two people listening in person, because there were a lot of places for Amens and other responses.   I did notice that the lack of people in front of him did not seem to affect his passion or the power of his words at all, so there’s that. 

You know, I should probably never spend a morning watching great preachers like Pastor Barber, and then try to write my own message.  Because - wow.  

You all know how I am.  I took one look at this reading about being dead to sin and rising from the dead, and corpses controlled by sin, and my mind immediately went to zombies.  Some of you are fans of the Walking Dead and other zombie apocalypse stuff, and may also have had a similar reaction.  Or not.  I am not a fan of zombies, but there you go.  So I have this picture in my mind of some glittery misty body shaped entity, our soul perhaps, rising out of a rotting corpse with sin written on its back- a zombie.   It would be so great if it was that easy, right?  If sin was always as obvious as a zombie, ‘cause zombies tend to stand out, then avoiding sin  or even just recognizing it would be a snap.  Unfortunately, however, is not that easy.  I mean, murder and grand theft auto and abusing others are pretty obviously sins.      

But, sometimes sin seems rather unremarkable.   I’m trying to think of one of those. Maybe the sin of telling someone an untruth when that untruth is meant to keep from hurting them - like not saying how much you hate their new outfit - maybe that’s a kind of unremarkable sin.  You almost have to choose between hurting someone’s feelings and being strictly honest, and deciding which of those is the more loving behavior.   And maybe giggling over someone else’s misfortune - that’s almost certainly a sin.  

Sometimes what one person calls sin may not seem sinful to another.  Dancing, for instance.  Some Christian traditions think dancing is always sinful, while others incorporate liturgical dance in their worship services.   Some congregations have bingo nights, while others preach that gambling of any kind is a sin.  A woman wearing slacks is sinful in some traditions and not in others.   In those cases, if you do the forbidden thing and feel guilty about it, then it’s probably a sin for you. I guess.  Luckily, I’m not in charge of making that call.  

Sometimes sin seems quite lovely and lively, and not at all like a zombie.  Like acquiring mass quantities of money and stuff, you know? like the newest and coolest gadgets and clothes and car.  So very tempting, and truly, acquiring lots of stuff - wealth - in and of itself is not a terrible thing.  But the greed that keeps us from helping those who need our help when we have the wherewithal to do so - that is where the sin lies.  1Timothy 6: 9-10 tells us “those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”   These, who have wandered away from the faith because of these desires - these are zombies, I think.  For sin has reanimated the corpse that they once left behind in order to live in Christ.  Likewise, hating someone or even just treating them differently because of something that is not in their control - race, country of origin, gender or gender identity - that seems pretty obviously sinful.  There is, after all, that pesky commandment to love one another.    

Love is difficult.  It requires really hard work.  During the virtual March on Washington, Bishop Yvette Flunder, the pastor of City Of Refuge UCC in Oakland said, “My grandmother always used to say, Love is not a say word.  Love is a do word.”   We cannot say that we love someone if we are not willing to manifest that love in some tangible way.  If we say “I love everyone,” but are silent in the face of oppression, we do not love. Indifference to the 140 million men, women, and children living in poverty in not only not love, it is sin.

 

The speakers and the witnesses testifying at that event called out many sins that afflict us as individuals and as a nation and they called out the choice of so many to remain silent.  So many issues that disproportionately affect people living in poverty - in Appalachia, in our inner cities, in the Deep South, in rural Kansas - black, brown and white, of every age and gender and sexual identity.  Over and over, person after person said,  “Someone has been hurting our people, and it’s gone on for far too long, and we won’t be silent any more.”  Silence in the face of sin is sin. 

Dr. Barber said this is the time for a moral revival, a time for all of us to focus on living by the commandments to love God and each other.  He said that now, in the face of the pandemic, it is time for each of us to take inventory of our time on earth. To see how and where we love, how we spend our energy and our passion.  

If we are 48 hours from taking our last breath, what do we want to spend that breath on?   

Do we want to spend it on love, on caring for the most vulnerable?

Do we want to spend it standing up and speaking for those who most need our help?

Do we want to spend it fighting against the causes of poverty?

Do we want to die to sin?  

Do we want to leave sin behind so that we may live?  

Because this is a choice that we can make daily - 

the choice to leave sin behind, 

the choice to love - truly love - one another, 

to stand for the poor, the weak, the sick, the oppressed,

the choice to live in the Kingdom, in the beloved community, 

the choice to give our lives to the one who died for us

the choice to be alive for God through Jesus.

Even me?

Romans 5:1-8 (NRSV)

5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we  have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

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Good morning.  Or, Good afternoon, depending on when you are watching today’s Live Stream Quarantine Worship at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Selma, California - or reading this message on my blog.  If you are watching on the East Coast, it is definitely afternoon.  Assuming all goes well with our internet and software, West Coast people may be watching in the morning. One of the blessings of online worship is the opportunity to attend church at many different places all on the same day and hear many different preachers address the same scripture readings from a variety of perspectives.    And to show up whenever you want to show up, dressed however you want to be dressed.  When it is time to share the Lord’s Supper you might have bread and juice, or coffee and a donut, or something else entirely.  And at home you can sing - as loudly as you want, with little regard as to whether you actually hit the right notes.  When we come back together - whenever that is - we will not be singing.  Which is sad.  But, we want to keep everyone healthy so worship will look very different indeed - when the time comes.   We will, however, keep providing online worship for all who cannot be with us in person. 

So - Romans Chapter 5.  The New Revised Standard Version uses the words “justified by faith”.   Have you ever wondered what exactly justified by faith means?  Because I have.  I mean, if I want to justify a particular statement or action, I rely on research and logic and reasons - hopefully good reasons - for that particular statement or action.  So perhaps, taking the rest of that verse into account, this means that we are at peace with God because we have faith. So, the mere belief that Jesus is Savior is all it takes.. maybe? 

A question like this always sends me off to do research.  When I looked for this verse in the Common English Bible it said, “Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   So justified through faith here is interpreted as made righteous through his faithfulness.  In other words, it is not anything we do that brings us to a place of peace with God, but God’s own faithfulness toward us.  Romans 4:24 tells us that “[righteousness] will be credited to those of us who have faith in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”   So it’s not about us and our faith at all.  This is all about God, and God’s relationship with us.  

Then, just for fun, I looked in the Message Version, and found this: “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus.”   This kind of looks like it’s about our faith . . . but when we look back to Romans 4, we find this. “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.”   Abraham trusted God to keep faith with him by keeping the promise of a son.  “But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless.”   So this is still not about, “I believe in Jesus therefore I am reconciled with God.”  It is I trust that God will treat me faithfully, as Abraham was treated.  I come to that understanding of God - that God is faithful - because I have seen the resurrection of Jesus, and know in my heart that this was God’s work, and no other.  

Okay.  So far, so good.  But why me?  I’m sure Abraham asked that question, too.  After all, God came to Abraham specifically and chose him to go and become the father of nations.   Scripture doesn’t tell us that Abraham was particularly pious or godly in his behavior.   So, why him?   Maybe the better question is, why not him?  

We, who believe, don’t really have to ask why God was faithful to the promise made to Abraham.  We believe that God is faithful in all things.  Whatever God has promised will come to pass, because God always keeps promises.  It may take longer than we hoped - as was the case with Abraham and Sarah having a child, and the exiles returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the coming of the promised Messiah.  All of these things happened much more slowly than humans would have liked, but they happened.  Because God is always faithful.  God always keeps promises.  

Still, why me?  I can see God being faithful to people who are faithful to God, but me?  I  walked away from the church of my youth, spoke openly and often about my anger with and rejection of God, and led a far from righteous life for the next couple of decades.  Why me?  Because, Paul says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. . . But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” 

The Message Version says that a bit differently. “Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway.”  

True, that.  I wasn’t able to start doing the right thing, the righteous thing, until I was ready.  I wasn’t ready until I had started seeing God’s promises coming true in the world around me, and started believing that God is faithful, and started trusting that God loved me.  And I wasn’t ready to even see those things until someone said to me, “I know that you do not believe these things, but are you willing to believe that I believe, and keep an open mind?” I agreed that I could do that.  

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. . . But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”    

Sometimes I look around the world and wonder if we are ever going to be ready - if we are ever going to be able to reject sin and become reconciled with God and with each other.  John 3 tells us that, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God sent the Christ in order that the world might be saved, healed, reconciled - so that the world could learn to love God and each other.

I look around the world and wonder if we are ever going to be ready to be saved, healed, reconciled - with God and with each other.  With all the hate and divisiveness between us it is hard to see how we might ever be reconciled with one another.  

Just FYI - Reconciliation does not mean that we all agree with each other absolutely, any more than unity means uniformity.  According to Merriam Webster, reconciliation is the act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement. Or the process of finding a way to make two different ideas, facts, etc., exist or be true at the same time.  (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconciliation).  In other words, we can hold different opinions without hating one another.  We can believe different things without fighting with one another.  We can believe different things and still love one another.  

In Christian theology, reconciliation includes atonement or penance.  Atonement can take many forms. It can be whatever the parties who have been divided agree it should be.  It can be an apology, a heartfelt hug, a promise to be open minded in the future.  Reconciliation is more than simply letting bygones be bygones.  It is a commitment to act rightly in the future - to not allow differences to divide us, but to work at forming relationship that is lasting and based in love, in desiring the best for each other, just as God desires the best for us.

The differences that divide us from each other and from God are sin. We know this.  Hatred and anger, jealousy, resentment, fear of the other, all of these things that divide us from each other are sin.   “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”   God does not reject us or deny us, even when we disobey, even when we reject God, even when we cause physical, emotional or spiritual harm to ourselves and others by our sinful behavior.  God is faithful, even especially when we are not.  

And that, my beloved, is the Good News.  When we go forward into the world this week, may we remember that God’s love for us is steadfast and unconditional.  

God’s grace is undeserved, yet freely given.  

God is faithful.  

  

Amen.

Long Story Short

Scripture Matthew 28:16-20. 

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth.  19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

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This has been a very strange week.  The high temperatures have ranged between 82 and 105.  There have been demonstrations - huge crowds of people gathering to chant and carry signs, mostly peacefully, most wearing masks.  There have been some riots, and some looting, but for the most part the crowds have been peaceful.  I left the house for the first time since March 16 to meet with four members of the Board - outdoors, appropriately distanced, and masked - to discuss when and how to begin gathering for in-person worship again.  Businesses are re-opening after shutting down for a couple of months, improving the unemployment rate.  Meanwhile, the numbers of those infected with the new coronavirus, Covid19, are edging up again. And will probably go higher, what with the huge crowds of people gathering to protest.  It has been a very strange week indeed.   A week in which it is good to do as Jesus said, “Remember, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”  

I titled today’s message “Long Story Short” because Luke’s telling of everything that happened from the time the women found the tomb empty until Jesus’ ascension into the heavens is MUCH longer and more detailed than Matthew’s.   Even Mark, who is usually a “just the facts” kind of writer, tells the story with more detail about post-resurrection events.  Matthew goes directly from “Go tell the brothers to meet me in Galilee” to “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go.”  No road to Emmaus, no appearances in the upper room, no ascension, even.  Matthew tells what can be a pretty long story in a very few words.   Although, Matthew IS the only one to tell us that the guards who had been at the tomb were paid by the Elders in the Temple to tell everyone that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body . . .no doubt to assure his listeners that the rumors they had heard are not true. 

Long story short seems almost to be the theme for this year.  Today we celebrate Graduation Sunday.  Traditionally, we line up all the graduates from every level of education in front of the congregation, let them each say a few words, and give them presents at a reception after worship.  That isn’t happening this year.  Even the graduates own stories about their final semester and all the events around graduation will be different this year.  There will be no prom stories.  No final exam day stories.  No stories about how it felt to walk up and finally get that diploma they worked so hard for in their hands. I know people did graduate.  I saw some graduation parades, and Selma High had seniors come and get their diplomas with our local paper’s reporter and photographer, Laura Brown, documenting everything.  The Graduating Class of 2020 will not be sharing the stories that are traditionally told but they will have other kinds of stories to share - about quarantine and virtual education, and about their final semester during the first year of a pandemic.  They will have all the stories, but those stories will be very different this year.  Graduating may have been more challenging this year - and all 2020 Graduates are to be commended - as well as those parents who suddenly found themselves home-schooling their children.   And all the teachers who had to learn how to do online teaching overnight.  

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell about the same events, the same basic stories, but they each tell them differently.   That’s the thing about stories.  Each person who tells a story tells it from their own perspective, taking into account who is listening while they speak.

Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Sometimes it is hard to remember that.  Maybe that’s why in some translations of this passage, we are told he said “Remember”.   

In 1967, a year before the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) established the Reconciliation program, with a mission to address the basic causes of racism and poverty.  Today we know that program as the Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation program.  An offering is taken every year on World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October.   Fifty-three years ago the Disciples established the Reconciliation Program.   There was so much hope.  The Poor Peoples Campaign, the Civil Rights movement, Dr. King’s inspired and inspiring leadership.  Most of the demonstrations were mostly peaceful on the part of the demonstrators . . . There was so much hope.  And then, one year later, he was assassinated, and the riots started.  I was a junior in high school that year.  I remember.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) established the Reconciliation program fifty three years ago - and nothing is different. Oh, a few things are.  There have been some new laws passed, but laws don’t change hearts.  Segregated public schools became unlawful, but many cities and counties quickly changed the way the school districts were configured.  Changing the school district lines also changes the tax base in those districts, so the poor districts get much less funding than the wealthier districts - just like when schools were “separate but equal.”  Which was never reality, by the way.   It’s unlawful to refuse to hire someone based on their race, but as long as no one mentions race when a job application is declined, no problem.  Right?  And yet, some companies seem to have very few minority employees, especially in the upper ranks.  We don’t need to wonder how or why that happens.  These things are morally wrong, and must change.  Racism still undergirds most, if not all, of our institutions, and that needs to change.  Before we can change it, we need to recognize it, and that will take effort on our parts.  That is why ordained ministers in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) receive Anti-racism/Pro-Reconciliation training regularly - so that we may help our congregations recognize racism. 

Jesus said, “Go out and make disciples.  Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.”   That bears repeating.

“Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” 

Things like 

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

 Again, “everyone will know that you are my disciples, IF you have love for one another.”   

And “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  

And “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”  

Make disciples, he said.  Teach them to obey these things, he said.  I think maybe we get stuck on what things, exactly, we are supposed to obey.  

I was reading reviews of a dress I liked on Amazon when I came across this 5 Star review:  

“I am PENTECOSTAL we only wear ANKLE LENGTH DRESSES. These dresses provide dual duty. Many dresses today are poor quality the underskirts only go to the knee making the lower half see through. These provide Modesty. In a world where women want to show their bodies, this makes me feel like a real lady. Short dress is disgusting. And I would never be caught dead in a pair of pants. Pants are for men only. But then again I am a real Christian not a pretend one.”    

I like wearing long skirts.  I also like wearing blue jeans.  I’m pretty sure my fashion choices do not have a whole lot to do with my Christian faith.   But for this person, the commandment found in Deuteronomy 22:5, “A woman shall not wear a man’s apparel, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment; for whoever does such things is abhorrent to the Lord your God.”  is an important part of her Christian practice.   

Or maybe it is our interpretation of love that needs work.  

When my second husband said, “I wouldn’t have to beat you if I didn’t love you so much,” his definition of love was not anywhere close to Christ’s definition.  

When a family casts their gay child out into the street, or subjects him to conversion therapy out of love, I do not believe they are obeying Christ’s injunction,  “do to others as you would have them do to you.”  

When people - Christian people! - attack one another verbally or physically 

over whether to wear a mask in public,

 or over whether Covid19 is a real thing, 

over racism, heterosexism, or any of the multitude of isms that divide us, 

When people - Christian people! - seem more interested in calling each other names than in seeking to understand why they believe differently about all these matters, 

I am quite sure there is no love in those encounters.  

We can do better.  

Jesus said, Make disciples.  Teach them to love one another.   Teach them to do to others as you would have them do to you.   Teach them to love the neighbor and even the enemy.  

And then he said, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  

Remember, 

Even in times like this, when hate and anger seem to be overshadowing any semblance of love and care for the other.

Christ is with us.

Even when we are fearful, or lonely, or worn out.

Christ is with us.

Even when the future is cloudy and confused, and  we talk about a new normal with no idea what that will look like,

Christ is with us.

Even when we are grieving loss - of friends, loved ones, and life as we knew it in the before times.

Christ is with us.

Until the end of this present age.