I had a conversation with a member of my church, Holy Cross, about 6 years ago. We were talking about the vote that was coming up from our congregation to agree to let me perform weddings in the church sanctuary – weddings for couples I had met for counseling and believed they wished to enter into a loving marriage – where they put the other partner first, and self interest to the side. And, if the couple consisted of two men, or two women, or one of each, it didn’t matter to me. The church was asked to consent. And then, I had this conversation with a member about it. He said, “You know in my life, Pastor, I’ve seen a lot of change. On the Navy ship I served, black men could only serve as cabin boys, or in the galley. I didn’t realize how wrong that was then. Seems to me that people wanting to get married where they are gay or homosexual or whatever, might be the same thing. You go ahead and do it.”
Google commemorates the Greensboro sit in today (February 1, 2020), 60 years after the nonviolent protest happened. Four young black men planned their moment carefully. They bought small items at the Woolworth store, and retained their receipts. Then they sat at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, South Carolina to eat. At the time, Black people were only allowed to purchase food, but not to sit at the lunch counter. But the four young men stayed. Police were called, and stated there was nothing to remove the young men for – they were paying customers and had taken no provocative action. The media (who had been called) took note, and the young men stayed til closing. Then the next day even more people of color joined them. And so, peacefully, overnight, the status quo changed.
What action is God calling us to take today to draw attention to inequity? To shine a light on bigotry? To promote justice?
The kids and I will talk about this at the children’s sermon tomorrow, as we talk about the reading from Micah – “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” We are called to live with justice. That’s clear. I don’t pretend to understand the hard journey our brothers and sisters of color have had to take. Or the journey of our Gay, Lesbian and transgender friends are on right now. I pray for humility enough to see their plight, and to join in drawing attention to the inequality found there.
1 Corinthians adds to our conversation here – 1:27- 29 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
Let’s do justice together, friends, with humility for those whose struggle is real. They are on the frontlines of the winds of change today. The least I can do, is back them up. –
Pastor Patricia+
We Are Called – a Hymn for today