Hey friends, if you were with us for worship last night, then you know we talked about how to live as people who
Do no harm
Do good
Grow in our love of God
And that one of the things that John Wesley said about doing no harm is that we have to pay special attention to the kinds of things that are most frequently causing harm and the types of evil that are most commonly practiced… and the ways we participate in them.
Near the end of our time together I was reflecting that one of the places so much harm is done has to do with the deep wound and pain of racism and racial injustice in our country. I mentioned Jacob Blake - who was shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, WI last week.
I misspoke saying that he was murdered.
Jacob Blake did not die. He has survived. But he is paralyzed and in the hospital.
It is really important to me that I do everything I can to speak clearly and truthfully to you every chance I’m given. And I am so grateful to those of you who quickly and kindly corrected me in my error. This is important for our life together as a fellowship!
Thank you!
But I want to say a bit more. I recognize that talking about the continued shootings of Black people by white police officers is a charged topic and that there is a good degree of complexity to these issues. But complexity does not mean “impossible to talk about” or that ambivalence is acceptable. When I hear of the ongoing shootings what I hear is the clear and too tangible reminder of how deeply entrenched racism is in the very foundations and fabrics of our shared life together in this country. And this means law enforcement, justice system, prisons, health care, schools, housing… and the church.
And so the call to “do no harm” is a call to me and to us, to wake up to the bias and racial prejudice that we - that I - all too often just accept as normal... or maybe don’t even notice, because we don’t HAVE TO notice. The call to “do no harm” says, “No, now’s the time to notice!”
And the call to “do good to the bodies and souls of people” is a call, in this instance, to attend in a special way to the bodies and souls of our Black sisters and brothers; to be with and for them in whatever ways we can; to recognize how long and deep the pain and injury of racism, in all its many forms, runs in our country. And how deeply it shapes the experience of being Black in America.
So - today, join me in praying for Jacob Blake and his recovery. Pray for the police officers that are involved. Pray for the two protestors who were shot and killed.
But also, let’s pay attention right where we are. This is not a far off thing. It lives in our hearts and in our campus community and in our communities of faith.
And you and me - if we want to be a part of the movement of God in the world, we’re called to
Do no harm
Do good
Grow in our love of God
Grace + Peace,
Tony