WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL – Reverend Jim Shepherd – Goodrich United Methodist Church Norman, Oklahoma – July 10 2016
LUKE 10:25-37; AMOS 5:21-24, 7:1-9
Fifty-six delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence and the Thirteen Colonies became a free nation. We should note that this freedom was yet to be realized because England did not cede these colonies of the crown. That freedom became a reality when the United States Congress of Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784. This past Monday we celebrated our great national holiday commemorating the birth of our nation. I love this holiday, but as I’ve grown older I’ve learned to celebrate the Fourth under air conditioning. I’ve made it a habit to watched televised celebrations. As I watched “A Capitol Fourth,” I was struck by our rich treasure of patriotic music; it makes my spirit soar. I’m proud of my country.
As we celebrated most of us had the occasion to recite, hear, or reflect on the words of our pledge of allegiance. I first learned the pledge in the first grade, and I recited it along with my classmates to begin each school day. One lofty phrase captured my imagination a few years ago and it continues to course through my consciousness: “…with liberty and justice for all.” To be honest, this phrase really did not register with me, particularly the word “justice.” Liberty was an easy concept to grasp. One simple lesson in American history made its meaning clear. But, as a first grader, I had no frame of reference for justice. Then I learned about penal justice. Break the law and pay the penalty. That makes no sense when applied to the pledge. Then I learned about justice in the broader sense, social justice, the just treatment of all persons. We are pledging to participate in a society which seeks justice for all. Justice is a part of our national ideal. Is God concerned with the just treatment of all persons? Should the Church be concerned with it as well? I hope to answer these questions today.
It seems like July 4, 2016 was a year ago. Breaking news reports seemed to never end. Baton Rouge. Saint Paul. Missouri. Georgia. Dallas. Civilians and law enforcement officers lay injured and dead in the streets of this free land, reminding us that just as freedom had to be won, so does justice. Sadly, this is nothing new, but it has captured national attention because of the focus that was on law enforcement officers. A shroud of anxiety and concern weighs heavily up our nation.
Fear is a constant reality for both law-abiding citizens and law enforcement officers. An African American friend of mine recently left Oklahoma City to return to the East Coast. One of his reasons was fear. He feared being in the wrong place at the wrong time on a dimly-lit street. He feared making a move that might be misinterpreted. He feared that he might leave his house one evening to perform his pastoral duties and not return to his wife and young children. My nephew recently left the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He was the top cadet in his academy and was selected by his peers to give the class address at graduation. His decorated career was a short one. One of his reasons for leaving was fear. He feared making the wrong split-second decision. He feared acting in a responsible fashion yet being convicted for that same action. He feared being killed in the line of duty. He feared leaving home to go on patrol and not returning to his wife and young family.
There is an ongoing debate about whether we should take “one nation under God” out of our pledge. Perhaps it’s time to ask if we want to keep “with liberty and justice for all” in that same pledge. Random injustice is an inevitable, though unacceptable reality of all societies. It is an ideal that is capable of unraveling at a moment’s notice. Systemic injustice, on the other hand, is reprehensible. Good people must stand up and say “enough.” Life matters. All life matters. All lives matter. Black. Native American. Hispanic. Asian. White. Women. Men. Police. No one should have to be enslaved to fear and subjected to injustice simply because of who they are, what they look like, and what they do to legally earn a living.
It is time to remember those who have been injured or killed in recent days. Let’s allow the courts to determine guilt and innocence and pray that justice will be served. Today let’s remember the victims, both guilty and innocent. That list extends to their families and friends. Homes are now broken. There are now single parent households. A child’s innocence has been ripped away and flung into nothingness. Let’s pray that God will comfort them in their grief and guide them in their outrage. Let’s pray that someone who is praying for them will become the answer to that prayer by becoming God’s presence for them. It’s time to remember and mourn.
It is time for our nation to repent for our failure to create a nation where there is liberty and justice for all. Last week’s shootings were not birthed from a vacuum. This climate of fear and violence springs from our nation’s history. Explain it however you will—racism, well-intentioned social programs which produced adverse, unintended consequences, unequal access to resources which produce the opportunity for success—our nation owns this problem. We cannot lay this at the foot of a political party. Beginning with the 60’s, which is the beginning of my awareness, I’ve seen Democrats in control, I’ve seen Republicans in control, and there have been times that I think I’ve seen chaos in control. It is mistaken to politicize this issue. We have to admit that our national conversations and solutions have not worked. It’s time to repent and begin a different conversation which seeks different solutions.
The Old Testament prophet Amos was sent to Israel to announce God’s judgment upon its injustice and to call that nation to repentance for its religious and political sins. Hear his words.
This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings). When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord God, forgive, I beg you! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The Lord relented concerning this; “It shall not be,” said the Lord. This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, “O Lord God, cease, I beg you! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The Lord relented concerning this; “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God. This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” (Amos 7:1-9)
This is the same prophet who delivered these words from God.
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:21-24)
It is clear to me that God is concerned with injustice.
I do not know the fear that underlies the news of this week. A few years ago, I inadvertently let my car tag expire. When I was pulled over, I did not have an ounce of anxiety as the officer approached my car window. Because of who I am, I can go where I want to go and do what I want to do without any fear of being considered to be suspicious because of how I look. I hear the standard response which says don’t be where you aren’t supposed be, don’t do what you aren’t supposed to be doing, and be respectful and compliant. Sadly, it has become more complicated than that. I mentioned my nephew earlier. He said that the only way he could ensure his safety was to treat everyone as though they were guilty of a crime. He could no longer live with the fear that he might act on a mistaken assumption, an assumption which may have been reinforced by physical characteristics. I would not want to be [a law enforcement officer in my church]. I cannot imagine what it is like to enter the places he enters, to face the circumstances he faces, and to make the decisions he has to make. I know that his wife prays for his safety every day.
My heart is broken for both the civilians and the law enforcement officers. My heart is broken because these stories could be repeated. Any day. Every day. It is time to hear stories that make us uncomfortable and to repent.
It is time for the Church to respond to the tragic realities of our society by being God’s presence in this brokenness. Yes, respond. There is a widely-held notion among Christians that our business is strictly a spiritual business. We should stick to preaching, praying, and studying the Bible. In response to this, I will defer to one who is infinitely wiser and more spiritual than I—Jesus of Nazareth. You may remember his parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37) We cannot understand this parable if we rip it from its context.
Jesus was asked, “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Allow me to paraphrase Jesus’ answer to that question. A traveler from Jerusalem to Jericho was set upon by thieves. They robbed him, beat him, and left him for dead. Three men, two of them religious leaders, passed him by on the way to perform their religious duties. The third man, a Samaritan, stopped to help him. He took him to the inn and instructed the innkeeper to care for him. He paid for the man’s care. Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” [The young man] said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Do you know why this parable shocked and offended Jesus’ audience that day? It was offensive because a Samaritan is the hero of the story. There was a deep-seated, long-standing animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. Technically, Jesus did not call the Samaritan “good,” but, in reality, that is exactly what he did. That was as offensive to the Jews as it would be to a racist if the hero was a member of another race and to a religious bigot if the hero was a member of another faith. Jesus employed the social attitudes and tensions of his day to teach us that loving our neighbors is not a spiritual ideal to be contemplated, it is an action which is born from our surpassing love of God and channeled through physical actions which demonstrate that we are neighborly.
Yes, the church must seek to create justice for all if it is intends to be neighborly.
Let me ask two practical questions. First, what can you do to provide comfort and support for your law enforcement officers? What can our church do? Second, what can you do to promote liberty and justice for all? What can our church do? Jesus told us “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” How can we become peacemakers in today’s world?
Will you pray with me the well-known Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi?
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.Amen.
Import complicated 