I am not preaching this Sunday. So this post is to share a letter I sent to our congregation in response to recent events in our country.
Dear Valley Covenant friends,
Our African-American brothers and sisters in Christ are hurting right now. Yet another unarmed black man, George Floyd, has died while in police custody, to all appearances murdered by a police officer. I believe it is impossible for those of us who are white to completely grasp the impact this has on people of color around us. Yet as followers of Jesus Christ, I’d like to call us to respond in love, sympathy and support for those who are hurt, sorrowing, and angry today.
I might have talked about this in a sermon, but I am not preaching this week. So I’m using this method to note that as we celebrate Pentecost this Sunday the verses we will be reading from Acts 2 clearly state that many cultures, and probably several different races of people, were present that day to witness the gift of the Holy Spirit and to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. From the very beginning, God intended His kingdom to include all people and to heal the differences which separate us from each other. God’s multi-cultural, multi-racial kingdom vision is constantly under attack by the forces of evil in this world.
The Holy Spirit first appeared as tongues of flame upon the apostles. I would ask that we would let the Spirit set us on fire today in opposition to the evils of prejudice, racism, and racial violence of all sorts. Let us begin with honest introspection and then confess and repent of whatever racism we might find in ourselves.
The coronavirus has made this a fearful time, and a natural human response to fear is to be suspicious of and even hostile toward those around us who are different from us. Yet Paul wrote to Timothy (II Timothy 1:7) that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of power, love, and self-control. On this Pentecost, let that Holy Spirit we have received give us power to do something about racism, a deep and abiding love toward those suffering from it, and self-control in regard to our own remaining prejudices.
In terms of doing something, I encourage us to share a word of sympathy and support to African-American friends we may know as well as to Asian friends who have also experienced irrational racist expressions during this time. Let us also pray for and work toward having public servants and leaders at all levels who do not voice racist views, engage in racist activity, or tolerate racism of any kind. Let us pray for God to give us leaders who actively deplore racism by both what they say and what they do.
Pentecost demonstrated that God’s kingdom is a realm where no one is treated less well than another because of skin color, ethnicity, or language. The Acts 2 reading for the day ends in verse 21, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Let us truly believe the inclusiveness of that verse by being a community of love which stands by and cares about everyone in this world, especially those who are being oppressed and mistreated.
I do want to say thank you to the community of Valley Covenant Church for consistently offering a warm welcome to people of all races and colors as God has sent them to us over the years. This letter is simply a loving encouragement now to extend that same spirit, which I believe is the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, in love and concern toward hurting people of color around us as they grieve and sometimes rage at injustice. Moving beyond mere friendliness toward those who happen to enter our doors, let us feel some loving outrage toward what has happened, in sympathy and solidarity with people of color whoever and wherever they are.
Thank you for reading this and for being faithful followers of Jesus, filled with His Spirit, giving glory to the God and Father of all people.
In Christ,
Pastor Steve