The time for a one night vigil is over. The time for an extra - even well written and heart wrenching - petition in the Sunday Prayers is over. The time for the disconnected Facebook response of "praying" is over. The time for endless emoticons is over. The time for simply writing like this - is over.
As a follower of Jesus, I need to address this Rant to all of us who I consider in house - the Church. It may simply be to say it is time to get out of the house and worship - over there. Get out of the house and stay for the fellowship time - over there. Yes, do not go to church at our usual spot - our place - within our comfort zone - within that which is expected and predictable - sitting or standing or kneeling alongside those who look and act and dress just like us. Even those congregation that have preachers who are often considered prophetic - still remain within the domain that is destroying us. The bubble is maintained - stretched a bit - but maintained. The time for telling the pastor 'good sermon' is over. The time for teaching about that which Jesus did and leaving at that - is over.
My proposal is simple and it may be quite naive. Go to worship - over there. Yes, if we are European-American go worship at an African-American congregation - and vice-versa. Even if we say we are in a welcoming congregation get out of there and worship with folks who are not at all like us. It is most likely that the welcome we treasure is that which is still within our realm of comfort. Go over there and be with them in their place and time. Even if we are not received well. Consider this, most congregations do not even receive strangers of the same race or ethnic background very well n (this drives outreach teams crazy). When we leave the place that is just like home and go over there it involves some risk. It may simply be that we do not know the hymns - or we clap when no one else does - or we try to clap but we can not get the rhythm right - or we say Amen as the preacher is preaching or the choir is singing and no one else does. It may also mean we will be going into a context we have considered to be hostile to us.
Go to worship - over there. Think of Jesus going over there to sit and eat and worship with those not within the same box he was from. Jesus was brought up in a box like all of us. The box was a gift that could never be contained. The gift was a love for all that kept sending him - over there. The over there was not to convert anyone. It was to live in, with, and under the ones who were created as brother and sister without partiality. This love was the food that brings people into the presence of God's peaceable Reign. When we go over there we may find that we know so little about the truth of others and they may come to see the same thing. Think of it as a journey into that which is not yet - but is promised.
Go to worship - over there. If we have a hard time worshipping in a place that does not fit our worship style, then find one that is within that style - or even just close to it - but one that does not have the same face as we have. There are too many excuses to prevent us from going over there. We are not the followers of Jesus because of our altar calls - gospel processions - long or short sermons - worship instrumentation - how we bow - whether we sit or stand or kneel - how pretty the sanctuary looks. Maybe the way we learn that is to go over there and see Jesus in another setting - with a face not like ours - in something we would never wear - worshipping as we never do.
Go to worship - over there. It may be one of the ways we let go of life as we want it and lose control of that which we long to control. Whenever we cross over to another place and enter into the lives of those not like us we may never see things the same - we may begin to question that which we have been assuming for so long - we may find that some of our prejudices are right-on-target - we may witness pain and joy in ways we do not express those same feeling. I find that all that discovery will be challenging. That is why we cannot simply worship over there once. We must do it again and again. We must learn names - have our names become known. I'm also suggesting that we stay in our home congregations - don't stop the support to our home congregations - work in the various ministries of our own congregations, but for the sake of us all get out and go over there on a regular basis. It may be the action that brings the body of Christ more fully into our midst.
Go to worship - over there. The greatest mission trip for our youth and all of us is not to go to a distant land or a distant place. It may be to drive into that neighborhood over there. It may be to go over there and be served and be recipients of the hospitality of strangers. It may be to see the worth of those from whom we often choose to walk away to be with others - like us. So many of us do good things for others. We extend ourselves to serve those in need. We volunteer to serve at food give-aways and build housing. All of that is find and good and must be continued. And yet, it seems that none of that has been able to end the divisions - the racial tensions - the economic biases - the fear and anxiety - the blaming games - the acts of violence that happen in the twinkling of an eye.
Go to worship - over there. The wars and fighting among us must stop. The hatred that brews within us and is fed by those around us must stop. The excuses must stop. The meaningless religious words meant to bring about the peaceable Reign of God must rattle our hearts so that the Christ is not a distant notion for another day. When we go to worship over there we may find ourselves out on streets or at meetings or serving alongside strangers or extending a hand or offering a loving embrace that we would never have anticipated we would be doing.
Go to worship - over there. I know, I may be a dreamer. Or, I may just have a faithful imagination that sounds quite ridiculous - dangerous - out of place - messes with what is - needs to be set aside - should be dismissed. I do know that I do not know how to end the violence that we seem to love so much. Therefore I have to turn to Jesus who keeps inviting me to go over there. At times, when my heart is broken and I know not what to do - I Rant. Then I wonder if Jesus' actions were the way he ranted within his day. Rather than keep things as they were - he invited his friends to go with him over there and everyone witnessed words becoming flesh - a rant made real. That is still the life of the follower of Jesus today.
TRRR
I like this rant, Al. It is something we must do as believers; I like to think that every time I step outside, I am to worship Christ by showing Christlike love to others, to those who are similar to me as well as to those who might take me off guard by their behavior or dress. I also believe there are many people doing this, but you will never hear about them much on the news. You see only the worst side of humanity, but God sees everything. I wish, at times, we could see all the good things people do of which we are unaware. It would be a blessing and an inspiration to keep fighting the good fight--of love.
ReplyDeleteGood words November girl. I want to see more of that action of stepping across the lines we talk about so much. The more we step into another world - the more the world around us may be amazed by our love - the more followers of Jesus may appear like a light to the world.
DeleteHow about an option to "not worship over there"? By this I mean to go beyond the safety of formal church settings and meet people in their day to day realities. Staying inside of a church is still potentially a bubble. Being church is leaving the security of that bubble and meeting people where they are at. I thick thus is what Tillich mean in his "On the Boundary".
ReplyDeleteTillich is thick :) - and his call to the boundary is right there. For timid folk like me, I need to start within a world that is somewhat like me - the church - as diverse as that is. Alongside that, I simultaneously step out to boundaries I may not yet know exist.
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ReplyDeleteIf you are White, do not just assume that it is okay for you to invade a Black community's "safe space" to satisfy your own ego. This is the very definition of White privilege - that you are justified in wherever you want to go, in whatever you want to do. Do not enter this sacred space, walking symbol of oppression that you are, and assume it is okay. It is not! I'll bet there are White people in your own congregation that need to confront their own privilege. Yes, as a White person it is your duty, in solidarity, to step outside of your comfort zone, but do so by having these tough conversations in your own congregation, your own family, your own community, and challenge others to be on the right side of this issue. Do not invade the (literal and figurative) sanctuaries of the Black community in this time of grief, and do not assume the privilege of having a black person to discuss racial issues with you. To do so is arrogant, and a symptom of your privileged. Check that privilege before you try to help.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am a White man, but this is what the Black activists in my community are telling me. It is my duty to follow their lead in the movement for social justice and change. I have no beef with you, dear Reverend. You may not remember me from my few mornings at your worship services or evenings in the basement with the Boy Scout troop those years ago, but I remember you. I know you are a good person, and your heart is in the right place, but you are just wrong on this.
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Jon - I did respond by e-mail but let me do a short one here. Going over there is not to disrupt or take over. It is to worship with others who are walking in the same light as all of us - the Christ. That is why I wanted to start with the church in worship. This is no take over - it is a solo journey into that which I may never have let myself go. Activists of all kind know that social justice and change means moving beyond the places in which we like to stay - the places of comfort and mutual admiration - and experience the one-on-one that too many fear because it just may change our hearts. Thanks again.
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DeleteThen....
DeleteContact local activists in your community in support of Black Lives Matter. If you are still in our mutual old hometown, there is a local chapter of SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), you can find contact info on their national page:
http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/
You can also try contacting the Catalyst Project. They are a group based in and working in the San Francisco Bay Area to educate and empower White people to dismantle racism. They may have advice on how to get connected to a similar organization in your local area:
http://collectiveliberation.org/contact/
God bless you and your readers.
The two sections of my reply got reversed. I can't figure out how to fix it. I hope you can follow me :)
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