Dear Caldwell,
We love God because God first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their siblings, are liars; for those who do not love a sibling whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
– 1 John 4
Rodney Sadler is a teacher and I, it seems, am ever his student.
Rodney brought a rich word to us Sunday, drawn from 1 John 4:7-8, 19-21. He called the church to “see” fully our siblings of color, an act that requires God’s people to move past being “intentionally unaware” of how the social construct of race was invented to make second-class citizens of black- and brown-skinned people. Race, he said, is the anti-thesis of God’s command to love. It is, he said, “anti-American, anti-Christian anti-God.”
I thought he and I agreed he was going to preach about how scripture informs the question of reparations, laying the foundation for my turn on that subject this Sunday. It seemed a timely issue. As I wrote to you last week, our Presbytery (regional body) was asked to endorse a statement to send to our national assembly this summer. The statement offers apology for Presbyterians’ role in that evil institution, admitting our complicity and calling broadly for the church and its people to pursue means of reparation.
When the vote came to the floor at Saturday’s Presbytery meeting, some spoke in favor of it and some against. Those against said they weren’t responsible for slavery, so they shouldn’t have to apologize much less make amends. Another opponent tried to redirect the Presbytery’s focus to other social issues, saying they were more pressing and immediate. Those in favor said it was high time the church admitted its complicity and that the statement was a step toward healing.
The opponents’ language and reasoning was hard to hear but perhaps not surprising in these days so rife with division and outward racism. In the end, the measure passed by a 70%-30% margin and the statement (called an overture in our parlance) will go to the summer national gathering with Charlotte’s endorsement, among a few other presbyteries. It will be the first time such a measure about apology and reparation for slavery has been heard on the floor of the General Assembly in this form.
So, because of that timely matter, because it’s Black History Month and because we as a nation have for too long danced around the topic of reparations, I was looking forward to how Rodney was going to get into it on Sunday. Where in scripture, I wondered, would we find historic parallels to America’s orginal sin? What stories, characters, laws and parables can be relied upon for explicit guidance? Do we find clear direction in the Old Covenant (perhaps Leviticus?) or the New? I was eager to hear and learn.
Once again, Rodney schooled me, but not in that way. Maybe you, too. He didn’t offer a lecture on Christian law. He didn’t explain how reparations should work, who should be compensated, how and how much. No, he said, “first, just love.” When in doubt, love. When you “see” another – both with your eyes and with your soul – love them. Love them because God loved first you, the backbone of our Reformed faith, the foundation of grace on which we all stand.
“How can we say we love God if we do not love our neighbor,” Rodney asked? It’s that straightforward.
I will do my best to pick it up from there come Sunday. There is a word from the Lord about reparations, largely because its as old a commandment as the ancient Hebrews and how they were treated by their oppressors. That’s where we will start on Sunday.
In the meantime, lift up your prayers for Richard Campbell, who is back in the hospital; Helen Hull, whose father died last weekend; Linda Sluder, who has serious dental surgery Friday and so many others whose needs are known to God.
Don’t forget about:
- Meck Min’s online “Lunch and Learn” about how faith communities, including Caldwell, are addressing the city’s affordable housing crisis, Thursday at 12:15 pm. Click here to register beforehand and receive the link.
- An in-person celebration of Zoraida Stewart’s Habitat Home, along with others’, Thursday at 5:30 p.m., 3815 Latrobe Drive.
See you soon.
In Christ,
John