Sermon for Racial Justice Sunday 2005 - Sept 11th
We are surrounded by news stories which have overtones of racism.
There?s Hurricane Katrina exposing the racial injustice of America. The chance of escape was so much less for those who were black. They were less likely to own a car. They were less likely to be able to raise the bus fare to escape. They were the only faces on the photos coming out in the aftermath of the disaster.
There?s 9/11 ? today?s anniversary:
Patricia White, who is acting moderator of the CTBI Churches? Commission for Racial Justice, said:
"Although it is a coincidence that the tenth anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday falls on 11 September, it is very appropriate. The attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 and the London bombings in July this year both led to very real tensions between different communities. There has been a lot of scapegoating and stereotyping. Since the 7 July bombings, there has been a huge rise in racist and anti-Muslim attacks."
She continued: "Racial Justice Sunday is about affirming that we want to live together in mutual respect, and that it?s possible to do so. It?s about saying that human diversity can be a source of strength and delight and doesn?t have to be feared. It draws attention to injustices but says we can overcome them peacefully. It says no to fear, prejudice and violence, yes to diversity, love and respect."
There?s the death of Anthony Walker ? a fellow Christian, hoping to become a lawyer.
one of 50,000 race-hate offences
British Crime Survey estimates that there are more than 200k racially motivated incidents every year
A week before his death a Mum went upstairs to see her 9 year old son standing on tiptoes with two school ties knotted together, one end wrapped round his neck, the other attached to the top of his bunk bed. He was just about to commit suicide. After she cut him down, he told his mum, ?the bullies can?t get me if I?m dead.?
I wouldn?t want to be in their shoes ? or the shoes of the two Asian lads whose car was surrounded by a gang of racist thugs who attacked them with hammers, all the time shouting abuse about the London bombings
or the shoes of the poor black of New Orleans who couldn?t scrape together enough money for the bus fare out of New Orleans as Katrina approached.
But I suggest that we try to step into the shoes of some of the victims of racism in our society:
whether it be Anthony Walker?s family
or whether it be the child taunted in the playground because s/he is different
or the person subjected to abuse by drunken yobs
or the hard working young men and women whose ambition is thwarted by the endemic racism of the institutions in which they work
SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE COLOUR OF THEIR SKIN!
I suggest we step into their shoes so we see things not from our point of view, but from theirs.
Can you feel the injustice? Can you feel the outrage?
And WHAT DID JESUS DO?
Jesus located himself in the poor, naked and hungry. He put himself in their shoes.
The king divided people into two. Some he put to his right. Others he put to his left.
To the ones on the right, the king says:
?Come, you that are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
I was naked and you clothed me.
I was sick and you took care of me.?
And the righteous will answer ? ?when did we see you hungry and give you food??
And the king will answer them: ?Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.?
In other words, he stands in the shoes of the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick ? the refugees of the world?s tragedies, the asylum seeker, the victim or violence or racism.
The king curses those on his left, and condemns them for doing nothing for him. They argue: ?Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you??
And the king will reply: ?I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.
Matthew 25
Today is Racial Justice Sunday.
We are aiming to
raise awareness of each other's cultures and experiences
understand ourselves, our own roots and identity
understand the feelings of people from different cultures
become more inclusive and outward-looking
become more welcoming
encourage all members to contribute to the service of the community
remember that whatever our skin colour, ethnicity or culture we are all children of God
deepen our understanding of being ?one in Christ?
face up to the challenge of living this out in practice
tackle injustice, not ignore it
whether that injustice be in our community, our church, or in our own heart of hearts
Our new Archbishop of York, refugee from Idi Amin?s Uganda, John Sentamu, has written a foreword to a book.
Incidentally, while John Sentamu was Bishop of Stepney, he was stopped and searched by police eight times in six months by the police ? simply because of the colour of his skin. I haven?t heard of any other bishop in England suffering a similar fate. Get in his shoes. Feel the upset, the suffering and the injustice.
In it he has openly criticised the Church of England saying that it is still a place of ?pain? for many black Anglicans.
The book entitled ?Rejection, Resistance and Resurrection? was written by Mukti Barton, who is the advisor on black and Asian ministries to the Bishop of Birmingham; Dr Sentamu?s current post.
It describes racism as a ?deadly poison? which is often unconsciously spread by white Christians, and says that even in the multi-ethnic diocese of Birmingham, black people are significantly under represented in the clergy.
He wrote in the foreword:
?The stories in this book speak of the pain of what it is to undergo institutional racism.
?The cost is in terms of the lives of people who are hampered in their growth into the image of God created in them.?
?Racial Justice Sunday is a way of saying that we do not agree that these things should be happening to people and that there must be a better way and that way is for us all to break together.?
Rev Arlington Trotman, Director of the CCRJ
I remember when I was a boy in Leicester ? a city with a strong tradition of hospitality, but also a place where people are unjustly treated. I remember passing pubs with signs in the windows ? ?no coloureds, no gypsies? ? I wondered ?why??, and I remember thinking, ?wow, what must it feel like to be shut out like this?? My grandmother had a shop at the back of the station. The windows were often broken on a Saturday night. The blame was usually directed at the ?West Indians?. I always wondered, ?why?? And 50 years later. I wonder what it must feel like to be a Sean Wright-Phillips, or an Ashley Cole and to be booed because of the colour of their skin. We say it?s better now, but it still happens. Anthony Walker was killed only last month. Hurricane Katrina was only a fortnight ago. The British National Party is stronger than it has ever been in any time over the last 50 years.
We do need to pray for Racial Justice.