Using our words

 

Luke 19: 28-40
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
April 10, 2022 – Palm Sunday

Photo of jagged brown rocks with wide veins of black rock in focus in the foreground, then out of focus in background and a body of water behind the rock formation, also out of focus.

Words matter, just as much as action, because too often, silence is violence. This past Friday we heard powerful words from Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in her confirmation speech: “It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we’ve made it. We’ve made it, all of us.” She went on to quote Maya Angelou: “I am the dream and the hope of a slave”, adding that in her family it only took one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States. Though the moment was sweet, millions more are crying out to be saved every day.



Words tell stories and stories shape who we are and who we will become. Today is the one day we say and sing the word “Hosanna”, which means “Save us”, and yet we call it sweet and place it on the lips of children. The children are us, our childhood memories of parading through a full sanctuary with palm branches, reenacting a scene that comes more from a picture book than from scripture. We call this Jesus’ triumphant entry as though he is a conquering hero and yet he enters on a colt rather than a warhorse; the people spread their cloaks on the ground as they would for a king rather than a poor rabbi who is riding not to a throne but to his death.

Screenshot of an edited headline from Time.com:  Also in the news.  Ketanji Brown Jackson's Hearing Felt Familiar to Black (upper middle class, careerist) Women (pursuing upward mobility)

The lectionary reading begins with “After Jesus had said this…” only because the rest of the verse then directs him and us to Jerusalem. What did Jesus say? After declaring that to those who have much, more will be given, and those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away, Jesus says, “But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.” Not exactly the Prince of Peace there. In fact, he sounds more like an earthly king, like Herod or Caesar, someone who wastes no time with political enemies.



Let us remind ourselves once again who this Jesus is: this Jesus is Black, brown, Asian, indigenous. This Jesus is queer, transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming. This Jesus is fat. This Jesus is poor. This Jesus is disabled and can’t afford healthcare. This Jesus is underemployed and unhoused. This Jesus is drug addicted. This Jesus is incarcerated. This Jesus is neurodivergent, struggles with PTSD and depression, can’t afford insulin, takes medication for anxiety, smokes weed sometimes. This Jesus is excluded and dehumanized. This Jesus lives with an occupying force from a neighboring empire, with those who colonize land that doesn’t belong to them.

Dark blue background with white letters that read: Silence is choice. Silence is a stance. Silence is a privilege. Silence is an endorsement. Silence is complicity. Silence is violence. Silence is racism. Silence is loud. Silence is a choice.  @ohioma

This is also the multitude of disciples who are saying “Hosanna—save us” and “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord”. Their song begins to sound more like the song of “a gentle angry people singing for their lives”. This is the one who comes to save us. We know who the political enemies are of a king such as this.



Words tell stories and stories shape who we are and who we will become. The Pharisees try to silence, to censor the multitude of disciples, probably because they call Jesus ‘king’. Maybe they want to save his life, to protect Jesus from danger. Perhaps they want to avoid any imperial entanglements themselves, just trying to save their own skins. Trying to silence the voices of the marginalized and policing their language is a red flag for those holding onto whatever power they have.



Last week it was revealed that Amazon, an empire within an empire, was planning to release its own internal chat app for employees, except there were certain keywords, 42 of them, that would be blocked from use. In addition to profanity, words like “ethics”, “living wage”, “injustice”, “fairness”, “union”, and “slave labor” would be flagged and automatically blocked. Even phrases like “This is concerning” and words like “restrooms”, “vaccine”, and “fire” would be banned.

List of banned words from a possible chat app for Amazon employees: I hate, union, fire, terminated, compensation, pay raise, bullying, harassment, I don't care, rude, this is concerning, stupid, this is dumb, prison, threat, petition, grievance, injustice, diversity, ethics, fairness, accessibility, vaccine, senior ops, living wage, representation, unfair, favoritism, rate, TOT, unite/unity, plantation, slave, slave labor, master, concerned, freedom, restrooms, robots, trash, committee, coalition

Book banning is on the rise again. According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 1,000 books have been banned from schools across 86 districts in 26 states since July 2021. I would bet that many of those states overlap those who have introduced anti-trans bills. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed into law a ban on public school teachers leading any classroom instruction regarding gender identity and sexual orientation. The state of Ohio has just introduced similar legislation. 8 states, including South Dakota just this past week, have banned critical race theory in K-12 public schools while 16 more states have a possible ban in progress. Only Delaware has passed legislation to positively affirm the goals and intentions of teaching about racism.



Russia has banned state media from referring to President Putin’s “special military operation” as an “invasion” or a “war” and anyone who criticizes the conflict can face severe consequences. People in Lithuania are therefore making dozens of cold calls a day or sending messages to people in Russia to inform them of what is really happening in Ukraine. So far over 84,000 calls have been made.



Our hosannas do not need to be sweet but loud. Palm Sunday was a planned political demonstration. This afternoon with the Delaware Sikh Coalition we will join our interfaith friends for the annual Peace Walk down E. Main St. Members of Moms Demand Action will be there. Muslim friends and neighbors who are fasting for the holy month of Ramadan will be there. Together we will make some noise for peace.

Lord, Make Me a Channel of Disturbance: The "Reverse St. Francis Prayer".
"Lord, make me a channel of disturbance. Where there is apathy, let me provoke; where there is compliance, let me bring questioning; where there is silence, may I be a voice. Where there is too much comfort and too little action, grant disruption; where there are doors closed and hearts locked, grant the willingness to listen. When laws dictate and pain is overlooked...when tradition speaks louder than need...grant that I may seek rather to do justice than to talk about it; disturb us, O Lord. To be with, as well as for, the alienated; to love the unlovable as well as the lovely; Lord, make me a channel of disturbance." - Author unknown

Words tell stories and stories shape who we are and who we will become. The words we don’t use tell a story as well and that story shapes who we are and who we will become. Jesus said if these were silent the stones, the earth, would cry out. We must be people who break the violence of silence and policing of language because we know that silence and fascism have the power to break the people. Be loud for justice with where and how you spend and give your money. Be loud for justice with emails and calls to your senators and representatives about trans kids and gun violence prevention, universal healthcare and cancelling student debt. Thank them for the good work they are doing. Call your neighbors, call your friends, call your parents, call your children.



Laugh out loud for peace. Swear a blue streak for peace. Sing for peace. Shout for peace. Be a misfit, a miscreant for peace. Don’t let anyone try to stop you. Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.

Light blue poster with black letters that read: God, teach me to speak against injustice without becoming a bully. Help me love others while loving myself as well. Keep my heart courageously soft and tender. Remind me to be good at generosity but wise with my energy. Teach me to fight and to rest. Amen.  @thehappygivers

Benediction – enfleshed.com

Go forth in good company,
for even the stones cry out of God’s saving Love.
Fields sing of Flowering Justice,
Oceans roar against oppressive systems,
Cityscapes celebrate Holy Interdependence,
Trees rejoice for all that is Springing into Life.
Christ is all around us and within us,
that we might co-create the Kin-dom of Life.