It doesn't have to be this way

 

Psalm 52
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
July 17, 2022

Photo of an ancient olive grove.  One tree appears to be more than a thousand years old.

Psalm 52 sounds less like a prayer and more like a rant, but if you were oppressed, how would you pray? David is on the run from King Saul and fears for his life. He has friends he can trust but there are others who prefer to attach themselves to wealth and power. David’s rather timely words are addressed to a traitor whose treachery caused destruction and death, who took refuge in wealth rather than God, who loves lies more than justice.



And while it would oh so easy to name any number of treacherous villains in this world who prefer to attach themselves to wealth and power and put ourselves in the shade of that lush olive tree, it is good to remember that most if not all of scripture was written by the oppressed for the oppressed.



This is a song for all Black men who from their youth are castigated as criminal suspects just because they are Black.



This is a song for rape victims who are blamed for their rape.



This is a song for parents of trans kids who are accused of abuse.



This is a song for queer and trans folx who are still not safe in public space.



This is a song for the impoverished and unhoused who are left to pull up their own bootstraps in a wealthy nation.



This is a song for the disabled who continue to be underemployed, underpaid, and unsafe.



This is a song for the addicted who are treated though they are less than beloved of God.



This is a song for those who will have to travel across state lines for their healthcare.



This is a song for younger generations who are slandered and belittled for only wanting a world worth living in.



This is a song for the earth that suffers from human greed, from White supremacy.



This is a song of liberation from lies, from evil and injustice. It is a song of the shallow roots of the oppressor and the deep roots of the oppressed.



In today’s world the roots of the oppressor are woven from the insidious nature of White supremacy culture. One does not have to be a White supremacist or to be White to benefit from White supremacy culture. To say that we do not benefit from White supremacy culture and that liberal progressive people of faith have nothing to do with it is one of the biggest lies that White supremacy culture has achieved. This is oversimplified but suffice it to say, White supremacy culture centers the White, male, Christian, heterosexual* experience, norms, expectations, and standards, and colonizes, takes over spaces where they are outnumbered.



So how do we recognize White supremacy culture if we’re so steeped in it? There is a whole website of research devoted to this question, but I can at least give some broad strokes.



The number one characteristic of White supremacy culture is fear. When we are fearful we are more easily manipulated by authority and power, and we neglect our own authority and power.



White supremacy culture tells us that there is one right way to do things, that there is an objective perfection that is achievable and suitable to everyone.



White supremacy culture subscribes to either/or binary thinking which feeds into the one right way to do things and to perfectionism which leads to the abuse of power.



White supremacy culture tells us that we have a right to comfort which means the avoidance of conflict. It tells us that we are individuals, responsible for only ourselves, and our success or failure is ours alone. White supremacy culture favors growth in numbers rather than quality of relationships.



White supremacy culture impresses the need for urgency, that questions of racial and social justice must be settled now, as a means of keeping people off-balance and burned out rather than taking the necessary time to breathe, to reflect, and to sit with questions. In plain language, White supremacy culture is a death sentence for humanity.



The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. What has interfered with White supremacy culture, what has always upset oppressors is the deep rootedness of the oppressed. The rootedness, the solidarity that says, “I am willing to disrupt my life for you.” Everything about that statement flies in the face of White supremacy culture. We are willing to forgo some comfort for the sake of someone else’s truth, the need to express anger, and the right to be heard. We recognize that our wholeness is connected to the wholeness of others. We decenter our experience and center the experience of the oppressed. It’s more than “I’ve got your back”. It’s recognizing that the backs of the marginalized and our backs are joined, that we are in this together.



Today we joyfully disrupted our worship to welcome one precious soul into covenant with us and us with him. We’ve disrupted church life as we’ve known it to keep each other safe and to make church life accessible to those who need it. We disrupt our lives by not only being attentive to our suffering but to the suffering of others that becomes an opportunity for connection. We disrupt our bank accounts and our pantries, our calendars and our days, our plans and our expectations not only so that we can be deeply rooted for each other but for those who need community like this one. We disrupt our lives because our very lives depend on it.

Quote from the Talmud: "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.  Do justly now.  Love mercy now.  Walk humbly now.  You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."

*A person in my church who is visually and hearing impaired said that "able-bodied" should be added to this list, and she's absolutely right.

Benediction – Samir Selmanovic, It’s Really All About God



“Jesus offered a single incentive to follow him…to summarize his selling point: ‘Follow me, and you might be happy—or you might not.

Follow me, and you might be empowered—or you might not.

Follow me, and you might have more friends—or you might not.

Follow me, and you might have the answers—or you might not.

Follow me, and you might be better off—or you might not.

If you follow me, you may be worse off in every way you use to measure life. Follow me nevertheless.

Because I have an offer that is worth giving up everything you have:

You will learn to love well.’”