by Rev. Louis Mitchell
What is the assignment?
This past Sunday that was the title of my sermon. It was a response to the question, “What do I do now?”
I realize that many of my congregation are completely off balance because of the rapid societal/political changes.
They feel like deer in the headlights and feel sad and ashamed that they don’t know what to do.
I offered this to them, and I offer it to you.
Please pray with me:
God of mercy, God of grace,
We come hungry for peace and hungry for justice.
Help us to not turn away from the suffering around us,
And give us places of unexpected joy.
Be healing, God.
Be nurture, God.
Be love, we pray.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts
Fall on your ears, as pleasing.
You are our rock, our refuge, our guide, and our glory.
Amen.
The assignment.
What is the assignment?
What is our assignment, individually and collectively?
How do we get from here to there?
Listen
Listen to voices outside of your experience. Listen to hear. Ask thoughtful questions.
Learn
Ingest what you’ve heard. Look up names, circumstances that you didn’t know of. Learn of the histories of the people you want to support.
Consider
Deepen your learning by being prayerful. Imagine you experiencing life through their eyes.
Repent
Ask for forgiveness for any part that your ancestors and/or you played in the oppression of people, even when you didn’t know you were benefitting from or sustaining inequities.
Amend
Change something for the betterment of those you seek to help. You’ll only know what needs changing by asking them. Do not assume you know better than they what they need.
Heal
Give yourself space to grieve the old you. Learning that you have been part of the problem is hard and tender work. Align with others on this path for care and healing.
Stretch
Stretch your awareness even more. Find ways to seek relationship. Move from paternalism to partnership.
Reach
It will take some courage, patience, and thoughtfulness to forge these relationships that will be built on generations of broken trust, broken promises and smiling but lying eyes. This will not be a “microwave” experience.
Love
Figure out what love looks like in each situation. Lean in, ask, listen.
Serve
Do something to repair the harm done. Small things, big things, some thing.
If we can do these things, the assignments will place themselves right in front of us.
Some of us will move from good allyship to being accomplices.
Some of us will learn things that hurt our feelings and upset our sensibilities.
Some of us will learn that everything we’ve been taught hasn’t always been right.
And it’ll be okay. Not comfortable or easy and not without joy, love, and laughter.
But the time has come. It is not too late.
And lives are literally depending on us to be faithful followers of Jesus.
May the God of peace engulf creation.
And our deeds make differences in the world.
Go with peace and go with purpose. Amen.