Breath of Life

I pondered not writing a blog today. As I’ve scrolled through facebook I see many people putting a black circle or box as a post to indicate that for those of us with white privilege it’s time to stop speaking and to listen to people of colour. It’s time for us to stop pretending we understand their pain and experiences and to commit to hearing their stories without comment or judgement.

I struggled with my sermon for Pentecost after seeing George Floyd’s murder by a police officer, with 3 cops standing by doing nothing despite onlookers begging for it to stop. I struggled with the fact that his dying words were “I can’t breathe”. But perhaps Pentecost was the right Sunday to follow this horrific event and the subsequent protests and unleashed anger in America and here in Canada. Because the Pentecost right after Jesus’ resurrection was about the Holy Spirit breathing new Life into a people oppressed by both the state and religious authorities. It was about removing barriers of ethnicity, race, colour, gender and socioeconomic status. It was about allowing people to breathe again.

Diana Butler Bass wrote a powerful sermon for Pentecost last Thursday and I cited parts of it in mine for Sunday. She talked about how the fire and flames of Pentecost were meant to burn away our divisions and all that continues our privilege and encourages racism and hate. When the Holy Spirit comes on us with fire it refines us and removes whatever isn’t of God to make room for the Spirit itself to inhabit us. We are changed from the inside out and perhaps are able to see more clearly. Certainly the Jews gathered there who had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this Jewish festival could hear clearly when the Spirit enabled the apostles to share the Good News in a variety of languages.

I’ve watched several sermons about the atrocities that happened in Minneapolis and that happen regularly in the US and here in Canada against people of colour. I’ve seen reams of facebook posts and e-mails about what our response should be. Our temptation is often to either turn away and not accept responsibility as white people for the creation of this crisis or to leap in to ‘fix’ from our viewpoint while further patronizing people of colour.

As riots continue to rage and as the US President brings in the military with tear gas, taunts and vilifies protesters, and uses a Bible and an Episcopal Church as a backdrop for hate, we should be filled with righteous anger. We should be able to see that most of the media attention is not about the peaceful protests and the black men encircling a police officer to protect him from swarming crowds. We should notice that there are cops choosing to walk with protesters in solidarity.

In this time we need to pause, take a breath and invite the Holy Spirit and its wisdom into us. We can’t be complacent. The church was created at Pentecost to address injustice and inequality. It was created to continue the model and teaching of Christ who continually took time for outsiders and those who were mistreated and scapegoated for society’s problems. If we are the church of Jesus Christ, then we should be embodying His teachings in how we operate and live our daily lives. Racism and bigotry has no place in the church of Jesus or in the lives of its followers.

There are many resources online for how white people can be allies and lift up our brothers and sisters of colour. For those who feel overwhelmed by sifting through even more information, it really boils down to the golden rule and treating others as you would want to be treated. It means listening earnestly to the experiences of people of colour and asking them what is needed. It means being their advocate and witness. It means not tolerating jokes or comments or posts that malign them. It means repenting of past behaviours that were hurtful and contributed to the issues we see boiling over.

When the Spirit came, it was with a loud noise and a light show. But the Spirit also speaks in a still small voice and breathes gently over us. As we welcome God’s breath of Life may we be open to the changes it demands of us and the renewal it brings. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear our brothers and sisters. May we have some of the courage they require daily to passionately work for change. May we own up to the stereotypes and narratives that are embedded in our psyches and work to change our assumptions.

Our God is powerful and able to change chaos into common ground, oppression into justice and equality, slaves into people of dignity. Our God breathes and we are filled with new life and abilities to bring about healing and reconciliation.

Come, Holy Spirit, come. Fill us with Your peace and compassion to build Your kingdom of justice and freedom.