Dear Church,
I have a New Year’s resolution for you. Go to Sunday School. Why is it that something like Sunday School was, for many of us, ingrained into our very D.N.A. as children growing up in the Church, and now in our adult years, we’ve somehow changed our D.N.A.? You know what I mean. Sunday School was just part of what you did on Sunday morning. It was part of the liturgy of putting on the Church clothes, going to Church, eating Church pills (aka Wilhelmina peppermints), singing the Doxology (aka the sign that Church was almost over), going to Sunday School, getting McDonald’s after Church and getting home in time to watch World Wrestling Federation. Maybe? Well, that was my liturgical rhythm on Sunday mornings. But somewhere, somehow, we’ve gone from the cup of coffee downstairs in the Fellowship Hall to the car ride home after Church.
So my New Year’s resolution for you is to get back into the habit of attending a Sunday School class. And it just so happens this week begins a class you won’t want to miss. It is being taught by our Director of Mercy & Justice Ministries, Corey Buchanan and Mike Nylen, who works for MB Bank and is also involved in dozens of communication commissions and activities. The class is being called “A CRASH Course in Racial Harmony,” and we will be talking about issues like reconciliation, white flight, understanding cultures and the heart of God in all of this. This is a “take the gloves off” kinda class. We’ll be talking stereotypes. We’ll be talking pains from the past. And we’ll be talking about our own individual stories.
I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking, “I know all this stuff. I’m not a racist. I’ve heard all this stuff before. I know I should love my neighbors. I know I should welcome black people into Church on Sunday. I know all this.” Well, if you’re thinking this, you’re wrong. We don’t know all this. We don’t have this all figured out. And we don’t always love our neighbors. My friends, the purpose is not to cast blame, lay the guilt trip on thick or make people feel bad if they moved out ofSouth Holland. That’s not the point at all. The point is that out of all things Jesus could have prayed for with a few precious hours before His divine body would literally be torn to pieces, He prayed for unity. The point is that living together in unity and peace is something that all of us, since our greatest grandparents left the Garden inEden, have been struggling with. And the reality is that until the Good Lord comes again or calls us home, we’ll never fully get there. But the point is to keep trying. Keep working. Keep talking. Keep learning. Keep growing. Unity is just that important to our God. And if that’s important to Him, well then maybe it should be important to us.
I grew up as an upper middle class white kid from two parents that went to college. I had literally every opportunity to succeed at my fingertips. If I wanted to go to college, I would go. If I wanted to play on the travel soccer team, I would play. If I applied for a job, I usually got it. I’ve never known the feeling of being pulled over simply because of my skin color. I’ve never felt discriminated against because of my race. I’ve never felt like my voice isn’t being heard. Sarah would say that’s because I’m so loud, but you get my point. But the reality is that friends from within our Church have experienced all these things. Friends that we have coffee with and gives hugs to in the Narthex and serve on Consistory with have experienced all these things. And if we want to be a stronger family of God, well then we need to understand some of the pain there. We need to talk about the deep systems in place that lift some up and keep others down. And we need to pray for forgiveness when we’ve fallen as individuals and as a nation and pray for grace to keep us going. Hope to see you in class.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Matt
