When I began this sermon several days ago, I had a sermon about the fear Joseph must have felt when his brothers grabbed him with the intention of murder. I had a sermon about the fear of the disciples when they saw the impossibility of Jesus walking on water.
Now I have a sermon that makes me afraid.
It makes me afraid because speaking about social issues always irritates people - because whenever I speak about uncomfortable things, somebody gets angry at me. At least I can comfort myself that it’s just a sermon among people I know who are not likely threaten me. The most you’re likely to do is fume a little.
And that also makes me afraid - afraid that the Gospel today will have no impact on anyone - change no hearts, move no minds closer to the will of God. Or that I’m just preaching to the choir.
What makes me afraid, of course, is speaking about the events in Charlottesville, Virginia at the University of Virginia and surrounding area. And yet, I would be more afraid not to speak about it because I would have to answer to God for my silence. And I guarantee you, nearly every pulpit throughout this country - and many around the world - will be filled with the same message.
And that message is that the group marching down there with torches and weapons shouting Nazi slogans like “Blood and Soil” - that group that surrounded a church filled with peaceful, worshiping counter-protestors - have nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Their method was to instill fear, and their message was one of fear. This group - which is alternately called the Alt-Right, White Nationalists, or White Supremacists but who embrace the spirit and message of Nazis - want you to be afraid. They are not coy about it, either.
One of these Neo-Nazis tweeted a message that has been re-tweeted by the leaders of several white nationalist groups. It said, “The fear we instill in them today only fuels our victory tomorrow.”
These groups want people of color to be afraid, to know their place. When they shouted, “We will not be replaced,” what they meant was that they do not want to lose their place as the most privileged group in the country. They do not want to become a minority because they know how minorities are treated here. They know people of color don’t get the same bank loans, don’t get the same jobs, don’t get the same educational opportunities or the same safety afforded them by the government.
And they want you to be afraid, whoever you are, even if you are a white male like the overwhelming majority of them. They want you to be cowed so you don’t speak up, so you don’t say anything when they insult and abuse others.
Fear is their weapon and their message.
But it is not the message of God.
When Joseph was grabbed by his brothers (who were angry that they were losing their position of privilege) - he had to feel terrified. How close did they get to beating him to death? When they threw him in a pit, he had to be afraid. What were his chances of dying from exposure or thirst? When they sold him into slavery to the Ishmaelite traders - what could he have felt other than fear?
And yet, he knew God was with him. He trusted the dreams God gave him, and he trusted that God would not abandon him.
When the disciples saw Jesus walking on water, they were terrified. Ghosts held a much more vivid and frightening place in people’s imaginations back then than today when we have seen every conceivable evil on video and when we have our nights lit up by electric lights so that we are never truly in darkness.
Yet Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid,” and “You of little faith, why do you doubt?” It’s not unlike the time when he was asleep on the boat when a fierce storm erupted that threatened to sink the boat. The once again terrified disciples woke him with cries of “Don’t you care that we’re about to drown?” And again he said, “Why are you afraid? I’m with you.”
And that is our question today.
A friend and colleague of mine - one who was on the Indaba team with me that traveled to England and India - was in that church that was surrounded by those torch-bearing Neo-Nazis. She said they were simply praying when it became clear that they were not going to be allowed to leave the building. All exits were blocked.
While some feared the crowd outside - who knew what they might try to do? - she said the prevailing mood was of God’s presence. There was a calm about them because God was - and is - with them.
Fear can not - and will not - win.
Now, as we all know, the abuse and intimidation of people of color in this country did not start in the past year. It has not been limited to this large crowd of angry white supremacists.
This abuse has been going on a very long time, and since it usually doesn’t affect most of us, we usually say nothing. We usually don’t even notice.
When we do say something, people get tired of it. They say, “Can’t you think o something new to complain about? Didn’t we deal with that long ago? Won’t you people ever be satisfied?” So we clam up.
It is so easy, so tempting to let things go along as they’ve been going for so long. But if the Gospel teaches us anything - and I’m talking about the entirety of the Gospel, not just today’s reading - it is that we are all God’s children, wonderfully made and responsible to and for each other. Or as St. Paul said, “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.”
How is it that we can be too afraid - or disinterested - to notice when our own family is being harmed?
Unless, that is, we doubt God is with us. Unless we doubt Christ has called us to love each other. Unless you doubt every single person is worthy of respect. “You of little faith,” Jesus says, “Why do you doubt?”
I know people hate it whenever I speak about “political” topics. But politics is simply the manner in which we care for each other - and that is the core of Gospel as well.
The events in Virginia teach us that we do not have the luxury of silence. Thankfully, neither do we need to fear when we are called upon to speak. Because God is with us. Today and always. Amen.
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