While it is true that many strands of Protestant Christianity came together to create the rainbow tapestry that is today’s United Church of Christ, the first of these strands, and the one that gives shape to our own church history, is the Congregational tradition of New England. Those brave souls were seeking religious freedom, but they also had a very specific idea of who and what they wanted to be. Their goal? To be a City on a Hill. This formulation comes from the 5th Chapter of the Gospel traditionally attributed to Matthew, and is part of a string that calls those who would follow Jesus the “salt of the earth†and the “light of the world.â€
Our tradition has taken that teaching seriously, working for justice, even when it was unpopular. We have stood for those who could not stand for themselves. In our houses of worship and in our communities, we have fought slavery, challenged the second-class status of women in our churches and in our nation, welcomed LGBT Christians as equals. We have marched for farm workers and immigrants. From the moment it was formed, the UCC and member congregations have worked for civil rights and equal protection under the law for African-Americans. Today, we are once again engaged in that struggle.
On Saturday, a known criminal with a history of mental illness used a weapon he should have never had and murdered two NYPD officers while they sat in their patrol car eating lunch. Some have shamefully turned this into a political opportunity.
I want to be abundantly clear. Demanding that violent and racist police officers be held accountable is not inciting violence against police officers. It is what is required of our Christian faith. Those who seek to protect rogue officers, placing themselves above the law, dishonor the badge they wear.
There are more good cops than bad. But when good cops say nothing and allow systemic abuses to continue, they are as guilty as those who would gun down a 12 year-old in Cleveland, would strangle an unarmed man on the streets of Staten Island. Evil is abetted by silence.
I will not be silent, as Trevor would not have been silent, as Bonhoeffer was not silenced. As our Savior was not silent.
We live in a racist society. A UU minister recently wrote about the very foundational nature of this problem. As a white man, I can go to any neighborhood, and I will never be stopped by cops and asked why I am there. It will be assumed that I have reason to be there. I can go to Macy’s and shop for hours, and the store detective will never tail me. If my hood is up, it will only mean I was cold. And if I become the victim of a crime, no one will ever say “He must have done something to deserve it.â€
Our worship on Sunday morning was interrupted because a a local realtor called the police. Three black or Latino men had been seen in the neighborhood, possibly armed, and there was an increased police presence as they were pursued. In the end, the men were members of the U.S. Coast Guard and in uniform, hence their “bullet-proof vests.†Don’t kid yourself and think that the police would have swarmed the neighborhood if these men had been white.
Tomorrow night we will celebrate a star, a light that came into the world in the form of a vulnerable and poor child. We are the bearers of that light in this generation. Dare we put it under a bushel basket?
In the midst of our joy, may we find in Christmas the courage of Mary, the commitment of Joseph, and the love of a God that was with us, is with us, until the very end of time.
Blessings and Merry Christmas,
+Pastor Gary