Fishers of People, Part 3
Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church
A warm welcome to each worshipper today. We
celebrate you and offer you our friendship and love. We are a congregation of
people who seek to grow spiritually, to become more like Christ in His compassion
and acceptance of everyone while growing more aware of what it really means to
be Christians today.
As a Reconciling Congregation, EPUMC affirms the sacred worth of persons of
all sexual orientations and gender identities and welcomes them into full
participation in the fellowship, membership, ministries, and leadership of the
congregation.
943 Palmer Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12309 / 518-374-4306 epumc943@gmail.com
/ www.easternparkwayumc.com
Welcome to Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church
February 20, 2022
10:00 a.m.
*You are invited to stand in body or in spirit
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
Mission Statement:
We are a faith community
striving to be, to nurture, and to send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.
Call to Worship
By BJ Beu
Come and learn the ways of life.
We have come to follow Jesus.
Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you.
We have come to follow Jesus.
Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who persecute
you.
We have come to follow Jesus.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
We have come to follow Jesus.
*Hymn Now Thank We All Our
God #102
Prayer of Confession:
Teacher of hard truths, it is difficult to let go of
our anger
toward those who prosper through deceit and unscrupulous ways; it is not easy
to make ourselves believe that the meek will inherit the earth, when they are
being crushed by the unjust systems stacked against them. We long to see the
vindication of the righteous and the prosperity of those who work selflessly to
bring your realm here on earth. We yearn for the day
when all people will treat one another as they wish to be treated.
Help us live into that day, Holy One, even when it is difficult, that your love
might shine like the sun through our lives and our ministries. Amen.
Assurance
When
we treat others as we would have them treat us, Jesus calls us beloved children
of the Most High. If God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, how much
more will God be kind to those who love the Lord and seek to live the Golden
Rule? Rest in this assurance and be at peace
Anthem
Scripture Reading Matthew 5: 38-42
Concerning Retaliation
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say
to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right
cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants
to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and
if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give
to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow
from you.
Sermon Fishers of People,
Part 3
Here we are,
at week 3 of 4 of this sermon series, “Fishers of People”, where we are looking
at the early days of Jesus’ ministry, and learning what it is he meant when
told his first disciples that they would “fish for people”. Alongside these
teachings, we’re observing Black History Month, and hearing the overlooked
stories of people of color from yesteryear whose lives illuminate exactly what
Jesus teaches us.
This morning’s
story concerns the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. Most of you hearing those words
are likely to nod, you know what I’m talking about, you know a few details, and
you might have learned about it in school if you’re younger than a certain age.
I’m younger than that age, so I grew up hearing this story in history class—or at
least I thought I did. In fact, I was embarrassed when only a few years ago I
learned a much longer, much more complicated version of the story of the
Montgomery Bus Boycott, and realized what I thought I had known was vastly
oversimplified and whitewashed. The story we all should have heard involves a
woman named Claudette Colvin, who herself perfectly summed up the Cliff Notes
version of the Bus Boycott we learned in school: “Young people think Rosa Parks
just sat down on a bus and ended segregation. But that wasn’t the case at all.”
Claudette
Colvin was born by the name Claudette Austin in Montgomery, Alabama on September
5, 1939. When Colvin was very young her father left her family, and her mother
couldn’t take care of her. She and her younger sister, Delphine, were adopted
by their great aunt and uncle, and took their last name, which was Colvin. From
then on Colvin and her sister thought of their great aunt and uncle as their
mom and dad. As a young girl Colvin lived on the outskirts of Montgomery, in
the same neighborhood as Rosa Parks. But later on her great aunt and uncle
moved to the city, to an impoverished, predominantly Black neighborhood, and
this is where Colvin spent most of her childhood. Only two days before she
turned thirteen, Colvin’s sister Delphine died from complications of polio. Colvin
was consumed with grief. A very intelligent young lady, she fell behind in
school because of the trauma. Looking for some hope, she joined The local
chapter of the NAACP. The branch secretary, Rosa Parks, became a beloved
mentor.
On March 2nd,
1955, Colvin was riding a bus home from school, which she regularly did because
no one in her family owned a car. As most of us know, buses in the South were
segregated by race in those days, with white people in the from and black
people in the back. Colvin and a few of her friends were riding together in the
back. Even though the vast majority of bus passengers in Montgomery were black,
segregation laws demanded that an entire half of the bus be reserved exclusively
for whites, and that if there were not enough seats in the white section, an
entire row of black passengers would be required to give up their seats so that
no white person would have to sit next to a black person. At one stop, a white
woman boarded the bus, and complained that there wasn’t a seat for her. The
driver demanded that Colvin’s entire row get up and move. Colvin’s friends
moved, but Colvin refused. Emboldened by a pregnant black passenger who had
gotten on next to her and protested that she didn’t her the energy to stand for
the entire ride home. The driver called the police, and two white police
officers responded. One convinced a black man in the back of the bus to give up
his seat for the pregnant passenger, but Colvin refused to stand, saying that
she paid her money and it was her constitutional right to keep her seat. Colvin
was handcuffed, dragged off the bus, arrested, and driven to the local jail. The
whole way to the jail, the policemen made vulgar, sexualized comments about
Colvin’s body, and she was terrified. They charged her with three counts: not
following segregation laws, disturbing the peace, and assaulting a police
officer. The third charge was a complete law, thrown in by one officer just to
assert power over Colvin.
9 months
later, in October, the much better known event happened, when Rosa Parks
refused to give up her seat. These events motivated a young Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. to take the power back from white supremacists by withholding their
money from the public transit business and boycotting the bus. The protest
itself lasted for over a year, from December 5, 1955 until December 20, 1956.
Concurrent with
the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the court case of Browder v Gayle made its way up
to the Supreme Court, arguing that segregation on the Montgomery buses was
unconstitutional. The ultimate victory of this case is what ended the Bus
Boycott. Colvin was one of five people highlighted by the plaintiffs’ argument.
Explaining her bold actions later in her life, Colvin explained, “History kept
me stuck to my seat. I felt the hand of Harriet Tubman pushing down on one
shoulder and Sojourner Truth pushing down on the other.” Early on, Colvin’s
plight was highlighted in the Bus Boycott. But by the time Colvin went to
juvenile court for the charges the police filed against her, she was sixteen
years old, unmarried, and expecting her first baby—a little boy named Raymond. The
prevailing voices of the Civil Rights Movement felt they couldn’t lift up a
teen mom in their protests, fearing how white supremacists would use Colvin’s public
reputation against her. So instead Rosa Parks became the face of the bus
boycott. The reasons were hardly lost on Colvin. As she later explained, “My
mother told me to be quiet about what I did. She told me to let Rosa be the one:
white people aren’t going to bother Rosa, they like her.” This is a sobering
reality we have to face today: the Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful because
they allowed the racists and misogynists around them to guide their words. I
take the time to lift this up because so many people looking upon modern day
Black Lives Matter protests will call back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and lift
up this purposefully curated image of the gentle Grandma who politely sat, and
denigrate contemporary protests that end in charges, fines, arrests, mace,
rubber bullets, and property damage. The Bus Boycott was not a polite, passive protest,
it was a strong fight against the system. Scores of people went to jail for
trumped up charges meant to silence the voices of dissent. I’m not saying you
need to feel comfortable with the violence that can break out in modern
protests, but please don’t erase the bravery of people like Rosa Parks, Dr.
King, Claudette Colvin, and countless others we’ve failed to name by trying to
argue that the work of Civil Rights used to be calm and mannerly. Justice
prevails when the righteous band together and fight injustice.
While we’re on
that note, let’s shift gears for a moment and look to this morning’s Gospel
reading—Jesus’ well-known, oft-read advice that we “turn the other cheek” in
the face of oppression. The Lectionary highlights Luke’s account of these
words, but I went with Matthew because he includes a few very important details
for us to fully understand what Jesus is teaching us.
I used to hate
these verses. As with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, I learned the watered-down, disingenuous
interpretation of these words, rather than the original message. These words,
over and over and over and over, have been twisted around to support the notion
that good Christians don’t stand up to bullies and abusers. Just running
through commentaries on these verses this week, I found several that suggested
Jesus wants us to do nothing when someone is hurting us and leave it to Jesus
to make right someday. A few months ago, I talked to a woman who was leaving
her abusive husband, who told me her faith compelled her to stay for years
because Jesus said you “turn the other cheek”. It’s past time we learn what
Jesus really had in mind, and this interpretation comes to us thanks to pacifist
theologian Walter Wink.
In order to
teach this properly, I need an audience volunteer.
Jesus intentionally
uses direction words to drive home what he means. He says “if someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn the other also”. The first thing we need to get is
that this is a right-handed society; you never used your left hand in public,
even if it’s your dominant hand, because your left hand is your gross bathroom
hand. So if, like Jesus says, I’m hitting on your right cheek, and I can only
use my left hand, then how am I hitting? With the back of my hand.
A back-handed
slap might hurt, but that’s not the point. A back-handed slap is humiliating.
Back-handed slaps were reserved for servants, slaves, children, even animals—those
who you believe are inferior to you. By hitting this way, I am putting you in
your place.
Does Jesus
say, “just sit there and take it?” NO. Does he say “punch that jerk back?” ALSO
NO. Instead Jesus says, use the tools at your disposal to take your power back.
Outsmart your abuser. In this case, all you have to do is turn your head to
face the other way. If you do that, you’ve put me in a bad place now. I can’t use
my left hand. I can’t back-handed slap you anymore. So now I only have two
choices. I either have to stop hurting you and walk away, or, if I insist on
hitting you again, I have to hit you with the front of my hand, which is how
you hit someone you see as an equal. Either way, I have lost the upper hand,
and you have your dignity back.
The next two
teachings Jesus gives us are similar: If a wealthy person takes you to court
for a debt, they can demand a piece of your clothing as collateral: “your coat”,
what we would think of as “underwear”. If you were very poor, you may only own
two pieces of clothing, just that coat, and a cloak to go over it. So if some
greedy guy literally takes the shirt off your back in court, then hand over the
rest of your clothes too. Isn’t the Bible fun when we know what it says? Walk
out of court naked just to shame the other person for their greed.
A Roman
soldier, occupying Palestine, could demand you carry his gear. It would take
you away from your work, and waste your time. But he could only demand a mile
of service from you, and he’ll get in trouble if you go a step past that mile.
So Jesus says keep on going! Make that soldier run after you to get his stuff
back! He’ll think twice before he makes someone carry his stuff again.
What Jesus
teaches us is that no matter what we’re faced with, we always have more power
than we think we do. We’re resourceful, we’re smart, we have hearts full of
love, and together we can do great things. The courage our faith fills us with
is like that of a feisty 15-year-old child of color in the South in 1955
shouting to 3 white cops that they were violating her constitutional rights. People
may try to take your power, and your dignity, in this life, but don’t you ever
give up your voice. Use it. And use it to speak up for those who are being
silenced.
As for Colvin,
it took decades, but justice finally prevailed for her. She is still alive, she’s
82 now. The Montgomery City Council named March 2nd, the day of her
arrest, “Claudette Colvin Day”, in 2017. In December of 2021, just a few months
ago, the DA of Montgomery County, Alabama finally expunged from Colvin’s record
the last of the charges she was convicted with when she refused to give up her
bus seat. It might take the people around you an infuriatingly long time to
hear your cry for justice, but as long as you don’t give up, hope of a better
future prevails. May we cast out our nets and invite our neighbors to that
tomorrow.
Amen.
*Hymn Come and
Find the Quiet Center
#2128
Led
by the Front Porch Rockers
Offertory
*Doxology
*Prayer of Dedication
Time of Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
THE PRAYER OF OSCAR ROMERO
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long
view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent
enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying that
The Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that should be said.
No prayer fully expressed our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produced effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
And there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
A step along the way,
An opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
But that is the difference
Between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
Ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.
Archbishop Oscar Romero, https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/morning-and-new-beginnings-prayers.
Our Father, Mother, Creator God, who
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory forever. Amen.
*Hymn
Now the Green Blade Riseth (v 1, 4) #311
Benediction
Postlude
_____________________________________________
Staff
Natalie Bowerman Pastor
Betsy Lehmann Music Director
Joe White Custodian
Cassandra Brown
Nursery
Attendant
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