"We Are the People Walking in Darkness"

Pastor Michelle Manicke

Yesterday morning I was working on this sermon when I saw the push notification on my watch: another person had been shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis.... Wanting to know more, I Immediately went down the rabbit hole of social media and news outlets. I watched videos taken by bystanders that showed different angles on how the shooting occurred. I watched them several - times because I had trouble believing what I was seeing. And no matter which video I watched, I was shocked. I was shocked because the man who was shot was clearly on the ground, being held down and beaten around the head, when the shots were fired. Ten. Shots. Within. Five Seconds....

I remembered a startling poem I once heard the Irish poet and peace activist, Padraig O'Tuama, read. It's titled "The Pedagogy of Conflict," and the third section goes like this:

When I was a child,

I learnt to count to five one, two, three, four, five.

but these days, I've been counting lives, so I count

one life

one life

one life

one life

one life

because each time

is the first time

that that life

has been taken.

Legitimate Target

has sixteen letters

and one

long

abominable

space

between

two

dehumanising

words.¹

After sitting a while in stunned silence, I began to pray silently, "Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy on us.... Who - or what -- have we become?" As I pondered that question, other disturbing images appeared in my mind's eye -- images of two beautiful, brown-skinned children who were taken by ICE this week and shipped to a detention center in Texas: a five-year-old Minneapolis boy wearing a Spiderman backpack and blue knit cap with bunny ears and a smiling seven-year-old Gresham girl with the telltale toothless grin of a first-grader, who was kidnapped along with her parents, when they went to Adventist Hospital's emergency room seeking medical help for their little daughter's nosebleed.

Shortly after noon yesterday, I absorbed the sobering news that Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man who had been killed by ICE agents that morning, was a US citizen and a registered nurse who worked in the ICU of Minneapolis's Veteran's Hospital. He had no criminal record. Pretti's neighbors describe him as a friendly man who would exchange pleasantries with them while walking his dog in the neighborhood.... When he died yesterday morning, he was acting as a human rights observer - that is, he was following his conscience and exercising his legal right to film ICE activity as a way of holding federal agents accountable for their actions. AND he was putting his body on the line to protect a woman who'd just been pepper sprayed and pushed down by ICE agents  As I sat there in the safety of my living room, taking this all in, I felt sick to

my stomach, and my heart grew heavy. As tears formed in the corners of my eyes, I could feel myself shaking with rage and outrage. I'm still feeling it! In fact. it seems I feel that way a lot these days.... How about you, friends? Do you feel the same? [Show of hands, if you feel like you're weighed down by grief or shaken by rage and outrage.... Yeah, you know what I'm talking about!. ]

So, I want to circle back to the question, "Who - or what -- have we become?..." On any given day, I, personally, could offer a number of different answers to that question, but today I feel inspired by Scripture to answer by saying: We are the people walking in darkness. We are a people living in a land of deep darkness. And yet, at the very same time, we, who follow the One True God revealed through Jesus the Christ, are also people who have seen a great light.  You and I belong to Christ, who is the light of the whole human family, and because we belong to Christ, we're drawn again and again to the true light who is still coming into the world to enlighten everyone who is willing to accept God's gracious invitation to new life  ²

Speaking of invitations, I want to invite you to turn your attention to today's reading from Matthew's gospel, which has some important insights to enlighten and guide us through the challenges of living as faithful followers of Jesus in this time and place. First, I want to draw your attention to verses 12-17, where the narrator tells us that Jesus begins his ministry after his kinsman, John, has been arrested. Here it's worth noting that Jesus comes preaching the very same message John has been proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. "³ So, I've been doing this preaching gig a long time now, and I've heard and preached this passage a few times over the years, but this time around, Jesus' words land differently for me. For one thing, they land differently because I've learned that the Greek New Testament word "metanoia," which we translate "repent," in this context actually means something more like "pay attention" I'm also acutely aware that the evils of our time will not be easily or quickly overcome. We're in this for the long haul, friends, and so, you and I and our siblings in Christ are going to have to take turns leading because...like John back in the day and like dozens of clergypersons in Minnesota this past Friday...some of us are going to get arrested, or we may get sick, or we may just need to rest. So, we're going to need to take turns leading, and we'll also need to take turns f

ollowing. And of course, we'll need to keep our message consistent with Jesus' message: "Repent -that is, pay attention, so that you don't miss the Good News that invites you to participate in God's mission of reconciling the whole world! The kindom of God IS very near; indeed, it's right at hand...." And then Jesus shows us what God's kindom looks like: It looks like disciples giving up their old way of life to follow in the life-giving Way of Jesus. It looks like sharing the Good News of a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. It also looks like welcoming and healing all people. regardless of skin color, race, nationality, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. In short, the Way of Jesus looks like the Beloved Community that is God's Dream -the Beloved Community where you and I and every child of God is beloved. Included. Understood.      •

In describing Jesus' inclusive ministry of welcoming and healing all people, Matthew 4 reminds us of who the true Jesus is and what it means to follow him  And I want to intentionally underscore that point because I'm convinced that you and I are living in one of those times of darkness Jesus warned us about: We're living in an idolatrous culture where many are following a false messiah and worshiping Mammon, aka the god of wealth, instead of the One True God. From where I sit, it seems we've been slowly sliding into this dark abyss for a while now, but over time, as far too many people have succumbed to the big lie that immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, non-Christians, and "woke" liberals are to blame for their personal troubles, and as those in power have consolidated their hold over us, our descent into darkness has accelerated. And here's a sobering thing, friends: When we human beings lose our capacity for compassion and empathy, we flip the script, so that instead of loving people and using things, we begin loving things and using people.... And I'm sure you'll agree that's about as far from the loving, liberating, life-giving Way of Jesus as anyone can possibly stray! [Amen?!. ]

Friends, there's no question that we're living in deep darkness, watching our neighbors suffer and suffering ourselves under the ruthless policies of soulless leaders. But there is a question of how you and I will respond as followers of Jesus. Every one of us who has any measure of privilege must prayerfully ask, "What is God calling me to do? How can! use the gifts God has entrusted to me to follow in the Way of Jesus, bringing good news and healing and light to my neighbors who are walking in darkness - regardless of their skin color, age, gender, marital status, economic status, race, nationality, religion, ability, sexual orientation, pr gender identity?..."

Here a word of caution seems in order: Because we're all finite beings who cannot do "all the things," each of us must also take time to discern, "What's mine to do, and what's not mine to do?" But whatever you choose to do or not do, friends, don't let yourself become numb in the wake of the relentless "firehose effect" of all the atrocities that are happening all around us. All. The. Time. I know it's exhausting, but history bears witness to what happens when people turn away or tune out.... For example, in a moment, I'm going to share a quote that many of us have heard before. It comes from a series of post-World War II lectures given by Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller, who had been an.early supporter of the Nazis, but eventually began to speak out against them. In 1937, he was arrested as a dissident and remained in prison until the Allies freed him in 1945. After the war, Niemoller was one of only a handful of Germans willing to take responsibility for their own complicity in allowing the Nazis to seize power. He wrote this poignant and familiar reflection:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me.

Friends, Niemoller's hard-earned wisdom speaks a warning to you and me in our time. All we need to do is change the names of the victims. For example:

First they came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out - because I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for the poor people, and I did not speak out - because I was not a poor person.

Then they came for the members of the LGBTQ+ community, and I did not speak out - because I was not a queer.

Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.

So, in the face of this sobering reality, what can we do? One thing we can do is cultivate loving community and celebrate joyfully together - just as we're doing today with our Reconciling in Christ worship service. In fact, we need to create safe spaces for gathering and celebrating on an ongoing basis because community and joy are vital in sustaining us, as we resist the dark forces of oppression and violence.

Another thing we can do is pray and encourage each other to take action in whatever way we feel called to do so  You know, I have to say that in spite of the horrific killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti over the past couple of weeks, it warms my heart to witness thousands of our siblings in Minnesota braving frigid weather to stand up and speak out for justice. To my clergy colleagues who've put their bodies on the line and have even been arrested, I say, "Thank you. Thank you for your witness in the name of Jesus, who is always found among the 'least of these.' Always...." I'm also inspired by the way residents of Minneapolis/St. Paul are showing up for their neighbors, delivering food and diapers to thousands of vulnerable families that are afraid to leave their homes.

My friends, these things are examples of what it means to means to follow Jesus. To be the Body of Christ in these dark times, you and I must first repent -that is, we must turn and see the light of Christ that is right here, at hand, and whenever we see the light of Christ shining in darkness, the appropriate response is to be amazed!. Then we must open our hearts and allow ourselves to be filled with God's healing light. And finally, we must let the light of Christ shine in and through our lives, offering healing and hope to others -especially those who've been hurt by church and society - until every beautiful child of God comes to know they are part of God's diverse rainbow family. Beloved. Included. Understood.

Thanks be to God, who loves each and every one of us with an everlasting love! Amen.

¹ Padraig O'Tuama, "The Pedagogy of Conflict" driginally published in Sorry for your Troubles (Canterbury Press, 2013). Copyright © 2oi3 by Padraig 6 Tuama.

² Cf. John 1:4, 9.

³ Matthew 4:17.

We Are the People Walking in the Darkness