Ambassadors of Christ During Black Lives Matter; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20a

Rev. George Miller
June 28, 2020
2 Corinthians 5:17-20a

19 years ago, I started seminary. 9/11 had yet to happen, Facebook was not around, and landlines were still a thing.

Rev. Dr. Peggy Way was our professor of Pastoral Care- a trailblazer in the Christian community- the 1st woman in her field to publish articles, the 1st to teach full time in 3 divinity schools.

She was brilliant; so brilliant she came across as kooky and unorganized. She taught by stream of consciousness.

Her office a pile of papers and nearly empty coffee cups with whole universes of mold growing within them.

It was she who taught us that humans are “Biological, chemical creatures dealing with the chronicity of life.”

Rev. Dr. Way was also in a wheelchair. We didn’t know any different, because she just was…as if she and that chair were always one being.

I remember the day she asked me to push her across campus.

It was a journey I took all the time- down the stairs, out the side door, across the beautiful cobblestone path.

Well, 1st thing 1st- there was no going down the stairs; we took the elevator.

2nd, there was no going out the side door; that also involved stairs. So, we went out the front door with the handicap accessible pushbutton.

3rd, turns out cobblestone paths aren’t so beautiful when you’re navigating them with a wheelchair, and it’s starting to rain.

Here we were, Dr. Way and I, heading towards the same destination, but how we had to get there was so different from my own personal experiences.

For me, a strapping guy of 31 who’d been walking and running all my life, the path was filled with colorful cobblestones, green grass, and dandelions.

I could walk secure, moving straight ahead while taking in all around me.

But the day I was invited to push Dr. Way from point A to point B was so much more difficult and complex.

Turns out those colorful cobblestones are uneven and bumpy as they jut up and some of them sink down.

Turns out that grass and dandelions growing between the cracks aren’t so great when you’re trying to navigate a 74 years-old body in a chair.

It doesn’t matter how blue the sky is or that the trees are in bloom if you have to look down the entire time to make sure you don’t face plant on the floor.

The first droplets of rain may be fine if you can dance like Gene Kelly, but they’re not your friend if you’re in a chair rolling over unsteady ground.

It may have seemed that Dr. Way and I both had access to the same destination…

…but it did not mean our experience of the path getting there was the same…

We share this story because for the past 5 weeks we’ve heard so much about Black Lives Matter. There are folk who wonder what that means.

Why is it Black Lives? Why are folk saying they matter?

Aren’t we all supposed to be equal? Aren’t we supposed to say we’re all the same?

Isn’t church supposed to say “In Christ we are all one”? Why can’t we all agree that

-If you work hard, you’ll get to where you’re going?

-If you stay out of trouble no cop will come knocking on your door?

-If you follow instructions, no one will get hurt?

Trouble is, when folk did work hard in places like Tulsa, they had their shops burned down.

Trouble is, when Breonna Taylor, a nurse, was peacefully sleeping at home, cops came busting through her door and gunned her down.

Trouble is, when Rayshard Brooks complied, even asking if he could walk home, he was shot twice in the back.

Folks are saying Black Lives Matter because even though we think we’re past the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and separate water fountains, we’re not.

Our nation is still crippled by things we think we can’t see, but our black sisters and brothers see every day.

So it does not help for us to say “Yes, but…” Or to block someone’s story because we simply can’t believe it.

It does not help us as a nation to keep going around and around when we have people that we personally know-

Our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our co-worshippers, who are trying to tell us again and again-

“You think the path we’re taking is the same as you. But it’s not.”

“We don’t always have access to the same doors or the smoothest stones. We often have to invest extra energy into seeing our surroundings so we don’t get knocked to the floor.”

I think of those who grew up here in the 50’s and 60’s who had to go to different schools and hospitals.

I think of my ex Carlitas who had a master’s degree in social work and applied for job after job and never got called in for an interview…until the day he signed his name “Carl.”

I think of someone who use to attend Emmanuel who was once pulled over late at night simply because he was riding his bicycle home after work.

I think of the mothers we personally know who worry every day about their sons, husbands, and nephews.

Why do we say “Black Lives Matter”? Because they do.

We’re not saying “Black lives matter more than yours” or “Black Lives Matter More Than Anyone Else.”

Simply “Black Lives Matter.” It’s sad that in 2020 we have to say this.

So how does this tie into today’s reading?

Simple- in today’s scripture Paul reminds us that in Christ we are transformed.

In Christ, we have a way to be reconciled with one another.

In Christ, we are entrusted to share that message of reconciliation with others.

In Christ, we are ambassadors for the Lord.

Did you hear that? So simple- Ambassadors of Christ.

Through Christ we are empowered to do things differently, to move on from mistakes we have collectively made, and to represent Christ to all we meet.

Ambassadors of Christ.

Doesn’t that sound beautiful?

We of Emmanuel are already doing that in so many ways- Shepherd’s Pantry, Hattie’s Hope, Back Bay.

But there’s another way we can be ambassadors during this tumulus time-

To listen.

To hear what others are saying. To believe that what they say is true.

To know that we don’t know what we think we know.

To understand that how we see the path before us is not how others experience it.

To understand that when folk talk about institutionalized racism and systematic oppression, they are speaking from what they personally know.

They are telling their own true stories about –

-The cracked and sunken cobblestones along the path.

-The weeds that grow between the jagged rocks.

-The stairs that have been blocked off.

-The doors that were inaccessible.

-The storms they could not escape.

Paul so eloquently states that we are ambassadors for Christ.

As ambassadors, one of the best things we can do, right now, is to simply listen, to genuinely believe.

To accept the fact that the paths we walk are not the same as everyone else’s.

We have a long way to go to heal the centuries of American hurt, but listening is a faithful, compassionate, first step.

Amen and amen.