Let us pray:

We have come into your presence, Lord, to celebrate, and to learn to better represent you to the world. Please send your Spirit to guide us. Amen.

Racism has many definitions, the most common being that members of one racial group consider themselves intrinsically superior to members of other racial groups. Racism inherently starts with the assumption that there are taxonomic differences between different groups of people.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics specific to that race.

According to the United Nations, the term “racial discrimination” means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, national or ethnic origin which impairs human rights and fundamental freedoms in political, economic, social, cultural life.

Example: Researchers found in a recent study that there is widespread discrimination in the workplace against job applicants whose names are perceived as “sounding black.” Those applicants are 50% less likely to receive callbacks for interviews. I have no idea how they can tell what names “sound black!” The researchers view these results as strong evidence of unconscious bias rooted in America’s history of discrimination.
Slavery is not a relic of the past. E. Benjamin Skinner says “there are more slaves now than at any time in history.” The U.N. reports up to 27 million people today are forced under threat of violence to work for subsistence pay, at best. Even in the United States, our government estimates that at least 50,000 people toil in “hidden bondage,” whatever that is!

We human beings are all of the same human race. Yet you know we all differ in various ways! Today we will consider “otherism,” those who are of a different skin color, different culture, different nationality, different religion, different religious emphasis . . .

It is easy for me as a Christian to be overbearing in my enthusiasm to persuade others to become Christians. And I am not alone. Example:

Chomina, chief of the Algonquin tribe, lost all his men protecting an expedition of French colonizers as they traveled fifteen hundred miles to the Huron Mission. A cruel winter, a brutal attack, capture and torture by another tribe resulted in a mortal wound for the chief. Father Laforgue, leader of the expedition, was sure the chief was dying.

He approached the chief, and said, “When I die, Chomina, I will go to paradise. Let me baptize you so you will go there, too.”

“Why should I want to go to your paradise?” Chomina responded. “My people, my woman, my boy would not be there.”
The next day, as the chief lay dying in the snow, Father Laforgue made one more attempt. “Chomina, my God loves you. If you will accept him, he will admit you to his paradise.”

“Leave, my friend, please leave,” Chomina murmured . . . as he died.

Father Laforgue was a Christian. Chomina was a Native American. The priest was sure that only Christians can be saved. What do you think?

If we are xenophobic, afraid of “others,” we will tend to see mavericks as dangerous. Jesus was a maverick, who valued and taught freedom of will. No wonder he was a dangerous “other” to the Pharisees!

I hope you realize by now that I am determined to preach in the paradigm of Jesus and the prophets, all of whom preached “Truth to power,” challenged their listeners to look at the world, and people, in new ways. The Pharisees were not interested in rethinking their faith. They were not willing to challenge their belief system. So they remained “others.”

To revitalize our spiritual and intellectual minds, maybe some texts will need to be reinterpreted, some theologies reconstructed, faith issues reimagined. Jesus never proclaimed, “My religion is here, follow me.” He proclaimed “The Kingdom of God is here. Enter it.”

It is estimated that some 50,000 tho’ts enter our minds every day, of which 75-85% are negative!
Negative thinking is a block to progress, to growth, to changing your mind.

There are times, of course, when we need to be negative. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites and whitewashed sepulchers. Negative, to be sure. But that was an exception. Jesus lived and taught a positive life-style: love each other, love even your enemies! Norman Vincent Peale said, “The Power of Positive Thinking” is God’s way.

Some time ago I gave you what I consider a logical, credible rationale for my being a vegetarian. I can’t see why anyone would kill animals for food or clothing. Did I convince you? Probably not. Most of you are going to go right on eating meat, wearing fur and leather.

Does that mean that I think you are going to be lost, go to hell?

Of course not. It only means that you and I see some things differently. To you, vegetarianism is a matter of choice. You may even see it as fanatical.

To me, vegetarianism is a matter of morality. I think God is on my side. I believe you will become vegetarians if and when you see all the implications involved. But that is a decision I am not free to make!

Dear saints, Father Laforgue was very sure he was presenting Chomina a last-chance opportunity to be saved to eternal life. The chief was very sure he was already in the hands of God.
Our UCC forebears were very sure God did not approve of slavery. Slavery was considered the ultimate racism. They were so sure of their convictions they got political! Very political! They got “hot & heavy” as they lobbied for abolition. And they won! Praise the Lord — they won!.

But don’t forget that conservative Christians quoted the Bible to justify slavery. They were just as sincere as our forbears; misguided, we believe, but sincere. If you want to know what the Bible says about slavery, do a little research. You will be surprised.

Another other:

Last week I told you about St. Francis and Muslim sultan Al-Malik Al-Kamil. One of the most thrilling stories of “otherism” is the story of Francis and Al-Malik Al-Kamil. Francis never gave up his radical nonviolence, even as his church carried out the brutal Crusades. He went on a personal mission, crossed battle lines and met with the Muslim sultan, who welcomed him and asked him to stay for a week of conversation.

They parted as friends. Neither of them converted the other, but both gained respect for the other and learned from the other.

Another other:

Probably the most obvious “other” in this community is Islam. Some months ago, a document, “Can Muslims be Good Americans?” appeared around here. I read it.
I saw it as a misrepresentation of what Muslims believe. But rather than say that, I made copies of it and gave them to several Muslim and Christian scholars, asking for a response.

When I got their responses, I made copies and announced that they were available. How many of you read their responses?

Another other:

I recently heard some ministers talk about immigrants. I broke in and asked, “What part of illegal don’t you understand?”

To which one of them responded, “Felix, you believe in the Bible. What part of ‘Welcome the stranger’ don’t you understand?”

In an interfaith board meeting, one of our Native American members reminded us that when we get all worked up about illegal immigrants, we need to remember that we didn’t ask the Native Americans for permission to invade this country. He agreed that we brought a better way of life, but we did come “illegally”!

I hope you heard the several extensive discussions about immigrants and immigration on public radio last week.

Another other:

Eckhart Tolle’s book. “A New Earth,” is being promoted by Oprah. I was told it is “100% opposite the Bible.” I bought the book. I read it. Tolle pictures Jesus as “a great spiritual leader,” not, as you and I believe, God incarnate. Many Christian theologians believe as he does. He quotes extensively from the Bible, all positive. I found nothing negative in the book, not one anti-Biblical or anti-Christian comment. Tolle is an “other,” but doesn’t he deserve a fair hearing? I believe he does.

Another other:

The issue that motivated our leaders to ask for this special emphasis today is, as I’m sure you know, the media attention to the comments of the retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Jeremiah Wright. He is significant because he has been a friend and pastor of Barak Obama.

Some time ago, when it was mentioned that Obama is a longtime UCC member, someone said, “That’s a cover-up.” He is a Muslim at heart. That sparked a challenge, to find out. So I did.

The Nation magazine did extensive research on Obama’s life. I got a copy, made copies available, and offered them to you. How many of you had interest enough to read it?

I am not an Obama fan, but doesn’t he deserve an honest hearing?

Let’s talk about Jeremiah Wright. To put his words in context (which the media have not been willing to do), I will quote from my friend, Episcopal priest and long-time journalist Harry Cook:
“Most Christians have great respect and affection for tradition. We try to preserve as much of our tradition as is practicable. And probably some that isn’t quite practicable, but it makes us happy.

“Let me tell you about a religious tradition that goes back to the Bible, back more than 2,500 years, well before the time of Jesus. It is called the ‘prophetic’ tradition — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, and lesser knowns.

“To be a ‘prophet’ is not necessarily to divine the future. Prophets did not normally gaze into crystal balls and foretell events. The Hebrew word for ‘prophet’ is nabi, and it means ‘one who announces,’ one who explains what’s going on, what’s happening now. Prophetic preaching is not fore-telling, but forth-telling.

“Amos, an 8th Century B.C. shepherd and vineyard worker from Judea, left his job to travel to Israel’s royal court. Amos felt compelled to describe to the king of Israel and his court what they apparently could not see in front of their noses, an economic disaster their policies were making for the common people. Amos called on them to ‘let justice roll down like water, and righteousness as an ever-flowing stream.’ (Amos 5:24)

“A lot of people think Martin Luther King Jr. coined that saying. He did not, but he did use it very effectively in our time.
“If you don’t like what a prophet says, you can banish him — they banished Amos. You can kill him — John the Baptist, Jesus, King. Or you can take his announcements to heart and change what is happening for the better. And, really, isn’t it better to let justice roll down like water and righteousness as an ever-flowing stream?

“For 36 years, a United Church of Christ minister in Chicago, Jeremiah Wright, has been speaking ‘truth to power.’ A church that had 60 members when he started, now has 6,000, and mission ministries now serving every conceivable human need.

“Dr. Wright, a scholar of the Bible and of ancient history, has consistently applied an enlightened interpretation of the Bible to life, as his people have lived it.”

That description of our fellow UCC minister is from an Episcopal priest, a scholar in his own right.

In a New York Times Op-Ed, Trinity member Martin Marty, a white, prominent theologian and commentator on religious history and current religious activities, said he was warmly accepted into the predominantly black church. I was surprised to learn that Marty is a member of Trinity. Pleased!

Here in Detroit, Dr Wright spoke to the NAACP. He said, “I believe change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see others, people who are different.”
Precisely what we are emphasizing today — to see “others,” people who are different, not as enemies, but simply as different!

Another other:

I found the comments about Wright by L. Brooks Patterson both interesting and disturbing. He said Wright is “one of the most divisive people I’ve ever heard speak.” To which Wright answered, “Tell him the word is ‘descriptive.’” Divisive? yes; descriptive? absolutely!

Another other:

The way the war on drugs has been pursued is one of the biggest reasons for growing racial disparity in the criminal justice system.

Ryan S. King, a policy analyst with The Sentencing Project, recently released a report describing large disparities in the rate at which blacks and whites are arrested and imprisoned for drug offenses, even tho the two groups use illegal drugs at roughly the same rate. (The New York Times)

Another other:

Listen to this testimony from a Trinity member: “I have been a member of Trinity, a church with an almost entirely African-American congregation, for more than 25 years. I am, however, a white male. From a decidedly different perspective than most Trinity members, I have heard Wright preach about racial inequality many times, in unvarnished and passionate terms.
“In Obama’s recent speech in Philadelphia, on racial issues confronting our nation, the senator observed that Rev. Wright’s sermons reflect difficult experiences and frustrations of a generation.

“It is very important that we understand the dynamic Obama spoke about. It is also important that we not let media coverage and political gamesmanship isolate selected remarks by Wright to the exclusion of what might define him more accurately and completely.

“I find it very troubling that we have distilled Wright’s 35-year ministry to a few phrases. No context whatsoever has been offered or explored.” Then that white male added a personal note which I find most fascinating:

“I do have a bit of personal context. About 26 years ago, I became engaged to an African-American lady. (This is a white lawyer speaking) She was at that time and remains a member of Trinity. Somewhere between the ring and the altar, she had second thoughts and broke off our engagement.

“Her decision was grounded in race. She was so committed to black causes, she was a daughter of parents who had been subjected to unthinkable prejudice over the years, she was an ‘up-and-coming’ leader in the young black community. How could she marry a white man?

“I had met Rev. Wright only in passing. He was just as outspoken about ‘black’ issues then as today.
Somehow he found out about her decision. He called her and asked her to ‘drop everything’ and meet him at the church.

“He spent four hours explaining his reaction to her decision. Racial divisions are unacceptable, he said, no matter how great or how prolonged the pain that caused them. God does not want us to make decisions about people based on race. The world can make progress on issues of race only if people are prepared to break down barriers that are much easier let to stand.”

Then he continues: “Wright was obviously persuasive; He presided over our wedding a few months later.”

Later, that white attorney made these comments: “In the years since, I have watched in utter awe as Wright has overseen and constructed a support system for thousands in need, on Chicago’s South Side, a program that is far more impressive and effective than any governmental program.

“I hope that as a nation, we take advantage of the opportunity the focus on Rev. Wright presents — to advance our dialogue on race in a meaningful way. To do so, however, we need to appreciate that passion does not always manifest itself in words with which we are most comfortable.”

Please remember that, my dear saints, when I get too passionate in my preaching.

He goes on: “We need to recognize that the basic goodness of people like Jeremiah Wright does not always come packaged conventionally.

“The present problems of race are immense. But if we sensationalize isolated words for political advantage, casting aside the depth of feeling, circumstances and context which inform them, those problems not only will remain immense, they will be insoluble.”

That white male member of Trinity is William A. Von Hoene Jr., and he is no small-time lawyer. He is General Counsel for Exelon Corp. He is also a social activist who oversees the insurance claims for an organ transplant recipient, seeks asylum for refugees, secures birth certificates for the homeless.

Someone recently said, “Every religious movement was started by a few eccentrics, people passionately willing to think outside the box.”

People who think outside the box are always “others” to traditionalists. May God grant us today the courage to accept “others,” and to be willing ourselves be part of “otherism,” like Jesus and the saints of all ages have been.

Let us pray . . . (