Baruch 5:1-9
Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Luke 3:1-6
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Mea
culpa. Mea culpa. Mea culpa.
During Advent, we are all called
to prepare for the coming of the Lord: by examining our consciences, by confessing
our sins, by making straight His paths in all our relationships with God and
with each other.
In today’s Gospel reading, we see
John the Baptist proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.
People were flocking to the River
Jordan to confess, and have their sins washed away. John was preparing the
people for the coming of Jesus. I have a confession to make.
In August 2017, I was set to
preach the weekend of August 12th and 13th on an important new ministry in our
parish called Prepares.
But on the Friday before the
weekend homily racist white nationalists carrying torches and chanting racist
slogans marched on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville,
Virginia. A young woman was killed
during a counter-protest the next day.
Everything inside my bones said I
should drop the prepared homily and preach on the evils of racism. But I felt
the need to fulfill a promise to a ministry leader and went ahead with the
homily anyway.
This homily is my feeble attempt
to make amends for not speaking out then.
It’s amazing we’re still dealing
with racism in 2018. Isn’t it?
We live in such a broken world
where social sin can corrupt our American souls.
As Catholics, we are called to
stand up against such sinfulness and firmly proclaim Jesus to those in error.
In mid-November, U.S. Catholic
Bishops gathered in Baltimore. One of the things they did was release a new pastoral
letter to counter the evils of racism and how WE Catholics are called to
respond to this social sin.
It’s entitled “Open Wide Our
Hearts: The Enduring Call To Love.”
More on that in a minute.
Perhaps you read about the ugly
incident recently at a frozen yogurt shop in Kirkland involving a young African
American man.
Byron Ragland is a
court-appointed special advocate and visitation supervisor. The nine-year Air
Force Veteran was at the frozen yogurt business to supervise a parental visit
between a mother and child. And, yes, he’s African American.
But employees got scared by the
presence of a young black man sitting alone in the shop and called the police.
Even after explaining his presence to two Kirkland police officers, he was
still asked to “move along.”
Is this 1950s America?!
Ragland told the Seattle Times, “That’s all it takes
in America — for you to be black, and to be somewhere you’re not supposed to
be… And where you’re supposed to be is not up to you. It’s up to somebody
else’s opinion.”
Thankfully, the frozen-yogurt
shop owner and police officers eventually issued an apology to Ragland for the incident. The City
of Kirkland is now having all of its employees, including the police, undergo special
bias training.
In today’s first reading, Baruch
is consoling exiles returning home to Jerusalem, reeling after years of catastrophic
destruction and forced slavery at the hands of the Babylonians.
Bible scholars believe his words
of “lofty mountains made low” referred to an excess of pride, arrogance and materialism
among the people of his time. His words of “depths and gorges filled in”
referred to a shortage of justice and obedience to God.
Baruch is sharing a reminder of
God’s covenant promise of peace, divine mercy and justice to his people. But
most importantly he’s telling us how the wasteland of the human heart can be made
new again -- through repentance.
Don’t we all need God’s
providence to find our way back home?
This is what John the Baptist is
promising his Jewish brothers and sisters in the River Jordan -- a chance to be
reborn in the spirit, to walk away from evil ways and prepare for the Lord’s coming.
Where is our River Jordan? How can we be washed clean of the stain of
our social sins and be made new again?
What can we do to right the wrong of racism?
The U.S. Bishops pastoral letter
offers us a path forward in battling the social sin of racism present in our
nation today.
The letter has been under
development for four years, ever since the protests in Ferguson, Missouri,
showed how our wounds of racial division in the U.S. are far from healed.
In the letter, posted on our
parish Facebook page, the issue of racism is put into the light of the Gospel
and Catholic Teaching.
Its intent is to give hope to
those who have been wounded by the sin of racism, encourage those who work to
try to eradicate racism, and challenge the hearts of those who perpetuate
racism by their words and actions.
Louisiana Bishop Shelton Fabre
says, “at the very heart of racism is the denial to recognize the basic human
dignity of someone of a different race or ethnicity, to recognize the gift of
human life that God has given to them.”
He went on to say, “Love compels
each of us to resist racism courageously.”
I read an interesting statistic
that may shock you.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability
Office, since 9-11, only 27% of all terrorist acts in America have been committed
by radical Islamic terrorists. 73% of all terrorist acts since 9-11 in the U.S.
have been committed by white racists and Right Wing extremist hate groups in
America. Ponder that for a moment.
Our indifference on the issue of
racism is fueling the resolve of these real terrorists, giving them permission
to openly show their hate, both online and in the public square.
The U.S. Bishops are calling us
all to examine our consciences, reflect on any flawed thinking, and shine a
spotlight on “where the racist attitudes of yesterday have become a permanent
part of our perceptions, practices and policies today.”
Then we are called as Catholics
to go out into the public square and help right these wrongs. Stand up to those
who spew hate and proclaim Jesus.
This is how we can cleanse
ourselves from the evils of the social sin of racism. This is how we build a
better world. This is how we make
straight His path and prepare for the coming of the Lord.
I leave you with a beautiful
picture of redemption.
One of those white racists who
took part in the march on the campus of the University of Virginia in
Charlottesville has since had a conversion of heart.
Navy veteran Ken Parker was out
of work and without direction in his life, so he joined the Ku Klux Klan,
eventually became a Grand Dragon, and started propagating that America was
headed for a race war.
With a heart filled with hate, he
marched on Charlottesville and even was happy about the death of the counter
protesters.
When he returned home to
Jacksonville, Florida, Parker met a black preacher in his neighborhood with a
heart filled with love.
Pastor Will McKinnon of All
Saints Holiness Church opened his small, predominantly black church to Parker
and his fiancé, and over time love thawed the hate Ken Parker had in his heart.
Today, he’s a changed man. His
sins were washed away by the love of Christ – quite literally washed away as he
was baptized a Christian by McKinnon early this year.
Parker’s words of love have now
moved to action of love. He’s begun the
process of removing all the racist tattoos on his body. He says the process is quite painful, but he
says, nothing like the pain and fear he’s have caused others with his past
words and actions.
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make
straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill
made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made
smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” 
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