Proper 9 A + Independence + 7.5.20

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M. Campbell-Langdell
All Saints, Oxnard
(Ps. 45:11–18; Romans 7:15–25ª; St Matthew 11:16–19, 25–30)

Happy Independence Day Weekend! Many of us have gotten caught up in “Hamilton” fever this past weekend – that great work by Lin-Manuel Miranda based on Ron Chernow’s book. We have joined the celebration of what America is at its best- a place where immigrants and native dwellers can fully live into their potential as dreamers and creators. A place for revolutionary thought. A land made richer by its diversity and by al the separate histories woven into its fabric by its many settlers and indigenous peoples.
But we know this nation is far from perfect. It is a bold experiment, and some aspects of its original failures have come back to haunt us in recent times.
In today’s scripture, Paul says: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
And I must admit, as a kid, I always heard these as the words of a perhaps overly tortured soul. Lighten up, Paul! Stop overthinking it. It can’t be all that bad.
But reflecting on this passage in light of recent events, I began to think less about personal sin and more about societal sin. And of course, it returns to the personal because these things tend to reflect back on us. As a white person I have continued to become aware in recent times not only of whatever unconscious bias I might have about certain groups but also simply how I live in a society that rewards me for something unearned and penalizes others for something that they cannot and should not change about themselves. And if that is not an example of what Paul is talking about, I don’t know what is. We all try to be free from sin and mistreatment of our neighbor but no one is perfectly able to avoid it because we are in a fallen world.
And this is highlighted by the fact that the society we live in at this moment tends to trade in absolutes. Speaking of his generation, Jesus says: “It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’” Basically, they were disconnected from what was real. Fake news is nothing new. And Jesus saw people question his realness all the time. All the time people saw his love and his truth and tried to twist it into a lie.
But we as Christians know what’s what. We know what’s real and true.
As Winnie Varghese writes,
“Let this not be another time where it can be said of us, we were of our time. Fascism was taking over the globe, and we turned inward and chose to spend our energy on defending the righteousness of our tradition or the church.”[1]
Let us not be of our time. But let us be the dreamers of what can be. Let us look past what is and see a better future. Just as Hamilton did, for all his flaws. We are none of us perfect. In fact, I think there is a lot of wisdom in acknowledging each of our roles in society. There is none of us who is without some kind of privilege, and even some of the privileged are underprivileged in some way. For example, I am a highly educated urban white woman who is of middle to upper income, but I am a married queer woman and that makes me different and outcast to some.
If we can each acknowledge our role – not only in some of society’s systems of oppression but also in our systems of liberation, we can more actively dream and bring about a more just society for all.
And then we will not be lost children, disconnected from reality, but engaged and loving citizens of this country and this world, trying to build a better future for the next generation. One in which fewer children are afraid and more are allowed to dream and create and breathe free.
Amen.

[1] Winnie Varghese, cited in GLEAM Diocesan Pride service, June 28, 2020.

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