SAY HER NAME

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ 

[john 8:12 nrsv]

I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota in August of 2021 as part of a church related retreat.

As part of my visit, we spent time at the George Floyd Square, a memorial to the horrific experience of May 25, 2020, when a man was murdered at the hands of a law enforcement officer who placed a knee on the neck of the victim for more than nine minutes and, despite the man’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe, suffocated him to death.

The people of Minneapolis have had a tense relationship with law enforcement since that time.

This week, they were forced to relive the trauma once again, just a few blocks away from the scene of the George Floyd tragedy.

However, this time it was with federal immigration enforcement agents, one of whom shot and killed a 37-year-old woman as she drove off in her car to avoid being dragged out of it.

Volumes have been written and said about the confrontation. Little more can be added here.

The dead woman’s name was Renee Nicole Good.

As in the case of George Floyd, her death has sparked protests across the country.

Unlike the Floyd demonstrations, these will be met with forceful, possibly violent, federal resistance.

The immigration troops appear to be acting with impunity, given permission to quell resistance by any means necessary by a President who has no tolerance for dissent.

Minneapolis, and the nation at large, should prepare itself for an arduous sequence of events over the next several weeks.

A few blocks from the scene of the George Floyd murder, in an open green space off 37th Street in south Minneapolis is an even more gripping memorial.

Two University of Pennsylvania artists erected one hundred replica tombstones with the names of African Americans killed by law enforcement.

They called it, the “Say Their Names” cemetery.

As one wanders throughout the field, reading the names, it is easy to be overcome with outrage.

Some of the names are more familiar than others. But the one thing they all have in common is that they are no longer alive.

To think that the lives of these children of God were cut short for no justifiable reason, is difficult for any reasonable human mind to reconcile.

The impact on anyone who sees this for the first time is nothing short of profound.

We are saddened by all the negativity, confused by the chaos and conflict, and overcome with sorrow and grief at the hostility and aggression we are witnessing.

We mourn, we grieve, we lament.

And we are rightfully angry.

This Sunday is the First Sunday After the Epiphany, those who worship in liturgical churches will celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord.

Many churches that worship in the Episcopal tradition will renew the promises made in the Baptismal Covenant:

To continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.
To persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
To proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.
To seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
To strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

To say that we struggle in our world today in our efforts to live out those promises is the understatement of the century. Thankfully, we serve a God of grace.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, from which we will read this Sunday, I am always struck by Jesus’ response to John, who is hesitant to baptize Jesus (who is, by the way, without sin).

“Let it be so, now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

The word, “righteousness,” is an interesting word.

From all I’ve read, righteousness is something active – not simply a description of one’s moral state.

To put it in other words, you could say it is a commitment to make things right.

Too many people are oppressed, living in fear, beset with poverty, suffering, and dying.

But as followers of Jesus, we are called to share his concern for those who are in trouble, for those who suffer injustice, for the hungry, the sick, and for the poor.

As his followers, we show our love in very practical ways, as Jesus did.

Our challenge as Christians and as the Church is to demonstrate to the world that God is active in our world, and we are those through whom God shows care for the vulnerable of our society.

As I recall that visit to the “Say Their Names” cemetery, I came away from that sobering experience with a renewed commitment to live out the responsibility we professed in our baptismal vows, to strive and work for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.

The central, integrating message of our lives must be to care for each other.

For the sake of George Floyd, for the sake of Rene Nicole Good, for the sake of all people created and loved by God.

May it ever be so.

Let us pray:
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer p. 214)