Lord Have Mercy
by Amy Odgren, Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission

We are living in troublesome times – gut wrenching times – a time filled with every emotion; anguish, frustration, lament, anger, grief, awe…you name it. It has been a difficult week. We know we have, as a country, reached the mark of losing over 100,000 people to the COVID pandemic. The recent murders of Black Americans have shaken us and continue to send shockwaves throughout the nation. Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Dreasjon (Sean) Reed, and George Floyd were our neighbors. They were people who had families and friends who loved them. They were cherished ones created in God’s very own image. Their deaths have a lot to say to humanity in critical and absolutely important ways. Ahmaud Arbery was chased down, shot, and killed by a retired police officer and his son while jogging in Brunswick, Ga. (Feb. 23, 2020). Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by Louisville Metro Police Department officers who entered her apartment while serving a "no-knock warrant" (March 13, 2020).

Dreasjon (Sean) Reed, a 21-year-old from Indianapolis died after being shot at least eight times by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer (May 6, 2020). George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis while begging for his life, a block away from Calvary Lutheran, an ELCA congregation. My sense is, you have spent this past weekend in the same way I have…listening and watching cities being torn apart by protests and riots – lamenting the deep-seeded sinfulness of racism and racial injustice – weeping for those who have stories of long-term pain, hurt, loss and marginalization – becoming angered at the systemic nature of the power structures that we as humans have constructed – and wondering where God is in the midst of the turmoil, the anger, the destruction, and the killing. 

“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew 2:18                                       
O God, you are the Keeper of the Book of Life, and no one dies alone – but all under your loving gaze. Give us the gift of weeping, O God, for tears of love are always holy. It is not only our loved ones who are lost, but our jobs, our neighborhoods, our sense of community, our trust in one another. May our mourning, lamenting, remembering, and learning from these losses and realizations not disappear like water in sand, but push us into action. Draw every American into the values of courage, duty, honorable action, self-sacrifice, generosity, neighborliness, and mercy. For your desire is for justice and your love and grace abounds for all people. Make us instruments of your love. Your Holy Spirit’s indwelling opens us to envision an America true to her dreams, to have a new birth of freedom and justice for all. Lord, open our eyes to a new and holy vision. Give us courage to raise our voices to your kingdom vision. Give us solidarity in standing with those who protest for peace, justice and harmony. Use us to do the hard work of creating a world where your beautiful creation of diversity is celebrated and lived out with love and respect. Make us brave, O Lord, together. In your name we pray. Amen.

On May 29, 2020, the Conference of Bishops in the ELCA shared a joint statement condemning the white supremacy that has led to the deaths of so many unarmed Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color in our country. They said, “We grieve with, pray for and stand in solidarity with the families and friends of all whose loved ones have been and continue to be victims of injustices run amok, racist violence and the insidious venom of white supremacy.” It was at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly that our church adopted the social policy "Condemnation of White Supremacy and Racist Rhetoric." It states: "As persons called to love one another as God has loved us, we therefore proclaim our commitment to speak with one voice against racism and white supremacy. We stand with those who are targets of racist ideologies and actions." As church, together we must work to condemn white supremacy in all forms and recommit ourselves to confront and exorcize the sins of injustice, racism and white supremacy in church and society and within ourselves as individuals and households.

So how do we live and survive in this new time that it seems we find ourselves in? How do we navigate the many dangers on this journey that leads to a new beginning? This past Sunday was Pentecost and we heard the familiar texts of God’s promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Some of us may have interpreted the story as the boldness of the newly anointed disciples, suggesting that just as they overcame their fears, they were sent bravely into the city to proclaim the word in new and powerful ways. Still others may have looked to the posture of the disciples just ahead of the gift of the spirit – gathered together in prayer, waiting, and with expectation for something to happen that they could then respond to. Yet in spite of all these differences, we remain united as the people of God, called, equipped, sanctified, and sent to bear witness to God’s love for the world through both our words and actions. What does that look like? I saw a new spirit blowing through the community at the press conference on May 30 with our governor, lieutenant governor, senators, faith leaders, and community advocates in Minneapolis. People from diverse backgrounds came together, pledging their efforts at working with one another toward the benefit of all to ensure healthy, safe, just and prosperous opportunities for all people. God was in the midst of that large table which was set to do the hard work of building trust and working together for justice. This is not just the work for those in Minneapolis – this is our collective work in the church and in our communities. We know that our old lives have ended, and we pray and hope for a new beginning. 
 
The Apostle Paul reminds us that there are a variety of gifts, but one Spirit, and that all the Spirit’s gifts are given to build up – to enhance, as Paul writes, the common good (1 Cor. 12:4-7). The fruits of the Spirit, Paul tells his congregation in Galatia, include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (5:22-23a). All of those will be required to allow the conversations, decisions and policy we make be guided by God’s concern for and commitment to those who are most vulnerable. 
 
In God’s image, humans are created. The divine is larger than any human image: God embraces all that we find in ourselves and then much more. People of faith talk about the life that flows through our veins as the ruach , which is Hebrew for “breath of God” or “air in motion”. As living beings, God’s breath courses through us and brings us to life. Without this moving air, without this holy breath, we are not alive. George Floyd’s breath was taken from him. Persons of Color in our country and throughout history have been injured, killed, systematically broken down, divided and set up to be “less than”. They have lived under systems of oppression that have convinced them that they are unworthy. It is time to acknowledge that they have been suffocating under the weight of racism and prejudice and hatred that runs so deep, we can’t see it, even as it’s right in front of us. We pray for the radical in-breaking of God’s justice, and for the dismantling of racism and all that separates us. My prayers are with you, dear people of God. We have a lot of work to do.

Spirit of God, send your holy breath into us, for only you can save us and lead us to new life. Amen