King's Dream and God's Call

50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech.
August 28, 2013

Generally I use this blog to post sermons that I have preached at Grace United Methodist Church in York, the church that I have been appointed to for the past couple of years. However, occasionally I post something other than just sermons. Since the anniversary of the March on Washington is just around the corner, I wanted to make note of it in the "Pastor's Page" part of the church newsletter.

For those who are not familiar with Grace UMC, we are a small church in Downtown York, PA. We are located in a part of the city that has changed dramatically over the past couple decades. For those who grew up near the church, it is especially difficult as they have been able to witness this change firsthand. It truly is a world that is foreign to many in my congregation as well as to myself in some ways. As a result, there is a culture gap between the congregation and the neighborhood and that gap has, at times seemed insurmountable. Yet, we try to find ways to reach out and affect the lives of our neighbors in a positive way.

This article was speaking to this reality of urban life. However, it could easily pertain to rural or suburban areas as well.

Grace United Methodist Church

Pastor Steven Cowfer

September 2013 - Thoughts on history and ministry in a changing world

“I have a dream.” These immortal words were spoken on August 28, 1963. We are just a few short days away (as of this writing) from celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the day when the downtrodden stood up and began to demand what was rightfully theirs. Just the other day I read through the text of this famous speech and something caught my attention that I hadn’t noticed before. It comes near the beginning of the speech.

“There is something I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.”

As I look around York, especially the neighborhood around Grace, and as I hear so many wonderful stories from this congregation about what things used to be like, I sometimes wonder whether or not change is even possible. I know that is not a very encouraging thought from a pastor, but we have our doubts and our fears just like everyone else. It seems a monumental task, but it is a task we try to accomplish.

I know that it is easy to look back to what York used to be and feel saddened by the reality that it is nowhere near the place that York is in today. When we do that, we also assign blame for the various aspects of our reality. Of course, that blame is always external, for all things being equal, we never would have let things come to this, we never would have allowed rental properties to so vastly outnumber those houses that are owned and lived in by the owner. We never would have let people so openly sell drugs on our streets. We never would have permitted so many churches to fail. We never would have….. (and yes, I am being sarcastic.)

The truth is that while there is plenty of blame to throw around, we also must accept responsibility in the matter. We also played a role in how we got here. We sped up the process of urban decay by abandoning the city. We sped up the process of community division by appearing to be a church unto itself. We sped up the process of distrust among neighbors by leaving the sanctuary on Sunday and being afraid something might happen between the church door and the car door. We have blame in this mess. It is not all our fault, yet we are not faultless.

Dr. King, though, reminds us that we must not let distrust continue to separate us. Because, in this journey of life, one of the only certainties we have is that we cannot walk alone. Our future and our present are inextricably bound together. What’s more is that our fear and anger over what our city has become is also inextricably linked to the fear and anger of those who live right outside the church doors.

When we look outside and lament over the diversity in the city, when we look outside and blame our neighbor for the trash on the street, when we shake our heads in despair as we hear of yet another shooting, we are giving in to the temptation that Satan has put before us. We can mask that temptation and call it faith, but that doesn’t make it faith, it simply makes it sin disguised as disinterest.

The Civil Rights movement was ultimately successful because enough people of different ethnic and racial groups were finally able to agree that we are all better off together than we ever could be apart. And therein lies the crucial element that can open us to feel the Spirit working around us. Together we are stronger. Arguing and blame get us nowhere.

Let me let you in on another secret, the way York used to be is not the way it will ever be again. We cannot use an image of York in the past as the goal for the present and future. Whatever will come is not the same as what has been. Our faith can be rooted in the past, but our future must look past and into a hopeful reality of what can be with a little more trust and a lot more able hands to help us get there.

I challenge you this year to broaden your horizon as to what is possible. The past will not come back, but I guarantee you that the future can be better than the past. With the help of the Spirit, it will be. I challenge you to volunteer for something this year that you have never done before. Participate in one of the ministries of Grace UMC, or maybe volunteer to work for a day in a Habitat for Humanity project. Do something! Do something physical, do something new, and do something now! That is what we are called to do here in this church and here in this time.