“We ♥ Charlottesville”

Homily for the Feast of St Mary the Virgin       13 August 2017
The Rev’d John R. Clarke, Rector

In the Name of God, lover of justice and peace. Amen.

Charlottesville.

When white supremacists and neo-Nazis are emboldened — as they were this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia — this is what you get: racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, violence.

You get what we got: a heinous domestic terrorist attack. A 32 year-old woman dead. You get 19 peaceful counter-protesters — a rainbow of people standing up to white-bread bigotry — injured, some of them critically.

You get sides. “Many sides, many sides,” as the President — absent a moral compass — shamelessly sputtered.

What you don’t get: moral parity … because you’ve got bigotry vs resistance in Charlottesville. And by saying “many sides” are to blame for the violence — and no violence (neo-Nazi or counter-protester) ought ever to be condoned — but by saying “many sides” are to blame for the violence, you are conveniently blaming no one, least of all, yourself. You are giving equal weight to bigotry and resistance. And by doing so, you are providing cover to the bigots, the white supremacists, the neo-Nazis.

Moreover, to assign equal blame for the death of one woman and others' injuries on all parties (white supremacists and counter-protesters) is to miss the point. Or it’s a deep-seated desire not to want to get the point … because of deep-seated racism or worse, a deep-seated strategy to “Make America Great Again” for one race alone.

Because the point is: Any notions of racial superiority and its inherent divisions, discrimination, and violence are utterly at odds with the principle — consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ — that all people are created equal and created with equal rights.

To deny, then, that principle and those rights through bigotry and, from some corners, religious bigotry? It’s just not Christian … because when did Jesus ever give equal weight to bigotry and resistance against bigotry? No, really. Show me. You can’t. And you can’t because Jesus resisted.

That’s why our bishop, Alan Gates, has called the people of this diocese to prayerful, peaceful resistance. In a message late last evening, he wrote:

We condemn the hatred behind Saturday’s gathering in Charlottesville of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other purveyors of bigotry, which is equally un-American and un-Christian.

We affirm, with the bishops of Virginia, that as followers of Christ “we have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation ... [and] cannot remain silent in the face of those who seek to foment division.”

We pray with and for those who have sought to maintain peaceful witness in Charlottesville.

In the face of continuing volatility there, all congregations are urged to pray on Sunday (August 13) for peace, and for the courage to maintain our gospel ideals in the face of racism, anti-Semitism, and all forms of hate-mongering.

The Rt. Rev’d Alan M. Gates
Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts

And in that spirit — on this day when we commemorate the Feast of St Mary the Virgin — we ask for the intercession of the Queen of Peace, the mother of the Prince of Peace, on behalf of our country:

We pray for those killed and injured in the violence in Charlottesville and for their families, loved ones, and friends.

We pray for those who are afraid because their immigration status or race or sex or religion or physical ability or the gender of the person they love makes them a target of hate.

We give thanks for those clergy and peaceful protestors who continue to stand firm as witnesses for God’s justice.

We pray for people who are so threatened by the equality Jesus lived that they feel they must resort to violence, fueled by misguided notions of racial superiority.

We pray that God would open the eyes and minds of the highest office-holders in this land to ensure that we as a people will once again hold high the Lamp of Liberty.

We ask God to give us the strength to stand up against hate whenever and wherever we witness it.

We ask that, even in the shadows of torch-lit violence, we ourselves will be brave beacons of God’s love.

Let us pray.

O God, you have made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son:

Look with compassion on the whole human family.

Take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts.

Break down the walls that separate us.

Unite us in bonds of love.

And work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.