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Genesis 45:3-11, 15 Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers
Luke 6:27-38 Love your enemies, be merciful.
…Well. Here we are. I have to say I kind of thought I’d escaped this subject by moving from Ohio. I thought I had escaped upside down national flags signaling deep distress. I thought I’d seen my last Confederate flag. I thought I’d gotten away from calls to throw politicians we disagree with behind bars, without trial, or to lynch them – to hang them from trees with rope about their necks. Just as was done to black Americans. An end to nooses.
But racism is endemic. Racism is imbedded into most cultures and countries and systems. And we have to strive to remove it everywhere we live.
I do not know enough of Canadian politics to tell you much about them. I am learning. I cannot say whether or not there is warrant for the Emergency Act.
I can tell you about the confederate flags at the protests. Because I lived multiple years of that hell. I can tell you this is not Canadian politics. I can tell you this is not a protest against Covid-19 mandates. I can tell you this is not going to go away easily. I can tell you this is white nationalism.
Nationalism is the identification with one’s own nation and support its own interest as your own interest – to the detriment of all other nations. Canada First. We First.
White nationalism is the identification of being white, a nation of white people, and support the powers and rules that benefit white people, to the detriment of people who are not white.
So… white nationalism would be supporting the powers that meet First Nations protesting a pipeline with armed RCMP and raids but meet whites protesting a slew of grievances with weeks of warnings, hugs, and restraint of raids or violence. That is racism in the system. That’s what’s called systemic racism. Supporting it and wanting more of it is white nationalism.
And the flags – the USA Tea Party’s “Don’t Tread On Me” revolutionary flags, backwards swastikas, confederate flags, upside down nation flags – these are all signals. Signs.
They say: I long to return to a world where white makes right.
Southern historian Gordon Rhea wrote in 2011: “It is no accident that Confederate symbols have been the mainstay of white supremacist organizations, from the Ku Klux Klan to the skinheads. They did not appropriate the Confederate battle flag simply because it was pretty. They picked it because it was the flag of a nation dedicated to their ideals: ‘that the negro is not equal to the white man’. The Confederate flag, we are told, represents heritage, not hate. But why should we celebrate a heritage grounded in hate, a heritage whose self-avowed reason for existence was the exploitation and debasement of a sizeable segment of its population?”
I grant that in these protests are anyone else a troll farm could get enraged enough to take actions. Troll farms are companies that employ people to sit on social media and rile up hate and anger. They are paid per click, per inflammatory article, per new followers, and like, and subscribe. It is very profitable to get people to blindly donate to causes and buy into movements. There are hats to sell and advertisements – the sites with most views sell the most expensive ad space. And hate and anger – legitimate or not – racks up a lot of views. Outrage is very profitable. It makes a lot of money.
I imagine at the protests are people concerned about covid; a group of people wanting to dissolve all of Canadian governments; a group of people with this or that other grievance. I image there are people who went out of curiosity. Or swept up in the moment.
But over all?
I believe this is a movement, including background people and groups who have attached themselves to the main movement, is a protest of people who are scared of losing their privileged position.
This is a movement of people who fear being inconvenienced for another.
This is a movement of people who are very insecure and seeking someone to blame for the horrors they are experiencing in the world…
And so the blame is given to Blacks. Immigrants. Women. First Nations. Liberals. Democrats. Muslims. The “blame” person is anyone but themselves.
It is a daily occurrence for a registered Indian to experience inconvenience for another — due just to ancestry. Read “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act” if you want to know more.
It is a daily occurrence for people of color – Black, Asian, Hispanic and First Nations peoples – to have racism against them. This is just a flag to you and I — this is a reminder that there are people, perhaps your neighbors, who want a nation where you have less rights than animals. They long for a time when there is a “final solution,” a gas chamber, for people… just like you.
Like your parents.
Your grandkids.
It is a daily occurrence to be disempowered for many. But it is not a daily occurrence for many white people; for many males; for many straight people; for many who are the majority in their area.
Nathan Phillips spoke with the CBC about why he went to protest. He said it began “when he and his son weren’t allowed to eat inside a ski chalet in January, he felt they were treated like they were ‘dirty.’
“I watched the hurt in my 12-year-old son as we respectfully followed the rules while an upper class of ‘clean’ vaccinated people only 10 feet away from us were allowed to have a meal,” he said. “After that, I realized that I need to be one of those people that go down to the Legislature and wave a sign and be a body there, just saying ‘this is the time for change.'”
So he went and protested. I tip my hat to him for protesting. That is something we all ought to be free to do. He chose to park blocking a road. He said there were lots of people doing it so he figured the rules no longer applied to him. He ignored 24 hours of warnings to remove the blocking of traffic lanes. He ignored issued tickets from police for blocking traffic. And finally, his pickup was towed.
“Phillips said he begged officers to let him drive his truck away, but his pleas were denied; ‘I just felt like a failure. There’s the farm truck, the family vehicle, getting dragged away, and that was my fault, my doing,” he said.”
He got his truck back after paying his fines and fees. While he initially felt ashamed, he now considers the police actions to be ‘heavy-handed.’”
I believe for many whites, this is the first time they have been inconvenienced for another. Equality feels like persecution when you’re used to privilege. Used to the rules being bent for you.
I agree: it is inconvenient to choose to not be vaccinated. But it is not the same as persecution. Persecution would not permit Phillips to make such a choice. It would state he is second class permanently due to his skin color, or language, or ancestry, or religion. It would follow him home and to work and to school and to strangers on the streets.
Exclusion hurts. Try being excluded 24/7/365.
I believe most of the protestors are experiencing a lack of privilege for the first time. Covid doesn’t care they are of the white majority. And the rules to protect against covid don’t care about race.
Into this hurt comes the far-right, the troll farms seeking to make money off of outrage, and in come fascists and extremists and terrorists of all kinds of walks. In they come and find these normal Canadians who are put-out and these extremist groups offer them a home.
Come. Join us. Here we will tell you that you are privileged. Here we will tell you that you are right. Here we will tell you that you are special. Here we will tell you that you, alone, have the special insider knowledge and know The Hidden Truth.
Bit by bit, people get sucked into these cults. And cults are what they are – complete with prophets of Q, and insider language, and privileged knowledge and rites and scripture. Meanwhile the clicks go up, the money rolls, and the anger and outrage increases.
It is indoctrination. It is planned. It is a choice to turn people upset about covid restrictions into white supremist.
The ones carrying these signs of hate are people who terrorize others because they are terrified. Some of their fears are very justified – yes, the world of white, Europeans, having the power is passing. And yes, if the new culture and race who has power uses it like our white European ancestors, and even us, have used it… it’s gonna be hellish to be white. But this assumes other people will be as cruel and merciless as we have been. This assumes race will define the new world. This assumes whites will receive the evil we have dealt out back to us.
And to get what we deserve?
THAT is terrifying.
So what do we do with all this fear that leads to so much hate, which leads to so much suffering and more radicalization of people we love very much?
It’s one thing to say ‘Cut them out of your life!’ ‘Block them on Facebook!’ ‘Never see them again!’ That’s a wise choice for people you’re not particularly close to.
It’s another thing to say that to your mother. Your brother. Your sister-in-Christ. Your spouse.
The more isolated our family and friends become, the more they can only cling to others of the conspiracy cults. The deeper they go into the alternative reality. The harder it is to escape. The harder it is to see someone as human, instead of my enemy. Someone as a child of God, instead of a horror to murder.
Jesus says, and I say, pray for them. Love them. Not just wish them well but work for well for them.
Preaching to the choir is all well and good, but it does not change hearts and minds. It doesn’t set to rest fears. It doesn’t show a world that it is possible to live into mercy instead of us each getting our just desserts.
The reign of God, the realm of God, is shared on a plain – on a level field. This necessitates the powerful lose power. And the powerless gain power. It is a level playing field – it requires the fearful to have words of mercy and comfort. And the pained to be shared words of remorse, and healing.
It is our communities right now. It is our towns. Our villages. Our homes.
You know someone now who is upset about covid rules. You know people who are sympathetic to the convoy protests.
They are at risk of being recruited to hate groups.
Be their friend. Listen to them. Help them conquer their fears. Help them see the new world we are moving into is scary, but they are courageous. Meet their hate and terror with love and mercy.
I am not saying “tolerate racism” or “tolerate international funding of domestic terrorism.” I am saying love your neighbor. I am saying pray for your enemy. Do good to those who would do you harm. Be merciful. Reserve judgement for God to do. Our job is to love.
I am saying there are many people hurting right now. It is exclusion and hurt and loss of privilege driving people to protest.
It is seductive promises of inclusion, and acceptance, that lure the outraged to extremist groups. And there, they learn the arts of insurrection and race war.
Our loved ones are at risk of being recruited.
We, as a community of Christ, are supposed to be a place of inclusion and acceptance. But we don’t offer false promises. We don’t offer the arts of insurrection and race wars. We offer the harder work of telling our truths, honoring one another, and learning how to live and love as diverse people.
I encourage you to love your friends and family and community members who are upset about covid restrictions. I encourage your to keep your healthy boundaries – physically, mentally, socially – but to also not fall into the trap of meeting hate with hate.
Don’t fall for the trap of polarization, of culture war, of political tribalism.
Love one another.
Friends, if Canada is in for what I experienced in the USA, we are in for a long haul. We are in for a trying time. The hate groups are here trying to turn our loved ones into soldiers for hate. We will only make it if we commit to de-escalating conflict, commit to admitting we each have biases, commit to practicing mercy – giving up the right to revenge; and if we commit to actively doing good for our friends and enemies alike.
Just as Jesus taught us last week, and will teach us again and again – whether you like it or not – we need one another. We need people who we disagree with. We need to think of what builds up each other and not what tears one another down. We need to see each other as holy – each of us carrying the spirit and image of God – the ultimate divine – and to harm one is to harm God. We need to carefully discern motives behind posts, media, fundraisings, and protests.
Jesus said, “I say to you who are still listening: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
Be known for your love. Love is a cure to racism.
As Jesus said… But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
With an open heart…. pray for others. And love one another.
Amen.
Pastor Whitney Bruno Sermons 