Church History IS Critical Race Theory | KALEO PHX
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JUNE 6, 2021
To not acknowledge the history of something, is to perpetuate the existence of something. This is why Critical Race Theory is important. I spoke at Kaleo Phx on Sunday, June 6, 2021 and this is a recording from that gathering. Below is a transcript of my message notes.
STAINED GLASS
“I AM” - The Sayings of Jesus
Church History IS Critical Race Theory
On October 23, 1960, after extensive remodeling here at Grace Lutheran, one of the more notable features was the addition of the stained glass windows.
The windows were designed by Robert Mansfield, and were executed by The Artglass Studios of Scottsdale. These eight large windows in the nave of the church depict the "Acts of Grace Through Jesus Christ."
One of eight stained glass windows at Grace Lutheran Church where Kaleo Phoenix meets in downtown Phoenix, AZ.
"I Am" - The Sayings of Jesus:
The Stream of Water represents when Jesus said He provides "Living Water" (John 7:37-39)
Butterfly represents when Jesus says He is the "Resurrection & the Life" (John 11:25)
Roadway represents when Jesus says "I am the Way" (John 14:6)
Sheaves of Wheat represents when Jesus says He is the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35)
Torch represents when Jesus says He is the "Light of the world" (John 8:12)
Vine represents when Jesus says "I am the Vine" (John 15:5)
Alpha and Omega represents when Jesus says He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8 )
Door represents when Jesus says "I am the door" (John 10:9)
The shepherd in the middle represents when Jesus said I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18)
Now, before we get into the story that’s told in the art of the stained glass and reflect upon the I AM sayings of Jesus, let us together acknowledge…
Ain’t no people of color on these stained glass!
I thought maybe for a second if I close one eye and turn my head to a 40-degree angle, maybe…is he brown???...no...he’s not!
It’s funny...but it’s SO TRUE.
And we had to say something because to not say it communicates something that we don’t want to say. What we are trying to say is that representation is of utmost importance IF we are to build a community that represents all of God’s creation.
At the same time, there’s grace for Grace Lutheran because we’re here and we’re doing the work...so there’s that too.
That’s one of the main points I want to make tonight:
It is good and healthy to acknowledge and say that there are aspects of Christianity that have been good and beneficial and there are also aspects of Christian history that have been harmful and toxic for many of those represented here in this room.
In the spring of 2020 I read Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles and Soong-Chang Rah.
A short summary from the IVP says this:
In the fifteenth century, official church edicts gave Christian explorers the right to claim territories they "discovered." This was institutionalized as an implicit national framework that justifies American triumphalism, white supremacy, and ongoing injustices.
The result is that the dominant culture idealizes a history of discovery, opportunity, expansion, and equality, while minority communities have been traumatized by colonization, slavery, segregation, and dehumanization.
Rooted in a Christian movement advocating compassion for all of humanity, the Doctrine of Discovery also contains elements of the early transformation of the church under Constantine, who accepted “just war theory” (which approved of violence against non-Christians) and went on to undergird the driving narrative of American exceptionalism.
The authors challenge numerous American mythologies, beginning with the Puritans’ self-perception as “chosen people” of pure Anglo-Saxon lineage “ordained by God to tame the savage world of the Natives of North America.”
One by one I listened to story after story. When I read about the history of the transatlantic slave trade justified by people who believed it was the Christian thing to do and I read about the abolishment of an entire nation of Native people justified by people who believed it was the Christian thing to do...
I wept. I literally wept as I listened to the audiobook and tried to fall asleep. I was absolutely beside myself.
How is it possible that I have never heard of this at church?
How is it possible that nobody I’m surrounded by in the Christian spaces I occupy is talking about this?
And then it dawned on me. It’s because we live in a world that is operating by a system that doesn't want to acknowledge critical race theory…that’s why.
No wonder there are still traces of narcissism, the obsession of power and land, and oppression happening in church structures today because that is how it started.
To not acknowledge the history of something, is to perpetuate the existence of something.
I was talking with a friend over dinner and she brought up another example of this.
It’s that some people’s interpretation of The Great Commission (which is Jesus’s command to go into all the world and preach the Good News) has turned into something else.
Because of the systems that all of us were born into — to either be the oppressors or receive the oppression — has caused this movement of “missions” to be at times laced with hints of world domination, the obsession of power, land, resources, and control. Not because missions is wrong but because the systems in which we operate ourselves in…is not always right.
It is good, right, and healthy to be able to say I have faith in Jesus and follow him and at the same time acknowledge that some of our Christian history is JACKED ALL THE WAY UP and doesn’t truly reflect JESUS.
For when we go back and in humility listen to the stories, we create space to exist as something different. Something that truly reflects the rhythms and ways of Jesus.
In the first episode of High on the Hog on Netflix, an older gentleman acknowledges that very thing. He says, “That’s why it is important for us to study history. For if we deny history, we deny a part of ourselves.”
For When we acknowledge history, friends, we give ourselves the opportunity to acknowledge within ourselves ways in which we participate in systems we were born out of.
For how do you choose to refuse to participate in White supremacy if you won’t acknowledge it?
And How do you choose to refuse to participate in White supremacy if you won’t even look at it?
Redeeming the GOODNESS of our faith requires acknowledgment, repentance, fellowship, community and repetition of the same thing over and over again.
More than anything the book, Unsettling Truths, made me ask myself this question…
WHO...IS JESUS...REALLY?
Because if you can kill off an entire group of Native people...in the name of Jesus...then who is Jesus?...and what does He value? Because to be honest that doesn’t sound like Jesus to me.
“I AM” - THE SAYINGS OF JESUS
The stained glass tells the story even though the glass itself is laced in systemic racism it still tells the story.
Let us together move through the I AM sayings of Jesus and redeem the goodness of the stained glass.
1. Jesus said I am the good shepherd. (John 10:11-18)
In the stained glass you see the shepherd leaving what represents the the 99 to get the 1.
What the story communicates is that Jesus cares about the marginalized.
He leaves the majority...to get the one that nobody else cares about
He leaves the majority...to get the one that nobody else thinks is important.
He leaves the majority...to get the one that nobody else makes room for.
The world we live in caters to the majority...but the world Jesus lives in caters to the minority.
The question is…
How are we practicing the rhythms and ways of Jesus by catering to the minority?
The stained glass tells the story.
2. Jesus said I am the living water. (John 7:37-39)
In great mystery Jesus leaves crowds confused...perplexed...when He says I am the living water.
Observe the stream of water in the stained glass.
In the book of John...chapter 7...some people want Jesus to operate in great political power…but he doesn’t.
Some people want him dead...but He’s not…yet.
Jesus goes on to say anyone who is thirsty may come to me and anyone who believes in me may come and drink.
In mystery, Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit (living water) is available for anyone that desires it.
The question is…
How are we practicing the rhythms and ways of Jesus by leaving room for the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do?
For building beloved community...is a mysterious work of the Spirit.
The stained glass tells the story.
3. Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)
Lazarus had been dead for 4 days.
Some people were mad that Jesus took so long to get to Lazarus.
Some people didn’t understand these mysterious sayings Jesus would say about death and life.
Some people doubted Jesus and didn’t think he would actually heal Lazarus.
What the story communicates is that Jesus says, “Even in your doubting I am the one who can call the life out of the dead thing and make it come to life again. I am the one who brings you out of dead systems and leads you into life everlasting rooted in the love of God which is reflected in our love for one another.”
The question is…
How are we practicing the rhythms and ways of Jesus by creating space for Him to resurrect our dead hearts and give us a new heart of LOVE for one another?
The stained glass tells the story.
4. Jesus said I am the way. (John 14:6)
Jesus says he goes to prepare a place for us.
His disciples once again don’t know what he’s talking about. He keeps saying He’s going to the Father but that He is the Father at the same time.
In their confusion, the disciples say, “We don’t know where you’re going, so how will WE know the way?”
Jesus says that’s the point. I am the WAY. My rhythms and my ways ARE the way to the Father and will lead you to the place I’m preparing for you.
Still confused the disciples say, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.
Jesus says that’s also the point. I am in the Father and the Father is also in me. If you have seen me then you have already seen the father.
Jesus is saying, “You’ve got it all wrong. My ways ARE the Father’s ways. There is beauty and mystery in the trinitarian relationship. Just keep following me and you will see the Father and experience the Holy Spirit.”
The question is...
How are we creating space to follow the rhythms and ways of Jesus together?
The stained glass tells the story.
5. Jesus said I am the Bread of Life. (John 8:35)
Jesus fed the 5,000+ with 5 loaves of bread and two fish.
The people are hungry and follow Jesus and he catches them in their intent.
He says you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understand the miraculous signs.
The people compare what Jesus did to when their ancestors were fed with manna from heaven through Moses.
Jesus says, “The bread you are seeking because you are hungry, I can give you better. The water you are seeking because you are thirsty, I can give you better. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The ways of the world and the systems we live in that perpetuate hunger and thirst literally and figuratively...fail us.
The question is...
Are we following the ways of Jesus that will sustain us in broken systems and lead us to a new way?
The stained glass tells the story.
6. Jesus said I am the Light of the world. (John 8:12)
After removing the shame from the woman caught in adultery, Jesus restores her identity, blesses her and sends her on her way.
Jesus then continues to speak to the people and says, “I am the light of the world. When you are following my ways, you no longer have to walk in darkness because my ways are LIGHT that LEAD to life.”
The question is…
How are we practicing the rhythms and ways of Jesus together by removing the shame from one another that is placed on us by others?
How are we restoring to each other identity and dignity that is found in the love of God?
The stained glass tells the story.
7. Jesus said I am the Vine. (John 15:5)
He says that HIS way of staying connected to the vine is to remain in His love.
It’s that simple. When we remain in the love of God, it allows us to love each other with that SAME love.
Any version of faith that suggests that we do not need to love all people with the same love that the Father has loved us is NOT JESUS. It is NOT His way.
The stained glass tells the story.
8. Jesus said I am the Alpha and the Omega -- the beginning and the end. (Rev. 1:8)
He reminds us that He encompasses all parts of the story.
Revelation 1:8 — “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
As His story unfolds in the story of our lives we will always find that His ways sustained us in the beginning and His ways will sustain us in the end.
The stained glass tells the story.
9. Jesus said I am the door. (John 10:9)
Jesus is the true shepherd because he enters through the door...he owns the land and takes responsibility for the flock entrusted in His care.
Jesus calls his sheep by name. The sheep know his voice...not because they recognize his words.
But because he calls them by name over and over and over again.
His sheep know his voice because they recognize His tone.
His sheep know his voice because they recognize the way in which he cares for them.
His sheep know his voice because they recognize the love with which he looks after them.
The question is...
Have we taken the time to listen when Jesus calls us by name?
Have we tuned our ear to the tone of His voice?
Are we familiar with the love with which He cares for us enough to bestow it on those around us and invite them to join the flock?
EVERYTHING THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE IS...is everything that brings people together around a table.
The I AM sayings of Jesus in the book of John in a way are symbolic of the elements of communion and what life together looks like.
PRAYER MOVEMENT
In a moment of silence I would invite you to be still and listen to Jesus.
Imagine that you’ve been invited to Jesus’ house for dinner.
You arrive and He opens the DOOR.
He turns on the LIGHT.
And pulls out a chair for you to sit.
He pulls the grapes off of the VINE and makes fresh wine for you to drink.
He breaks the BREAD and says partake of it.
He realizes your SHEEP left the fold so he goes to get it for you.
When he returns He offers you LIVING WATER to quench your thirst.
While at the table He begins to speak with you about the BEGINNING and the END of your story.
He speaks of dead things in your heart coming to LIFE of again.
As you look around the table you realize you’re not the only one there.
Every tribe and every tongue is represented at the table.
What Jesus has done for you He has also done for them.
Jesus prepares a feast for all people to join Him at His table.
Jesus is the Host. We are HIS guests.
What is Jesus saying to you at the table tonight?
BENEDICTION
Until we see you again… may the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
See you next time.