Now is Not the Time for Moderation
I realize the title of this blog post is at odds with the name of my personal website. I thought up the idea of being an extremely moderate Christian a few years ago. I thought it was clever, and a way to describe who I am as a person of faith but also as an Enneagram 9 (Peacemaker).
A few years ago while attending seminary, I read MLK Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” I don’t know about you, but I have read many quotes from Dr. King over the years that I would describe as “safe” or “inspirational” for the white person who wants to seem well-read or at the very least wade in the shallow end of the civil rights movement.
For instance…
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
Or…
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
And again…
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
How about one more?
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
These are quotes that make good fridge magnets or a decorative wall piece from Hobby Lobby. I have sprinkled these and many other MLK Jr. quotes into my sermons over the last 10 years. Most of the time, I see people nodding in agreement, or hear an amen or two (we don’t say amen very often in white Protestant congregations…so that’s a big deal!). These quotes are the ones that, as a white man, I can share on social media and get a bunch of “likes,” some “hearts,” and a few general comments of solidarity.
Through the years in white Evangelical circles, MLK Jr. has been “whitewashed” (pun intended) and stripped of any quotes that confront our privilege that we would rather be ignorant about, or at least pretend to be ignorant about.
When talking about racism or civil rights, we try to keep things as generic as possible by saying things like, “All Lives Matter.” We bristle against the smallest hint of white guilt because after all, we have never owned a slave. We may have never harassed a person of color, told a racist joke or used a slur. Thus, you are barking up the wrong tree. We love all people. It is not difficult for us to affirm that black, brown, and tan persons were created in the image of God. You are preaching to the choir! We are against racism too. We don’t spend our free time with members of the KKK. And, don’t forget, we have blacks friends, so…
One of my assignments in seminary was to read MLK Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail (everyone should take the time to read it). It is addressed to King’s fellow clergy-folk, specifically white clergy who objected to the rampant racism and discrimination towards black people, but thought that Dr. King and other civil rights leaders ought to tone down their protests. Dr. King writes, “You may well ask: ‘Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth?’”
While protesting and marching in Birmingham, the local white clergy wanted Dr. King to try negotiating with city leaders, to give them time respond and act. Dr. King continues,
“For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’ We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights.”
As I read the entirety of Dr. King’s letter, I put myself in the shoes of the white clergy in Birmingham, AL, or in other parts of the south during this time in history. It is fairly easy to be a preacher in 2020 who preaches against racism every once in a while. It is not a controversial act to affirm the worth and dignity of black, brown, and tan peoples from the pulpit.
But if I was employed by a congregation in 1963, would I be more concerned about keeping the peace than doing the hard work of peace making? Making peace is not a passive wish or hope. It is not a prayer. It is not watching and agreeing with the struggle of others who are fighting for equality and justice. Dr. King didn’t need white preacher cheerleaders. He needed white clergy who were willing to march. Wiling to sit-in. Willing to resist. Willing to be put in handcuffs. Would the thought of having a mugshot published in the local paper be enough to keep me on the sidelines, hoping that everything just resolves itself over time?
The uncomfortable truth for me is that I don’t have to wonder what I would have done. The answer will be found in what I do right now in this tender moment. It has been a little over a week since the horrific murder of George Floyd and I am already battling those nagging little thoughts that tell me to keep the peace. Don't fan the flames. Call for cooler heads to prevail. Don’t rock the boat any more. If I am honest, I already deleted a Facebook post after receiving two snarky replies.
I may have not fared very well in 1963. But today, I refuse to be the kind of moderate that Dr. King said was the Negro’s stumbling block. I refuse to be the moderate who…
“…is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
Now is not the time for moderation in order to keep from offending someone who is tired of hearing it. For my white family, friends and colleagues who are tired of hearing it, tired of being asked to examine their privilege, tired of being lumped in with extremist hate groups, tired of social media posts and memes and ready to tune out all of the noise, consider for a moment that tuning out the noise is the kind of privilege that people of color do not have.
Now is not the time for moderation because we are uncomfortable. The message of the protests all around our nation is the culmination of hundreds of years of people of color being uncomfortable and crying out for justice and equality.
Now is not the time for moderation in order to get back to some kind of “negative peace” as Dr. King writes. Now is not the time to try and hide from the tension and quickly resolve it so that everything will go back to normal. Now is not the time to drown out the message of the protests by replacing it with good news and cute stories that make us feel good for a second. People of color are not feeling good. And that will not change if we go back to burying our heads in the sand.
Now is not the time for moderation because normal has rarely worked for our black, brown, and tan friends.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “the good old days”? I hear it all the time. “I wish we could just go back to the good old days”. The days of Leave it to Beaver, when people sat on their front porch, when Coca-Cola came in glass bottles, when “everyone” went to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. Every time I hear someone talk about the “good old days,” I gently remind them that the “good old days” weren’t good for everyone.
Friends, now is not the time for moderation because we can’t wish ourselves back to better times for a select few. The only option available to us, is to work for a better day, right now, and a brighter future for those who will come tomorrow.
The work of creating “a more perfect union” is not set in stone in our past. It is the ever present, and immediate work that is before us today. This is the work of true Patriots - to sacrifice ourselves until America finally lives up her ideal of liberty and justice for ALL. Not just for people who look like us, worship like us, love like us, or live like us.
Now is not the time for moderation.
Thy reign and rule come, on earth, as it is in heaven.
Grace & Peace Beloved,
Ben ><>