Lead us to Respect the Dignity of Every Human Being

As an Episcopal priest, baptism is my favorite service. In it, the church celebrates the ritual of a person entering the community. Recently, I had the privilege of baptizing a three-years-old girl, an eleven-year-old boy, and a teenage girl. At every baptism of a young person, I wonder if they might be a future priest, bishop, or president of the United States.

As a central component of the baptism, everyone renews their baptismal covenant. For me, this is time for personal reflection, a time to remind me of what it means to follow the teachings of Jesus. It is also from the baptismal covenant that I draw inspiration and courage to be that follower of Christ that I continually strive to be. The covenant includes these five basic questions.

Will you continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent, and return unto the Lord?

Will you proclaim by word and example, the Good News of God in Christ?

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

Following each question, the people respond: I will, with God’s help.

These are the fundamentals of what it means to be a Christian. These are not negotiable statements. These are not things that followers of Jesus can dismiss or ignore. These are the teachings of the Church. As Episcopalians, we renew our baptismal covenant five times a year, but I wonder if we shouldn’t renew our commitment every time we gather? We do fail, we are not perfect, and therefore, we need constant reminders or our commitment.

It’s always a great joy to meet someone that is not a follower of Jesus, but who still inspires me to walk the talk of my baptismal covenant. This week, I met a young woman who is a Jewish rabbi. She lives in Charlottesville. And on that horrific weekend when white supremacist carried torches and shouted anti-Semitic and racist slurs through the streets, she was there to stand against them; and receive the brunt of the supremacist’ slurs. She told me stories of fear, disbelief, and the courage.

After hearing her story, I was left wondering, why is this the America of 2018? Especially on January 15, as we celebrated the life and witness of the Martin Luther King, Jr., I couldn’t get away from asking, after all these years, are we no better? I believe, that for those of us who are white Americans, we must confront the reality that racism is the demon we have not exorcized from our souls.

While individually, I doubt that few people in our congregations would consider themselves racist, I wonder how many would be willing to take an active stand against it? That’s why in August, I stood in the Phoenix streets protesting with those who carried Black Lives Matter signs and those protesting fair treatment of DACA immigrants. Why would I wear my clerical collar and march in the streets? The baptismal covenant demands that I strive for justice and peace among all people, and that I respect the dignity of every human being. But is marching and protesting enough? No, it is not. The potential for transforming our thoughts and actions, the reality of respecting the dignity of every human being, lies deep in our hearts. And that’s where the exorcism of our country’s past sins must begin.

Ta – Nehisi Coates is a writer for the “Atlantic” and author of the book, “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.” In his book Coates, an African-American, chronicles his coverage of the eight-year presidency of Barack Obama.

Plainly speaking, in my opinion, this book is about what every black person in America wants every white person to know. This country and its wealth was built on the sweat and blood of black slavery. And today, white Americans are now the beneficiary of centuries of that slavery. Nothing should be lost on the sad irony that the first black president of the United States lived in The White House that housed was built by black slaves.

Coates writes, “White supremacy in not merely the work of hotheaded demagogues, or a matter of false consciousness, but a force so fundamental to America that it is difficult to imagine the country without it. And so, we must imagine a new country.” Coates goes on, “What is needed is an airing of family secrets, a settling with old ghosts. What is needed is a healing of the American psyche and the banishment of white guilt.” He writes, “What I’m talking about is a national reckoning that would lead to spiritual renewal.”

And how would such a spiritual renewal come about? Coates believes that the time has come for Congress to seriously consider reparations. I wouldn’t disagree with him. And I might add, the time has come for us to consider how we chose our local leaders, knowing that could affect the potential for a spiritual renewal.

Kirk Smith, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona has announced his retirement. Recently, the clergy of the diocese met to share their opinions for what they thought should be the priorities of the next bishop. They spent the first thirty minutes recalling all the wonderful things that are happening in our diocese and how they didn’t want any of those programs to disappear. The fear of change was palpable in the room. Don’t get me wrong, I deeply respect and admire the work of our current bishop, Kirk Smith. And I wouldn’t want his good deeds to be dismissed or his programs pushed to the side. I do believe, however, that it is time for a change in the perspective of the top leader in the diocese.

The first five bishops of the Diocese of Arizona have been white, heterosexual males. If the diocese of Arizona is going to move forward as a voice for the next generation of Christianity, the face of the leader must be different. In my opinion, someone other than a white heterosexual male must be the leader.

The diocese has been somewhat progressive on social justice issues. But now is definitely not the time to fall back. Now is the time to move forward; now is the time to be a leader in the Episcopal Church and the State of Arizona.

Understandably, a leader should not be chosen simply because of the color of their skin, or their gender, or their sexuality—but the committee responsible for selecting the candidates can do more than simply offer token candidates who are people of color, women, and LGBTQ. The slate of candidates, however, can leave no other choice than that the best person just so happens to be a person of color, a woman, or someone who is LGBTQ.

A leader must be chosen wisely, carefully, and thoughtfully—and in a religious community, especially the Episcopal Church, the foremost concern should be—can this person lead us to “respect the dignity of every human being?” And while many can, a picture is worth a thousand words. The vision and presence of our next leader must be able to bring with them the chance for the spiritual renewal that Coates is pleading for and is so desperately needed in our country.