Compassion, Not Judgment

(I am the pastor of a small-town church in southern Virginia, still somewhat of a hotspot for racist tensions. This morning, I felt compelled to address from the pulpit the verdict in the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. I had already prepared a prophetic sermon about judging the poor based on Matthew 20:1-16, so I decided to insert the following remarks before the Scripture reading:)


A few times from this pulpit, I have spoken about the increasing divisiveness that we are seeing in our nation – divisions that are political, economic, and racial. This summer, every time we turn on the news, it seems like something controversial and polarizing is being announced – whether it comes from the Supreme Court, from Congress, from the White House, from state legislatures, or – as we learned late last night – from a jury.

The announcement of the verdict of the Trayvon Martin case caps off a week that has been particularly polarizing. It seems like we as a nation are so determined to be against one another that we’re just bouncing from story to story continuing the same polarizing fight.

Now I’m not going to pretend that I know whether George Zimmerman is guilty or not. But the case has been a flashpoint for racial tensions, and I stand with my African American friends as I see in them the struggle, the pain, and the fear that is still a reality of their existence. No matter how we feel about this one high-profile case, we can all agree that racial divisions are still strong in this nation. We are far from realizing The Dream that Martin Luther King spoke of, and we are called to work in Christ-like ways to bring peace and justice to our nation at a time when it seems so much of our unity is fracturing.

One of the biggest things we can do to be an agent of peace and justice is to pay attention to the lesson of today’s parable. It is about some workers in a vineyard, and about their quickness to stand in judgment of others. The lesson Jesus is giving is that we are to approach our fellow human beings not with judgment, but with love and compassion.

 

In our divided times, standing in judgment of others is what we see too often. Working to defeat one another and condemn one another seems to be the rule of the day.  So let us now listen to the words of Christ from Matthew 20, where he calls us to a different path.

 

(After the service, I was greeted with many positive reactions to my words. One woman whom I feared would be angry with me told me a story about her grandson and his African American friend being stopped and searched by police. She thanked me for speaking so candidly. I would be grateful for any of your thoughts on these remarks, praise or criticism.)