In this sermon, delivered three years ago this past Sunday, I make reference to an article by Pastor Alex Gee of the Fountain of Life Covenant Church and his experience as an African American male here in Madison, Wisconsin.
The conversation that began three years ago is still going on, gaining momentum, and beginning to bear some fruit. And yet the call to action in this sermon preached three years ago is no less relevant, no less urgent than it was then.
As we enter the season of Lent, a time when the church calls us to a season of self examination and repentance, we need to be listening to the voices that call out to us demanding justice, freedom, and the right to live their lives as full members of our community, beloved of God, made in God’s image, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Last night I went to bed early and set my alarm clock to allow me to sleep in a little. I had a sermon ready to go and so I assumed I would sleep well. After a very restless night I awoke convicted by the idea that I had prepared the wrong sermon. The events of the last two weeks, things I had read, conversations that I had participated in, all came together to help me to see that I needed to say something different about today’s Gospel reading. at the conclusion of the 8:00 service I knew that I had not quite gotten it right. It was coming together but wasn’t done yet. The sermon that follows is what I said at the 10:30, as best I could reconstruct it at 4:30 this afternoon when I finally got home.
This sermon draws on the Gospel reading for the Last…
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A Mad City Episcopalian 