Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
Sermon Matthew - Various Readings “Racism”
June 28, 2020
This morning we will be talking about a subject that the whole nation seems to be talking about right now, racism. Racism is defined this way by Merriam-Webster, “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” So our traditional idea of racism is that it is an attitude of racial superiority. This is a sin and has no place among Christians.
Jesus had the difficult assignment of building a non-racist church in the midst of a racist culture. We will see how he does this, but first, let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, bless us this day as we look at this most difficult of subjects. If we hold racists attitudes, we ask that the Holy Spirit come to convict us of our sin and help us to confess it and repent. We pray all of this in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the first century, racism was an important part of the culture of the people in the near east. Three groups, the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Romans all had to live together in a small area. They hated each other. The Romans were vicious occupiers. The Samaritans worshiped in the wrong way. And Jews were fighting among themselves.
Jesus’ ministry was in this context. His goal was to build a church where all people, regardless of race or ethnicity were welcome. So early in his ministry, he reached out to gentiles, non-Jews, and saw how difficult his task would be. Early in his ministry, one of these gentiles, a Roman, came to see Jesus and this happened.
Matthew 8:5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
So Jesus blessed a gentile with the healing of his servant. Rather than looking at the Roman centurion’s ethnicity and race, Jesus looked at his faith. Faith is what unites us as Christians. And Jesus said that the faithful will come from east and west.
But ministry to the gentiles was not easy for Jesus. Shortly after healing the centurion’s servant Jesus traveled into the gentile territory. There is no evidence that Jesus took his disciples on this trip, so Jesus may have gone alone. When he arrived, Jesus encountered a couple of demons. Here is what happened.
Matthew 8:28 When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32 And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. 33 The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.
So Jesus saw the racism first hand. The gentiles living there did not want Jesus, a Jew, to minister in their area. Even though they had witnessed a great miracle, they asked Jesus to leave, and he did.
After calling his disciples and training them Jesus was ready to send them into the world with good news. But Jesus knew of their racist attitudes. They had an attitude of superiority over others. They didn’t like gentiles and Samaritans. So Jesus told them to avoid gentile communities.
Matthew 9:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
Jesus knew that it would be difficult for his disciples to interact with people different from themselves. So he accommodated their racism and allowed them to do ministry with their own people. But Jesus continued to teach them that he had come not just for the Jews, but for everyone. Jesus said this.
Matthew 13:8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”
And then he explained this saying.
Matthew 13: 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
So Jesus explained to his disciple that the important things are not race and ethnicity, but faith and bearing good fruit. This is why the mission of the church, that Jesus left behind, is to proclaim the good news to everyone so that all races and ethnic groups who come to faith and receive the fruits of eternal life.
As a result of Jesus’ teaching and healing, things began to change. Their racist attitudes softened. They became more loving and accepting of others. So Jesus went again to the Gadarenes and took his disciples with him.
Matthew 14:34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him, 36 and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
What a change! Before the people had rejected Jesus’ ministry. Now, they welcome him with open arms. And Jesus was ready to build a non-racist church. Let’s see how he did it.
Matthew 15:21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
So the way Jesus built a non-racist church was to take his disciples to gentile territory and, under his supervision, minister directly to gentiles. Jesus started all this by introducing his disciples to a gentile woman.
Matthew 15:22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”
Despite all of Jesus’ teaching, the disciples are still racists. They see this Canaanite woman as inferior because of her nationality. Jesus must move his disciples from their racist attitudes to love.
Matthew 15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
Jesus started by reminding the disciples of some of their favorite sayings. God is only concerned with us. Everyone else is not even human, they are dogs. So at this moment, the disciples expect Jesus to send her away. But then Jesus does something really surprising. He accepts her because of her faith.
Matthew 15:27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The disciples had to shocked that Jesus would bless a gentile woman. But they were now ready to begin assisting Jesus in his ministry to gentiles. They remained in the gentile territory and did this.
Matthew 15:30 Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31 so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
So the disciples experienced something they never expected to experience. They saw gentiles coming to faith in God. And they saw God blessing them. And then, Jesus performed the same miracle for the gentiles that he did for the Jews.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.
The disciples participated in ministry for the gentiles. Now the formerly racists disciples were ready to go off on their own and build a church that welcomes everyone regardless of race or ethnicity. And the resurrected Jesus brought them together and one last time and told them this.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
You have probably seen the video where a white police officer had his knee on the neck of the black man for over eight minutes. This led to the man’s death and nationwide protests. The police officer has been charged with murder. Is this an example of racism? It looks bad. And it is likely that racism was a contributing factor. But until the police officer’s trial, we won’t know if he had an attitude of racial superiority or not. So we must reserve judgment.
This is one more thing that I must say about racism today. We hear a lot about structural racism and institutional racism. Both of these try to call groups of people racists. Since racism is an attitude a group cannot be racist because a group does not have an attitude, only its members have attitudes. Thus people say that the police departments are racists, implying that its members are all racists. Also, people say that whites are racists because of white privilege, implying that all white people are racists. When you accuse a group of being racist you are creating a stereotype. You’re saying that all police or all whites are racists. And clearly, this is not true. Stereotyping is wrong. We must judge each individual separately. If an individual is racist, God will judge him and he must confess and repent to receive God’s forgiveness. If an individual calls an entire group racist because of a stereotype then God will judge him and he must also confess and repent to receive God’s forgiveness.
There is no place for racism in the church of Jesus Christ. If we have an attitude that another race is inferior we must confess and repent because racism is a sin. The church must be a place of welcoming for all people. We welcome everyone who will put their faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, examine our hearts. If there is any racist attitude purge it. If there is any idea of racial superiority make it go away. Help us, Lord, to be accepting of all people of faith. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
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