Justice, Wild Justice, and the Plague of Racism

I am tired and my heart hurts. I am tired of dealing with Covid-19 and find the prospect that we will be dealing with it one way or another for some months to come more than a little daunting. And while we have been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been made painfully aware again of another plague that has long infested America, the plague of racism. Many of us have been appalled recently by the images of the killing of jogger, Ahmaud Arbery, in Georgia, the bigoted calling of the police on birdwatcher, Christian Cooper, in New York, and the slow suffocation of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police. Each story is heartbreaking. And my heart hurts.

Whatever progress we have made in race relations, and things are better than they once were, there is no denying that we have a long way to go. One does not need to hear very many stories from African-Americans to understand this. And one can understand the anger we have seen manifested in recent days. The accumulation of stories like those above along with the heaviness we all feel living with Covid-19 which we know has disproportionately affected African-Americans along with the day to day experience of racism that so many of our fellow citizens experience has taken a toll. The fact that every other means of protest by African-Americans over the last several years has been dismissed as offensive and out of bounds only adds to the accumulated frustration. We are seeing all of that boil over across the country.

I do not condone rioting, still less, looting. I am pretty nearly a pacifist because I believe Jesus calls us to prioritize non-violence in anticipation of the kingdom of God. But I have been reminded of something one of my favorite authors, Charles Williams wrote. Williams, in ‘The Forgiveness of Sins,’ referred to the "wild justice of revenge" that breaks out if civil justice is not enacted. That does not excuse things like rioting – as opposed to protesting – but I wonder if it might not express a basic law of social interaction. In the absence of civic and economic justice, the opportunity to access the basic goods of life; 'wild justice' is likely to break out – like a wildfire. 

Once it breaks out, wild justice is not altogether tidy, rational, or controlled. People will do things that are even contrary to their own well-being. And some will take the opportunity to do things like looting. Wild justice is not actual justice; it is a cry for actual justice. It is a reaction when actual justice is not enacted  in the social order by  more “normal” means. Again, this neither condones nor excuses the destruction. But I contend that we must pay attention to the source of the rage which the riots express. The outrage is real and justified. Those of us who are white do not always like to look at the continuing legacy of racism. But, I agree with Charles Williams, “We shall be unfortunate if we forget the trespasses, the debts, [those we have treated unjustly] desire to repay with their wild justice . . .” 

Martin Luther King, Jr. made a similar point in response to riots in a speech just a few weeks before his assassination.

“But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”

So where do we go from here? Let's pursue actual justice. Not only to prevent the outbreak of wild justice but because we desire justice – justice for all. Because we believe God desires justice. Because when we pray,"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven," we mean it. In particular, we need to acknowledge that the plague of racism and the idea of white supremacy means that African-Americans are often not treated fairly in our legal system. Inherent bias continues to limit the opportunities of our fellow citizens. Our brothers and sisters of color too often are not treated with basic respect for their dignity as human beings. We shall all be unfortunate if we who are not African -American do not pay attention to these injustices and seek to redress them.

One thing we can do is listen to African-Americans commenting on our contemporary situation. Here are two examples:

We can do our homework so that those of us who are not African-American can understand better the experience and the legacy of racism and white supremacy. You might start with either Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson or 'I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness' by Austin Channing Brown. If you prefer reading novels, you might start with one of these:

'I Know Why the Caged bird Sings' by Maya Angelou

'The Bluest Eye' by Toni Morrison

'Beloved' by Toni Morrison

'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas

'The Underground Railroad' by Colson Whitehead

A longer list  of books on racism can be found here: An Antiracist Reading List

And if you are looking for more concrete things to do, check out these lists: 

For Our White friends Desiring to be Allies

10 Things White people Can Do To Work For Racial Justice

You might see if members of your church want to engage in conversation on the topic using a series like Sacred Ground.

You might also pray. Pray for justice and pray for the grace to have your life rhyme with your prayer. I am going to pray this Great Litany Novena for the first nine days of Pentecost which starts tomorrow. And I will continue praying for justice and reconciliation and peace.

Diocese of Fond du Lac’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: Review and Explanation

Diocese of Fond du Lac’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Review and Explanation

There are many concerns involved in responding to Covid-19 – public health, economic and personal financial health, emotional and spiritual health under “lock down,” and government’s competency in balancing the other three vs. potential governmental overreach. This is not the place to discuss where there has been governmental competence vs incompetence vs overreach. But I will address how we as a diocese and, more specifically, I as the bishop, have sought to address the church’s response to the pandemic.

Our response to the virus is only partly informed by what the government has directed. We began responding to Covid-19 well before any directives from the state government. As early as March 5, I gave directions for ‘Communion and the Coronavirus’. Our congregations met under those guidelines for two Sundays, including March 15, which was after both the Governor of Wisconsin and the President of the United States had declared states of emergency and one Sunday more than some neighboring church bodies. But it was clear by then, that a different kind of care was going to be needed if we were going to mitigate the spread of the virus and help keep our members and neighbors safe.

I formed the Covid-19 Task Force in the week before March 15 and began meeting with them to discern the most faithful and responsible way forward. On March 16, in response to directions “from the CDC and the White House” I suspended in-person worship in our church buildings. This was before Governor Evers’ March 26 ‘Safer at Home’ order. It is actually stricter on some points than what the governor directed. That has been the status quo for the diocese since and remains so at this point except for the recent allowance for more congregations to celebrate Eucharist under clear and strict guidelines. While that allowance goes further than any Episcopal diocese around us, it is still stricter in terms of how many may participate than the governor’s order allowed.

[The various statements from the diocesan office mentioned above can be found at https://www.diofdl.org/covid-resources.html]

I review all this to point out that decisions regarding worship in the Diocese of Fond du Lac have only partially been in response to what the government at any level has told us we should or should not do. Rather those decisions have been based on public health information from experts, including those on our own Task Force. They have been based taking the pandemic seriously and, given that, on our equally serious determination to love one another and love our neighbors.

We are enjoined in Romans 13:1-2 to,

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement.”

While we generally submit to the governing authorities and are suspicious of calls to resist those authorities unless they contravene a gospel imperative, the Church’s ultimate authority is not what any earthly government – whether local, state, or federal – says. Or, for that matter, any of the various interpretations of the Constitution. Nor is our ultimate allegiance and loyalty to any of those. Ultimately,

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)

And we seek a better country, the City, the New Jerusalem God has prepared for us:

“They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)

We put our hope in no governor or president or nation for, as the New Testament declares, ‘Jesus is Lord’.

Jesus is our authority and it is his directives we are trying to follow. His commandment is that we love one another as he loved us (John 13:34) and he promises to free us to do so. Thus, our most fundamental right and freedom is to love God and love our neighbor. So, we seek to, “owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). And it is that direction we are seeking to follow in our decisions regarding whether, when, and how to open our church buildings. Based on the best knowledge to which we have access regarding the threat of Covid-19 and given our determination to follow Jesus’ directive to love one another and our neighbors, what is the most faithful, most responsible thing for us to do? It is with that question we are grappling. Whatever we do will based not on fear, but on care.

Believe me, I wish as much as anyone we could just simply go back to worshiping together in our

church buildings. We have beautiful church buildings that evoke wonder and a sense of the holy. They are soaked with decades of prayer and memory. It is right for us to miss them. Even more, it is right that we miss gathering. And I miss regular worship together in the presence of the gathered body of Christ. At the end of every Eucharist with the dismissal we disperse our members so we can be the body of Christ in the world. But we are meant to be ‘re-membered’ week by week. This long, enforced dispersal is not natural. I do not just not like it; I think it is problematic. I want us to resume gathering as the body of Christ in worship because it a fundamental vocation of the Church.

But it is not clear that it is safe to do so at this point. The state supreme court’s ruling expressly did not deny the ongoing seriousness of the virus. Even with masks, physical distancing, and other precautions, it is our understanding from public health experts that the length of time shared in the same space, breathing the same air, makes worshiping in groups too unsafe. I appreciate that many are willing to take the risk of contracting the virus in order to participate in worship in your church building. I would be willing to take that risk as well. If it was just about me. But I do not want to risk giving the virus to someone else if I am infected unknowingly. I do not think you do either. That is why we are being extra careful. We will continue to make our decisions based on the best medical and public health information we can glean as we seek how best to go forward faithfully.

We will begin a phased resumption of gathering for worship in our buildings, possibly as early as the middle of June. But that will largely be determined by the rate of infection and other public health factors. Directions for the first phase of regathering in our church buildings will be published next week.

There is a lot of talk now about the Church being essential. I absolutely believe it is. It is important to note that while we have not been going to our church buildings, we have not ceased to be the Church. We have found creative, faithful ways to worship and pray and connect with one another and serve and bear witness in spite of the constraints imposed upon us by the pandemic. In that sense, we, as the Church, have continued the free exercise of religion as per the First Amendment.

I ask your patience and forbearance as we discern the next steps. And I ask your prayers for me, the Task Force, our clergy, lay leaders, and all members of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. It is my firm conviction that God is faithful and will see us through this challenging time. And God continues to lavish grace upon us even now.

Under the Mercy,

Bishop Matt