Presented to the First Congregational Church of Salem March 14, 2021

This week marks our one-year anniversary of the Covid – 19 pandemic shutdowns. Let that sink in for a moment – one year ago today there were no vaccines, no masks, no covid tests. We were free to go out and play in the sunshine and in the snow. We imagined our next vacation and the smile it would bring to our children as they played with friends. How life has changed over this last year. We have lost over 530,000 lives, lost work and businesses, lost chances to mark the celebrations in our lives. And these are only the bare minimum of the tragedies and traumas we have endured this last year. 

Perhaps, that is why the loss of Dr. Suess’ books struck me so hard last week. We have already lost so much. Why do we have to endure censorship as well? Do we really need to cancel anything more? Now mind you, I do understand that this reaction was visceral. Society did not cancel the books. They were removed from publication by the estate due to their stereotypical depictions of minorities. Which seems to be an exceptionally good reason; but that is not what it felt like. It felt like another death – a death of the child inside – the witty whimsical words of a playful poet who inspired generations to play and accept all people, protect the environment, and enjoy a meal of green eggs and ham was cancelled – censored – silenced. And all I wanted to do was live into that imagination again and be free of the censoring death of separation. In those days of my retreat, I wanted to playfully ponder those words and live again through a non-judgmental belief in the goodness of a poet, like when I was a child.

Before we continue, would you pray with me:

Gracious God forgive me and grant me the ability to grant your grace to all people – invoke in us Your Grace which you grant to all of Creation so we can live again in the belief of this beautiful kin-dom which You are calling us to embrace. May the words from my lips and the meditations on all our hearts be pleasing to You, God.

Now beloved, censorship – cancel culture – silencing of voices is not something new. Oh, many people act like this cancel culture is a modern-day phenomenon attributed only to one political point of view. However, this issue can also be seen in how the humanity of our beloved sisters and brothers were cancelled in the censorship of books like The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger or the denial of same-sex marriage. We have seen this societal push over and over from different moral views during book burnings throughout history and even in the creation of the Biblical Canon. Yes, there are more stories about Jesus; however, they were cancelled – censored – considered hypocrisy by the religious leaders who determined what was in and what was out of our Scripture. Much of this will not change. Those in leadership or control will cancel other voices – opposing points of view – harmful voices to the current regime’s agenda. This alone is a tragedy for I believe we can only grow – learn – become better by witnessing the thoughts of opposing voices.

Yet, something more insidious is happening as of late. People have gone from a societal cancelling by the all-powerful regimes to an individual cancelling of a person. An issue which I learned about from an early age when my Father cancelled his sister for the last ten years of his life and when my grandmother cancelled her sister for twenty years. I always considered this issue particular to the Irish. But today, we are witnessing people cancel each other in all walks of life – if someone says one thing – ponders one counter idea – does one thing at some point in their life which someone else considers morally wrong today, then the first person’s entire life is cancelled – censored – silenced forever. No do-over – no grace – no compassion. This reality, beloved, is the very definition of sin – yet the sin is not necessarily being done by the one who did something wrong at some point in their life – the sin is being created by the person who cancelled another person – censored another voice – separated another relationship.

We see this same issue in the third murmuring of the Israelite people in the Book of Numbers. Here the people are not simply complaining to Moses which is accepted twice before. Rather the people “spoke against” God and Moses for the first time according to the theologian Terrence Fretheim. “Spoke against” – opposed – or better yet separated themselves from God and Moses. Almost as if the Israelite people are saying “you are dead to me” – cancelling – silencing God and Moses because the Israelites were not provided what they believed was the right “food.” The difference between this interaction and the previous ones reveals to us that this reaction is wrong; for, God punishes the Israelites with a plague of poisonous snakes. Further, this cancellation is clearly revealed as a sin when they ask for forgiveness – forgiveness for the sin of “speaking against the Lord and against” Moses.

Is this issue any different than when we personally or as a society silence the LGBT+ voice – cancel their humanity – censor their literature or silence the conservative voice – cancel their humanity – censor books like Dr. Suess. All because we think we KNOW what the right “food” for all people is. What about when we cancel our father – our sister – our “friend” because we KNOW the right “food” for them, and we KNOW their thinking is wrong? Is that any different – is our sin any less than the Israelites when we let our relationships die?

The Good News beloved is that there is hope – hope for redemption – hope for forgiveness while we live. This message of hope is shared with us through the apostle in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. The author points out that the community of Ephesus was dead through their trespasses and sins; but they are made “alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved.” By grace – by the Grace of God who forgives all people of trespasses and sins. This gift of Grace is not given to us because of our “works” – because of something we speak against when we KNOW we are right. Rather, we are granted God’s Grace because of our belief in God, Christ Jesus, and the fellowship of us together as one people through the Holy Spirit. And when we live into this belief, we reveal our way of life is good.

Now this does not mean, we do not need to question – complain – or even counter the atrocities we see happening in the world. We do. We are called to challenge actions and inactions we understand as wrong. For, we are disciples who follow Christ and seek equality for all of Creation. But as disciples – as ones who follow the path of Christ – Christ who grants Grace to all people. I must ask, where is the grace we grant to people? Where is the grace we offer when someone says something which sounds hurtful to the LGBT+ community? Where is the grace we offer when someone says something hurtful to people who follow traditional societal structures? Is Grace only that which we receive as disciples or are we called to also grant this grace as well? Called to live – together – through Belief into the Grace offered and granted to ALL people. Called to be one without cancelling – censoring – silencing another person? 

Beloved, I believe granting grace is what we are called to do as disciples of Christ, walking in the Way to the kin-dom. But why, why is this important – today? Today as we mark the one-year anniversary of being locked-down from the Covid-19 pandemic – why do we even care when there are so many other tragedies and traumas that are affecting our lives. And there are: we lost celebrations – we lost work – we lost over 530,000 human lives which we will never be able to argue with again… Never be able to embrace again… Never be able to be in community with again – here on this Earth. Over 530,000 people have been cancelled – censored – silenced by covid-19. Why would we want to silence anymore? Why would we refuse to walk in the Way of Christ and offer grace; so, we may all live together through the belief that we are one fellowship through God. Now, perhaps the wounds are too great or perhaps it is our pride which keeps us from accepting others; but what if there is a chance – what if we can step beyond what we KNOW and grant grace to that person who seems hurtful – what if this grace we give someone else brings life to our relationship. What if we can live again through the belief of God’s kin-dom; so, we may experience each other again before one of us is cancelled from Earth? Would we then be living as disciples of Christ? 

I believe we would. But it requires belief – imagination – trust like that of a child who accepts all people – who is willing to play with all people – who can witness the thousands of good things in another person instead of the one bad thing which goes against what we KNOW as right. So, perhaps in this time of lent as we start to reopen the world – it is time to learn how to play with one another again. To reveal the forgiveness, we gave ourselves and the forgiveness we gave one last month. Perhaps now is the time to stop cancelling one another and learn to play again as one people. I believe this grace begins with compassion: Instead of calling each other out on each little thing – offer grace – consider their perspective – maybe even walk in the shoes of a person who wrote a book in 1937 before cancelling their voice. Hear their rhetoric and ask, why – why do you feel that way? Share your insights and maybe – just maybe these seeds of grace we plant will grow into a loving relationship. Then again, there may be no reconciliation; but at least, the relationship will have a chance to live again through belief that we are all part of one kin-dom, a relationship which could challenge, teach, and help you grow as a disciple of Christ. May your relationships live again as we grant the grace Christ has granted each and every one of us throughout Creation. Amen.