06/09/2020
Letter from Pastor Doug Holmes
Don't know what to think about the kneeling.
Like any other symbolic gesture it can be easily misunderstood. In my naivete' when I first witnessed football players kneeling during the national anthem, I thought they were conveying respect for their country or a more basic submission to God. I realize now that it was really a symbolic protest concerning a perceived lack of concern and even denigration of the lives of black people on the part of civil authorities. Now, with the recent killing of a black man by a white police officer in the great state to the north protests and serious riots have spontaneously sprung up in many other cities throughout the country. The police and civil leaders seem largely petrified in their responses and some of them are actually seeking to honor them by kneeling before them. I think the meaning of this gesture is not yet “set”. In some cases, where the kneeling is mutual, I believe the symbol can be of joint contrition for the divisive racial issues that are dividing our culture today. That would to be a good thing. But in others it seems to symbolize weakness and shame! I saw a short clip of a young woman who was approached by a representative of Black Lives Matter and told to kneel before him and vocalize an apology for her “white privilege.” She complied, but seemed confused and gave every indication of doing it from fear rather than real contrition. What to do....what to do!? What to think....what to think?!
No one seems to have entertained the idea that maybe we should all be kneeling before Jesus. If I thought that kneeling before a group of black people, or white people, or Democrats, or Republicans or even Methodists would eradicate all sin, murder, strife, anger, lust, shame, envy, pride, arrogance, prejudice and general foolishness I would hope that I would surely do so. But it won't! And I know it won't! Only Jesus is able to take away this list of fallen fleshly characteristics....and He will only do so if we let Him....and we let Him by kneeling before Him & turning our lives (i.e., our actions, our thinking, our feelings, our theologies, our assumptions, our sins, our kids, our churches, our prejudices, our vices and our virtues, the good and the bad, etc etc) over to Him & letting Him change us from the inside out. Such kneeling doesn't bring shame or guilt or defeat.....it brings power...& that of a kind that liberates the self from itself as well as making the lame walk, the blind see, and turning enemies into friends.
But to the point at hand, I would not have knelt before the gentleman from Black Lives Matter. Hopefully not because of any pride in my so called “white privilege” or because I am a friend of racism & prejudice. Rather it would be because it would clearly not be the loving thing to do. It would give him the false impression that I think he is right when I think he is wrong, or that I fear him when I do not. I rather pity him because he does not realize the supreme value he has, not by being black or white or a representative of Black Lives Matter but by being created in the image of the most gracious, joyful, just and loving Person of the entire universe and by refusing His gracious invitation to join Him in that most amazing & eternal Triune fellowship.
World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. I propose that on the 7th hour of the 7th day of the 7th month of 2020 everyone in America stop what they are doing and make a heartfelt appeal to Jesus...to give up on “our way” of doing things and for Him to directly intervene in our present insanity. Not because He has to but because we so desperately need Him to! To help us remember that we do not conquer sin (be it racism or arrogance or whatever) by focusing on the sin or on pay-back for the sin....but on the Solution! And Jesus is the solution! He took all our sin on Himself....and killed them! If we remain in bo***ge to our sin it is because we want to be. If we are to live to Him....then we must die to us! So I'll see your kneel...and raise you Jesus! Do you want pay- back? Or do you want Freedom?!
Doug Holmes, pastor SGC, Dows, Ia
