Homily following the Shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue (10/28/2018)

Last week, I made the decision to keep the Feast of Ss. Simon and Jude today. In part, I wanted to have something other than the usual green. But in part, I was inspired by the Revival last week to reflect more closely on our work and vocations as Christians. I thought that reflecting on some of the apostles might be a good way to do that. I do think there will be value in that, but, of course, we need to begin by holding up in prayer the people shot and wounded and killed yesterday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.I didn’t do the work of actually going back through all of my homilies to see how many I’ve preached in the aftermath of gun violence; I think it’s probably about one a year or so. I do remember that, in most cases, we’ve needed to struggle with the senseless of it all. I clearly recall using the phrase, senseless acts of violence. But yesterday’s massacre was anything but senseless. Reporting overnight clearly shows that this was an act of anti-Semitism, and it was more than that too. The shooter, Robert Bowers’ social media accounts use hateful and anti-Semitic language, and his more recent posts also target the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and their work to bring refugees from war and persecution to this country. The people, the families at the Tree of Life Synagogue were targeted because they were Jews and because Jews were helping refugees.

Anti-Semitism is one of the deepest, most ingrained sins in Western society. For centuries, if not longer, there has been a latent suspicion of our Jewish brothers and sisters that flares up into violence and persecution. To our everlasting shame, the Church has often supported that persecution. That is one of the many sins we need to repent. This kind of sin is rooted in fear, fear of something or someone we don’t understand, fear of someone who is different from us. That fear leads us to think that person is fundamentally different from us; that person isn’t human like us. This fear leads us to see other people as somehow beneath us or not even human. This sin and this fear leads us to deny the fundamental humanity of others. This sin leads us to deny the love that God has for his children.

It appears that Bowers conflated his hatred of Jews with his hatred of refugees, specifically targeting the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. This organization was originally created in the late 19th century to help Jews resettle in the United States. Originally their focus was on helping Russian and other Eastern European Jews who were fleeing anti-Semitic violence in their own countries. For the last fifty years, they have expanded their mission to help refugees regardless of their ethnic background, helping refugees from countries like Vietnam, Bosnia, and Tunisia. They are one of nine organization approved by the US government to assist with refugee resettlement. In 2002, they opened up operations in Kenya to assist with African refugees. This is an organization dedicated to helping people simply because they are people.

The lives of the people killed and wounded in Pittsburg are a stain on our country, a stain that will not easily wash out. The ancient sin of anti-Semitism has come out into the open, and it is our responsibility, as decent people, and even more, as Christians to fight it.

When I was first writing this homily, I typed Pittsfield, not Pittsburg. It was almost habit. But I think that mistake points out something important about this moment. This isn’t happening somewhere far away; this sin is here in our communities. We don’t always know where, but we know that sin can hide in our hearts. If this can happen in Pittsburg, it can happen in Pittsfield; it can happen in Lenox. It’s also worth mentioning that Episcopal Migration Ministries is one of the other nine organization approved by the Federal government to assist with refugee resettlement. We’re not that different from the Tree of Life Synagogue. Fighting this evil is our work.

And that brings us to today. Today, in the Church’s calendar, we commemorate Ss. Simon and Jude. The tradition is very unclear as to who these people where or what they did. There are several lists of the apostles, and not all of them even agree on the names. There are also Simons and Judes who appear to be related to Jesus and others who are not. It’s all very unclear. Some later traditions tell us that Simon and Jude eventually travel together to Persia and Armenia where they are eventually martyred for their work.

There are some extremely important lessons here for us in their story. First, we need to remember that there were times when it wasn’t safe to be a Christian. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have been killed for their faith and for their love of God. The shock of this truth should remind us to defend anyone who is persecuted for their faith, especially our Jewish friends and neighbors.

The second lesson is that Simon and Jude traveled to places where they met people who were different from them. They didn’t see people in Persia or Armenia as barbarians or outsiders; they saw them as fellow children of God, and they wanted to share the love of God, the most important thing in their lives, with them. They didn’t see them as some kind of subhuman other; they saw them as beloved children of God.

Lastly, we can take comfort in the fact that we know so little about them. When we do our work, we may not be remembered in the history books, but people’s hearts can and will be changed when we share the love of God with them.

Last week, Bishop Curry challenged us to imagine a world where we responded in love when confronted with sin and hate, and that is exactly what we are called to do. We are called to look beyond our misconceptions and our prejudices to see the humanity in others. We are called to demand that our leaders and our politicians do the same. To do anything else is unchristian. We can disagree about policies or programs, but there can be no disagreement that every person born here in this world is a beloved child of God, granted dignity and life by God, and worthy of love. Yes, we are Americans, but we are also Christians. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, and our Lord is Jesus, and Jesus shows us that the way of life is the way of love. On that, there can be no compromise and no negotiation. God is love, and the way of the cross is the way of love. This is what we must proclaim to the world in our words and in our deeds, day in and day out. This is what Christians have done throughout the ages, and this is our calling in this age.