%1

What to say: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

A couple of months ago in the Century, Thomas G. Long discussed temptations faced by anxious preachers who must preach week after week, sometimes for several services each Sunday. “What can I say this time?” is the angst-filled question of many of us. In an earlier day one could find Harry Emerson Fosdick’s sermons collected in his books, and Ernest T. Campbell’s sermons were mailed weekly from Riverside Church. But nowadays the Internet entices plagiarists with an unlimited selection of instantly available sermons. An answer to “What can I say?” can be provided with the click of a mouse.

Alternative freedom: Galatians 5:1-26

Americans celebrate freedom as a national right and immortalize its twin sister liberty in the glorious statue that many of our ancestors saw as they came to this country. For me, the great-great grandson of enslaved Africans, freedom is a cherished gift long withheld from those in my familial lineage. It is a goal long sought by my ancestors, one attained only at the high cost of shed blood and spent lives. It is a goal that echoes in the rich baritone of Martin Luther King Jr., who pleaded with our nation to “let freedom ring” for those who have been denied this right.

Unqualified Christians: Galatians 3:23-29

You may find it strange that I, an African American, do not believe in interracial marriage. I do not believe in interracial dating or even in having friends of other races. I do not espouse trying to understand racial differences or promoting awareness of other races. I can say all of this unabashedly because I do not believe in race!