The Sin of Racism

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 216)


"Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins..." It would be lovely if the way God set us free from the bondage of our sins was immediate and easy. However, my experience has taught me that God sets us free from the bondage of our sins after we have recognized what they are and have started acknowledging our complicity in them. 


One of the biggest sins we have wrestled with in the United States in the last few years is the sin of racism. Despite decades of fighting for justice and equality, black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are still held apart and held back by unjust systems. Despite decades of calling out these systems, white people have continued to uphold those systems, to our own detriment. Oh, that God would set us free from the bondage of the sin of racism, yet, we first have to acknowledge our own place in it.


February is Black History Month and now is a great time to start learning about the history of racism and oppression in this country.  Whether by reading a book by a BIPOC author to see a new perspective or watching a Smithsonian webinar on the history of African Americans in the United States (https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/), now is a great time to start learning what the sin of racism has done to all the people in the US and how we can start acknowledging and working towards freedom from this sin.


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