SERMON: Learning from A Black Sacred Space

Feb 7

Written By Kendall L. Dooley

Spoken Live on February 6, 2022

at Kaleo Phoenix in downtown Phoenix, AZ

Maya Angelou: "Church" 1928-2014

It's Sacred; Church

Everything in God's world is sacred. Trees and

toads and little girl's eyes. Grandfather's hands

and the murmuring voices of lovers. Sacred.

A poet's dream, almanac compilers and rocks that

look up at the moon. Sacred. Everything can be

church and anything can be church.

Church was the first place where I came

child to spirit to Christ. "Suffer little children

to come unto me, for such is the Kingdom of

Heaven."

Literally, church introduced me to my very first

friend. Louise and I both thought the preacher

talked too long, Mrs. Sneed sang too loudly and

Brother Williams got too wild when he prayed.

We both giggled at the same time and cried just

as piteously when we were chastised.

Every time I feel the spirit, I know I am

immersed in the essence of church. That know-

ledge changes my voice. I speak more softly and

choose my words more carefully. There are more

"yes, ma'ams" and "no ma'ams" and "yes, sirs" and

"no sirs" in my conversation.

Out of my heart, out of my brain, more "thank

yous" slide across my tongue. I am blessed.

I am in church.

Church is not the luggage I bear, nor the cloak I

wear. It is neither the hat I sport, nor the shoes,

which carry me around my world. It is not my

destination, nor my place of departure.

I cannot define the breadth and depth and width

and height of church, but church can define me

always. It slides the skin over my muscles and

allows my lungs to inspirate and fill so that

"Hallelujahs" like rain come from my mouth,

"Hallelujahs" fall like rain from my lips.

Church is where I go when I want a certain ful-

fillment, and church is where I don't have to go

because it is always with me,

holding me up,

propelling me forward,

sustaining me.

When I think about church and remember that

church and I are one, I am reminded that every-

thing in God's world is sacred.

Happy February everyone.

First Sunday in February.

February is a good month because my wife and I can now start cooking and eating meat.

We were trying to not really eat meat the month of January.

I met with someone on Tuesday to eat bbq and yo! It was this place called Eric’s BBQ.

Super good I really recommend it.

Does anyone else know what month this is (Y'all can talk back to me today it’s alright.)?

It’s Black History Month!

I saw a TikTok this week that was trending that was Black GCU students asking people on campus what month it was.

Let’s say not many people picked up on the answer they were looking for, being Black history month.

Well, Happy Black History Month everyone! In honor of Black History Month I will share with you all some of my own experience within the Black church. We are also following the church calendar here at Kaleo which means we are in this season after Christmas called Epiphany.

There’s a lot going on.

Epiphany and Black History Month.

With God’s help, I’ll try my best to serve what God may be doing in this Kairos moment for us here at Kaleo.

According to the church calendar, our scripture today is Luke 5:1-11

Luke is such a great book to use to talk about what Jesus is like. I implore you all to read it yourselves some time.

Jesus gave his inauguration of the Kingdom

If you’ve missed out on the last few messages allow me to quickly update you on where we’re at now:

Chris shared with us about Jesus being baptized and the trinity being present at the baptism as Jesus brings God great joy. This was even before Jesus began his ministry. We see here that God loves without conditions. Which is a nice thing.

It proves the statement by Jurgen Moltmann true that “We are not loved because we are so beautiful and good. We are beautiful and good because we are loved.”

Then after Jesus is baptized he goes out into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and after that, he gives his inaugural speech as the true king of the world.

Jesus proclaims his mission statement to everyone, which is what Erin had shared with us a couple of weeks ago.

Jesus had fulfilled the hopes of his ancestors by bringing to life Isaiah 61, which he read. His reading of this sets up the backdrop of all of Luke. Jesus doesn’t hide his hand here but is pretty upfront about what he is about and who He stands for.

He states this in Luke 4:17-21

17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. (Here Jesus was not just talking economics but was also speaking about those who are of low social class, those who are disadvantaged in society)

He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the oppressed will be set free,

19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

What a boss! Right?

His mission was not just otherworldly spiritual but was a social here-and-now type of mission.

He then goes to Galilee and looks to find other people who will join him on this mission.

Allow me to read the passage for today, then we will talk.

Luke 5:1-11 The First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Let’s pray.

Jesus turned the boat into a sacred space for Peter.

Yet again we witness Jesus go from guest to host.

He first became a guest onto Simon’s (who he later affectionately calls Peter) boat, then became the host as he instructed Simon Peter to go out into the sea to cast his nets again into the water so that he may gain fish. According to the Bible’s narrative, Jesus’ mission at this moment was to gather people who would follow his way of life and form a community that would reflect the Kingdom of God. Peter’s mission at this moment was to well… catch fish for a living, and apparently, he was not able to do that last night. At the end of their interaction, Jesus gives Peter a vision that collides with both of their visions: To fish for people. As always, Jesus of Nazareth proves to be clever.

Even though Jesus used the perfect bait to gain Peter as a follower it appears that it was Simon Peter who was deeply impacted by this interaction. It says that Peter was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught.

There were so many fish that his boat was on the verge of sinking. It was in this moment that Jesus became someone special in the eyes of Peter.

Peter’s amazement most likely stems from two things: One, the event being uncommon and even miraculous, and two, recognizing that this person who was teaching on his boat was someone who appeared to be larger than life.

Now, I don’t understand why Peter didn’t have this same reaction and began following Jesus a few verses back when Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Maybe there was something fishy going on with their relationship.

We don’t know.

However, after this encounter Peter hangs up his nets and leaves his fishing career, and becomes a disciple, then an apostle of Jesus.

As far as Luke tells us this is Peter’s origin story as a disciple. For some of you, your initial following of Jesus may be a marker in your life and spiritual journey as one of amazement. The Jesus you were handed may look different than the Jesus you follow now,... but we’ll get to that later.

What’s special is that when Jesus becomes the host the space becomes sacred. The boat that Peter owned became a sacred space for him as he encountered Jesus who he saw as worth following.

He began to have a certain lens and viewpoint of Jesus that made him attractive.

The space turned sacred for him because it became a defining moment in his life that garnered meaning and is where everything changed.

That boat became a space where he had a meaningful time and became a significant marker in his life. He has felt head and seen Jesus.

Sacred spaces become meaningful to us.

Think of what may be a sacred space for you and why.

Take time to contemplate on that now…

The Black Church was a sacred space for me.

For me, the Black church I grew up in is a sacred space. I was born in the town of Hickory, North Carolina and moved to Cedar Rapids, IA when I was just a year old. My immediate family and I moved away from my cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents in North Carolina to Iowa.

My family found this Black church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to attend that was named Shekinah Glory Baptist Church, then later changed to Oakhill Jackson Community Church which I believe was the first Black nondenominational church in the city.

The church became an extended family to me. They became my aunts and uncles, and cousins. It was members of the church who would pick me up from school when I got sick when my parents couldn’t. It was people from the church who would watch and babysit my brother and I. It was a safe space filled with others who looked like me while I was in a neighborhood and school that was vastly white.

When I was a young kid I would be at church every day after school. We played games together, ate with one another, cracked jokes with one another.

We were family.

They loved me well and I had no reason to not believe what they were telling me about God and Jesus. This became my viewpoint and lens that started my journey of following Jesus.

My Black church peers who were like cousins and siblings to me were therapeutic for me. My Black church growing up was a place of Joy

We went to this camp called Kids Across America that was a majority of Black urban youth across America. The camp’s saying is that hype is a ministry. Every morning at the camp there was a cheer at breakfast to start off everyone’s day. The youth and kids at my Black church in Iowa took that cheer and we did it together every Sunday morning.

Kids would run around in a circle around the church with adults cheering G-O-O-D M-O-R-NI-NG GOOD MORNING!

Yet at the same time, my Black church was a place of suffering.

We had a time for testimonies every Sunday where people shared their financial struggle, their struggle to fit in white America, and the adversity they faced.

The church was in a low-income Black community that suffered from the ramifications of redlining and systemic racist systems that led to the low social status of the community’s residents.

One of my earlier memories of the church was helping record a gospel album called Crossover

It was songs retelling the story of the Israelites enslaved by the Egyptians and their story of freedom..

The first song was a cry out to God saying

How long will the pain with the pain goo, How Long will the moaning, goo unheard? When will we cross … over
Can you imagine how I pictured Jesus as a child? This was a Jesus who I loved to follow. A Jesus who felt like family and identified with the plight of Black Americans.

Black Church viewed Jesus as a liberator.

James Cone is a Black theogian who in his book God of the Oppressed discusses how Black American slaves best viewed Jesus as a liberator.

Their viewpoint and lens of Jesus was as a liberator.

Just as God had Moses free the Israel slaves in Egypt slaves in America believed Jesus and his Religion offered them the same freedom.

Cone states during the time of slavery in America while white Christians were debating theology and doctrine Black slaves were singing songs of Jesus as liberator who will set them free.

This is the beginning of Black Americans following Jesus.

Following a person who my ancestors believed would free them from their enslavement.

This is the beginning of the Black church.

Do you recognize Jesus as a liberator?

In Howard Thurman’s book, Jesus and the Disinherited he tells a story of being questioned for his faith in India.

He tells a story of sitting with another professor who couldn’t make sense of Thurman’s intelligence and his allegiance to Christianity.

The professor questions how Thurman could claim a faith where white christians were slaveholders.

He states that the person who wrote Amazing Grace was himself a slaveholder.

One of the slave ships that brought Black people from Africa into the Americas was called Jesus.

Thurman’s entire book is a response to this conversation he had.

In the book he talks about the actual Religion of Jesus.

Inferring there is a false Jesus in America, and that those who take in this false Jesus refuse to take in the Jewish Jesus of Nazareth who lived in poverty.

My wife caught onto this as we were visiting an old friend of hers in Kansas City who asked Erin to pray for a friend because they were struggling to believe in Jesus.

Erin replied to me later in the car saying I don’t know if I believe in that Jesus either.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer also hits on there being multiple Jesus’ in America.

A German theologian and pastor, during Hitlers dictatorship in Germany, Bonhoeffer speaks to the two Jesus’ in America telling us there was a white Christ and a Black Christ.

This is what’s said about him:

“Bonhoeffer wrote about two incompatible versions of Jesus in America—a “Black Christ” and a “white Christ” who were pitted against each other in a destructive rift. It was clear that Bonhoeffer related far more profoundly to the Black Christ—not as a recrafting of Jesus into a man of African descent, but in understanding Jesus to identify as a co-sufferer with the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. It was in the Black church that Bonhoeffer began to understand discipleship to include costly suffering in solidarity with disenfranchised people.”

The Black church has such a rich and beautiful understanding of Jesus and you will miss it if you never understand the importance of being a guest and learner from those who are different from you.

Learning from the margins of society.

Where are those who are in the margins of society around you?

Listen to them, let them lead, and allow them to be a guest in your home and heart, and allow them to turn into the host as you sit under them and learn from them.

I believe that you will be blessed for it. I know I have been.

And I know 8 out of 10 Christians and people in here will believe that Jesus calls us to care for the lost, least, and left out. However, how many actually choose to do life with those who identify as being in the margins?

I have a friend who adopted a latina girl who faced adversity through seizures. He shares in the story that He heard God tell him to come closer to his daughter while in her hospital bed. Later my friend discovered God telling him to come closer to his suffering adopted daughter was God telling my friend to come closer to Jesus, because that is where Jesus is at.

In the suffering with the margins. I have learned of pride in culture and ethnicity from my latinx brothers and sisters I serve alongside at Neighborhood Ministries. There is a strong sense of pride they carry when talking about their heritage. I have also learned the significance of honoring the lives of those who have gone before us.

We had celebrated the day of remembrance with the youth which is a spin of the Day of the Dead, Dia De Los Muertos. Also a couple of weekends ago I attended a Latinx memorial service that went from 5pm Sunday to Noon Monday. I had learned from my middle eastern refugee brothers and sisters to be hospitable with what you have.

On a trip to Macedonia, I alongside my peers served refugees living in tents between the border of Macedonia and Greece. While we were there visiting with them they would offer us food, water, and hospitality. I have learned the journey of becoming sincere and accepting the true self from my LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters. There is so much more to learn from the Black church than I have time to share with you all today.

I encourage you all to do your own learning, digging, and listening to the Black church and gain inspiration from its impact on our culture and how it models what the Kingdom of God may look like. Sadly, church is the most segregated hour because of the safe space that Black churches and ethnic churches are to its members.

It’s a time when people of color do not have to assimilate to whiteness or code switch and can be fully authentically themselves without systemic or cultural restraint. Today the Black church is still a place of safety and a getaway for many Black Americans.

However, multiple studies and researchers state that the Black church is on the decline. I can’t speak for others but my heart for unity and reconciliation is what influenced me to branch out into other spaces. To help model God’s kingdom on earth.

But I quickly found that in these spaces impacted by whiteness my Black church experience was neither valued or heard.

Efficiency and excellence were the greatest value leaving no room for my love of church as family, joy, and a sharing of suffering.

So now where do I go?

This is why I am glad there is a space like Kaleo where I can bring my Black church experience to the table.

However, there are times I go back to the sweet sacred space of Black church to bless me and speak to me.

Peter came back to that sacred space.

I believe Peter did the same thing. According to John’s Gospel after Jesus’ death, Peter returns back to fishing. We often criticize Peter at this moment as giving up on Jesus and returning to his old life. If we look closer though we can choose to believe that Peter had actually returned to the sacred space where he first became a follower of Jesus

The sacred space where he felt awe and amazement by Jesus. Hoping to feel it again.

It says this…

Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

To Peter’s surprise the risen Jesus reenacts the same scenario and shows up for him just like he did back then by instructing Peter to cast his nets in the deep water to catch fish.

The fond memory of the boat being a sacred space that Peter had was simultaneously a person. It was Jesus himself who was a sacred space for Peter. This is why we see Peter rush to Jesus in this scene. Jesus became a person of hope and safety to Peter. Jesus allowed Peter to belong with him.

Jesus becomes the sacred space and asks us to become a sacred space for people as well.

Perhaps that is what is meant to fish for people. To become a sacred space for others to come to and delight in. Are you a person others feel comfortable around why or why not?

Do people who occupy the margins feel safe in your presence?

Erin shared a couple of weeks ago that she doesn’t believe it is too much to ask to be surrounded by friends who are abolitionists.

People who bring Good News to the poor are seeking the freedom of the oppressed.

Would you consider yourself that?

Honestly, I am sure it is hard for some of us to be that because it has never been modeled for us.
The cold hard truth though is that not everyone has a space where they felt heard, understood, and believed in.

Especially a faith space that has done that for them.

It is hard for us to be a sacred space for others if we have never found one ourselves.

If the Jesus you've interacted with is not a safe and sacred space I challenge you to question if that is Jesus at all.

Sometimes we have a lens of Jesus that is through the eyes of the pastor who hurt us, parents who hurt us, or other Christians who have abused us.

If this is you I implore you to seek therapy, and seek healing. Healing of yourself will allow you to be a healing and soothing presence for others.

An oasis in the desert for people who are looking for water. People who are looking for sacred spaces.

Take time to say goodbye to the Christ in your life who has been harmful and unhelpful to the true social problems and injustices in our society.

It may take honest time to grieve & lament this departure of a false Christ if you are experiencing this right now.

The Good news is that because of Jesus the kingdom has been established here on earth and is modeled through church. And church is a people, church is us, and I believe church is family

Take you with me to the Black church with Jesus as liberator.

Since we are family I want to share my experience with you.

So for the rest of our time together I want you to come with me back into my sacred space with viewing Jesus as liberator and we will wait to see if he shows up for us.