after 150 years no confession...

One hundred and fifty years ago
the boards where nailed in place,
the glass sealed into the wooden window frames,
and the steeple towered
over the tree out front.

One hundred and fifty years ago
the sanctuary
in the thick east Texas pines came to be
when slavery was still an institution,
when plantations
moved from the
deep, deep south
to the east edge
of the southwest.

One hundred and fifty years
we celebrated this past Sunday.

And yes...
somewhere
in the middle
of one brief speech
was mention of the
slaves
who had once
been owned and used.

However,
this reference came with hesitation
recognizing that indeed the founders
of this pristine antebellum church
had
like many others in that day and age
owned slaves.

"But set that aside," the speaker spoke...
"Set aside that reality
and still it must be noted
that our ancestors persevered
and withstood much hardship
to establish this place in the woods.
Evidence of the hand of God at work."

Set aside?
Set aside
the brokenness...
the hideousness
of all that it meant
for one human
to own another human
as we own a pair of shoes?

Set aside the
ignorance that was once
believed to have had Biblical basis
to deem another person
as being only 3/4 human...sub-human?

Set aside these grim facts so that
we might have a pleasant day?

Certainly a day
should be set aside
to remember and acknowledge
150 years of life.

Certainly in those
150 years of life and ministry
there were moments
and people to cherish.

Certainly there was
reason to gather,
reason to enjoy,
reason to laugh,
reason to share stories!

But never for one moment should
we have celebrated without pause...
without honest confession
that slavery was wretched.

Ruin the day
with ugliness?
No.

Instead,
have faith
strong enough,
courageous enough
to speak the truth...
and allow God's grace
to spill over.

Christian celebration
can only be FULL
when we bow down to confess...
for each time we do
God lifts us up to new life.

This past Sunday
we celebrated
without confession....
and yet
the very hand of God
working to end the
inhumane
institution of
American slavery
will continue to work
allowing grace
to prevail again.