How do I, as a white, well-educated, heterosexual, Protestant, cis male, who would never knowingly sanction racism of any sort, reflect on "systemic racism"?

For those of us who try hard to so very hard to be good people (defined in no small part by being not-racist!), the phrase can spark a reflexive defensiveness ("Not me!").

Yet the enduring effects of racism in our society are clear on many fronts - from "red lining," to access to education, to criminal sentencing, to...

So how do I, as trying-to-be-loving-Jesus-follower, think about my part in the "system"? Might I be an unwitting participant in oppression? Can I even ask myself the question? And what if yes...?

For my part, it has helped greatly to shift the focus a bit from the specific wrong of racism, to the larger category of sin. Do I imagine that as a fallen human, sin has the capacity to distort my sense even of myself, and to inspire a selfishness I of which I might not be aware, a blindness I might unconsciously wish to perpetuate?

For some very helpful resources, here is a link to Canvas's Continual Learning series on Racial Justice

And if you'd like to follow along with the sermon text, the passage is:

• 1 John 1:1-10 (NRSV)

This sermon was preached on June 28, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA).

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