Column by Mary Lee Talbot
“I want to focus on Galatians 3:28 today. ‘There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus,’ ” said the Rev. Jim Wallis at the 9:15 a.m. Thursday morning worship service in the Amphitheater.
He continued, “These words are familiar to many. And they describe the three pillars of oppression — race, class and gender. These three are always deeply connected with injustice.”
Wallis’ sermon title was “Our Community is not a tribe: The Galatians Revolution,” and the scripture reading was Galatians 3:21–28.
Darius Jankiewicz, a professor of historical theology and field/ministerial secretary at South Pacific Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, wrote that this verse of scripture was the magna carta of the abolitionist movement. Wallis quoted him, saying that Galatians 3:28 is a “proclamation of spiritual equality and the seeds of social equality.”
That verse of scripture says that unity and equality are here and now; Black Christians agreed and heralded it. Martin Luther King Jr. said that segregation was “the blatant denial of unity in Christ,” according to Wallis.
Wallis noted that in the library at Fisk University there is a collection of Bibles from white slave holders and Galatians 3:28 had been removed from all of them, along with the book of Exodus. “People tend to deny or remove what they want to justify their ideology,” he said.
In his research, Wallis found that this scripture verse was used by the first Christians as a baptismal invocation and a proclamation of faith.
“Baptism is a public event that tells the world we are a community from many tribes. We say, ‘This is who we are’ — a community, not a tribe. If you don’t want to be part of a community that breaks down walls and divisions, then this community is not for you,” Wallis said.
He continued, “What if American churches used this verse as a baptismal rite? The world might see now who we are. Many young people are leaving the church because of the exclusion they see.”
As Wallis has been meeting people this week at Chautauqua, many have asked about his own faith journey and its relationship to the text. He was raised in an evangelical church, and at age 6, he and other unsaved kids were seated in the front row of the church when a visiting preacher came. The preacher asked them, “If Christ came back today and took your mommy and daddy to heaven, you would be left all alone.” Wallis started to think about how he would take care of his 5-year-old sister. In his church, people were baptized as adults, so at age 8, he was baptized.
When he was 16, Wallis began to ask the adults around him why the churches he knew were all white. He felt something was wrong in his city of Detroit, in the country, and in the church. He got no answers but was told if he kept asking questions, he would get in a lot of trouble.
“I tell my students to trust their questions and to follow them until you find answers,” he said. The congregation applauded. Wallis started going to Black churches and taking jobs where he worked with Black men. “In their life stories, I found answers to my questions.”
Wallis worked with a man named Butch, and they would talk for hours. One day Butch invited Wallis home for dinner to meet his mother. “She was just like my mom, someone who cared for her kids. Butch and I were talking about the riots in Detroit in 1967 and the police violence that happened,” he said.
Butch’s mother said, “Yeah, I tell my kids if you are lost and can’t find your way home, if you see a policeman, hide until he passes by, then find your way home.” Wallis thought about what his mother had said to him and his siblings. She said, “If you are lost, look for a policeman.”
Wallis continued, “Two moms, two worlds, two nations; one afraid (of the police), one who saw police as a friend. This is called proximity. This text (in Galatians) is about proximity. We have proximity in the church when we meet people who are different, and you thrive.”
At a meeting with Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for World Peace and a scholar of political violence, she told Wallis and the others present that underneath violence is the lack of belonging. She chided the group and said, “Isn’t that what you all are supposed to do?”
A lonely kid hanging out in an alley smoking weed is recruited into a gang for a sense of belonging. “The recruiter did not talk about political stances, but about belonging, meaning and purpose,” Wallis said. “Because people don’t have a sense of belonging, they defend against those who are different.”
He continued, “If the faith community is a place of belonging and proximity, then its mission is to overcome division, to live that vision together. You are elders, truth tellers, and you should also follow Galatians 3:28.”
He urged the congregation to create proximity together, for it is the only way to avoid political violence. “Proximity is what changes (the world), being in places you are not supposed to be or with people you are never supposed to meet. Elders can cross over and be community.”
He asked the congregation, “Can we do it?” The congregation responded, “Yes.” “Can I get an amen?” he asked. “Amen,” they replied.
Melissa Spas, vice president for religion at Chautauqua, presided. Linda Thompson Bennett read the scripture. Members of the Motet Consort — including Barbara Hois, flute; Maura Giannini, violin; Rebecca Scarnati, oboe; and Joseph Musser, piano — played Quartet in F Major by Alessandro Scarlatti for the prelude. For the anthem, the Motet Choir sang “The rain will seek the rivers,” music by Robert J. Powell and words by Beverly Easterling. The choir was under the direction of Joshua Stafford, director of sacred music and the Jared Jacobsen Chair for the Organist, and accompanied by Laura Smith, organ scholar, on the Massey Memorial Organ. Owen Reyda, organ scholar, played “Finale,” by Alfred Hollins, for the postlude on the Massey Memorial Organ. Support for this week’s chaplaincy and preaching is provided by the Gladys R. Brasted and Adair Brasted Gould Memorial Chaplaincy.
