Column by Mary Lee Talbot
There is a lot of noise in the world today. The Rev. Jim Wallis described his profession as “listening to the noise and trying to bring perspective to it.” Wallis preached at the 9:15 a.m. Tuesday morning worship service in the Amphitheater.
His sermon title was “Made in God’s Image — Or Not” and the scripture reading was Genesis 1:1–5; 26–28a, the creation of human beings.
“If there is one take away from (this sermon series), I hope it is that the issues our nation is grappling with are not just political, but theological,” Wallis said. “On Sunday we learned to see Jesus in the least of these; on Monday we talked about how in a democracy we cannot ‘other’ people; and today we are looking at the first chapter of the first book of the Bible.”
When the political noise gets in the way, then Wallis goes to work. The phrase “then God said” is a call to be quiet. God said let us make humankind in our own image, in our likeness.
“The image of God: either you believe in it or not,” Wallis said. “ ‘The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.’ You believe in it or not, and many of us are not sure we believe it.”
Wallis called the Declaration of Independence the first chapter of Genesis for the United States. It begins with the idea of self-evident truths, that all persons are equal and endowed with the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“Human dignity is key,” Wallis said. “What does Genesis 1 have to do with voting rights? Everything.”
In the 2013 court case Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court held that voting laws established in the 1965 Voting Rights Act no longer had to be followed. As a result, “new restrictions on voting have gone crazy,” Wallis said. He cited politician Stacy Abrams from Georgia who said that voter suppression was no longer by billy club, water hoses or dogs, but by administrative rules and closed precincts.
The recently passed SAFE Act has made restrictions even tougher, Wallis asserted. If you have a birth certificate or a passport you can vote. “I say it makes voting harder for racial minorities. The Christian Nationalists will tell you voting is too easy.”
He continued, “Any attempt at suppression is a political assault on the imago dei, the image of God. It is also a theological assault.”
Wallis helped found an interfaith group called Faith United to Save Democracy. It is working in 10 states where voter suppression is growing. They work with a group called Lawyers in Collars that trains clergy to be at polls where suppression is most dangerous, to make sure there is access for people and that information is clear. They are trained on how to de-escalate conflict. On the other side are people who are challenging people’s right to vote.
He shared the story of a chaplain at a polling station where a truck drove up with a Confederate flag, a Trump flag and another flag on the back. The driver took out his shotgun, cocked it and put it in his arms.
The chaplain walked out and asked, “Are you here to vote?” The man said, “I am just hanging out.” A while later, the chaplain walked out to the truck again and asked, “Do you need anything? Would you like some candy?” She kept talking to him until he drove away.
Wallis said, “Restrictions on voting for low-income people are rising. They don’t always have birth certificates. But we don’t want to believe there is nothing we can do.” The congregation agreed.
He was holding a training session at a large, mainline Protestant, mostly white congregation. They were not afraid that their rights would be taken away. Wallis told them about the Hispanic man who had served him breakfast at the hotel where he was staying, who was sure that he or a member of his family would be deported.
“How do we get those who are unafraid to talk to those who are afraid?” Wallis asked. This is where the Good Samaritan’s example of selfless giving came into play. The congregation had a substantial endowment, and many members were lawyers. They came together with the migrants under attack to see what they could do for them.
Wallis said, “People came alive by the church offering its resources to other churches. That is what I am asking you to do. I believe in the imago dei; I want you to act like you do, too.”
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton, senior pastor for Chautauqua, presided. Mary Beth Parrinello, a resident of Westfield and employee of the Chautauqua Visitors Center, read the scripture. The prelude was “Air from Suite No. 1 for Organ,” by Florence Price, played by Joshua Stafford, director of sacred music and the Jared Jacobsen Chair for the Organist, on the Massey Memorial Organ. The Motet Choir sang “For the beauty of the earth,” music by John Rutter and words by Folliot Sandford Pierpont, under the direction of Stafford and accompanied by Laura Smith, organ scholar, on the organ. Stafford played “Toccata in G,” by Théodore Dubois, for the postlude on the organ. Support for this week’s services is provided by the Gladys R. Brasted and the Adair Brasted Gould Memorial Chaplaincy.
