8/8/2021 | Trinity UCC Worship Service Sermon Only | Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III

0:11 Let us go to the Lord in prayer at this moment on this day. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and see if there is any destructive way in me. When you discover what does not belong, remove it from me. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, you are my strength. Without a doubt, you are my redeemer. Holy Spirit, do thy will, do thy will, Holy Spirit, in the mighty, magnificent, awesome, majestic, powerful, and saving name of Jesus, who is the Christ, we pray. And the people of God, who love God, may say, Amen.

0:57 I want to take this moment and draw your attention to the prophet Isaiah, the 61st chapter, beginning with verse 1. I'm going to read from the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Version together, mixing those two. And let us begin as the Word of God states in Isaiah. The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. God has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoner. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. The spirit of the Lord is upon me.

1:54 The spirit of the Lord is upon us. The spirit of the Lord possesses us. This is the word of God for the people of God. The space, beloved, we call the church. In particular, the space that we love to call the black church, I would submit to you this day is under assault. Now, it is not under assault. It is not an attack by forces that are anti-black, secular or fundamentalists or conservatives expressing some type of subconscious racial hostility. Now, that is a reality in our world. But the attack that I speak of affecting and infecting the space we know as the church, specifically that we call the black church, This attack is not coming from without.

2:52 This attack is coming from within. Within the church is where we witness an unconscious attack by people who claim to love the institution but do not comprehend the purpose of this sacred institution. We call the church specifically the black church. Now, if I may stop here at this juncture and offer a quick definition of the black church, the OM3 translation and definition. For those who are uninitiated and think the black church is rooted denominationally, that you have to be a particular denomination to be a part of the black church, that you must be AME, CME, or Church of God in Christ, that you must be part of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention. No, no, no, no, that is not what I speak of. The black church is the gathering of black people under the calling of Christ with a specific, unashamed and unapologetic interest in celebrating and promoting the unique spiritual heritage curated by people of African descent. In other words, when black worshipers come together, we bring the power of grandma's prayers, mama's shout and our ancestors voice to the table to create a faith that is not European, but African centered, yet globally diverse.

4:24 The church, I say to you today, is under attack because many believe the church is a physical location and not a spiritual manifestation. Let me say it again. Some think it is a physical location and not a spiritual manifestation. Going to church is not about street address, but about one's desire for sacred access. Come on now. It's not about your street address, but it's about your desire for sacred access. When we realize it is our collective and individual gathering, when when our hearts point to God, this is when we are truly going to church. It's not when you get in your car, place your clothes and you come and sit in a pew, hear some music, listen to the preacher or utter some prayers.

5:24 It is when you gather together and you want that sacred access and gathering with other people. That's when you are going to church. You see, a lot of us go to service, but we ain't never been to church. A lot of us will go to a service, but we have failed to truly go to church. And in this moment of historical uncertainty, racial anxiety, Confederate inspired punditry and attacks on Democratic voting access and internal struggles based upon houses of worship, trying to get the attention of people that are outside of community, there is not another moment and time where we needed not only the Lord right now, but we need the power of the church. We must be clear and proclaim. We must be clear and proclaim the church is not about collections, but about connection. The church is not about seats, but it's about your service.

6:38 The church is not about the liturgy, but about liberation. It's not about acting holy, but living with humility. And I want to say this to you so that you know this, that an entire generation is disillusioned with the modern church. Now, they're not disillusioned with Jesus, but they are disillusioned with those who claim to represent Jesus. For the church, in this modern moment of antebellum insurrections led by people who call themselves evangelicals, the church in this modern moment, young people have now witnessed the Black Lives Matter movement that has been led by women but wounded by patriarchy wrapped in ecclesiastical garments. that this moment, this moment that is happening at this moment, the church in many ways has failed to communicate one simple radical idea. If you forget anything else that I say, I want you to know this radical idea that the church is called to communicate above all else.

7:51 that love is the central ethic of the gospel and justice is the pragmatic expression of this love in civic life. In other words, when you serve Christ, submit to Christ, are connected to Christ, love Christ, you recognize that love is the central ethic of the good news and to express that good news, you seek just action or justice in civic or public life. Our God is a God of love and justice. Our God is a God of love and justice. Love in public is what justice is, according to Cornel West. and rarely does this generation join a church because of a denomination.

8:51 No one's joining a church because we got nice architecture. No one's coming to the church because of local history or a long list of church alumni who are now ancestors who we called extraordinary saints because so-and-so did such-and-such in the church. They don't care. They don't care about our facilities. They don't care about who was in the church. They don't care about the denomination. They don't care about the architecture. They want to know what are we doing to express the love of Christ and make an impact in the city. They become part of a church because it dares them to live out a simple idea of being a people possessed by the spirit of God. You see, a people possessed by the unspeakable power and call of God, a people possessed to challenge power with sacred truth, a people possessed who recognize and understand that God plus one is always a majority, a people possessed. And I say to you today that we are called to be a people possessed.

10:03 It is the poet and the prophet I call Isaiah. Yes, he's a poet and a prophet. His name is Isaiah, who offers us insight into the call of the body of believers and the body of Christ, who have the audacity to call themselves the church. The community, the village, the people of faith can learn from this poet, learn from this prophet by the name of Isaiah. Isaiah is a poet speaking to a people who've been thrown into exile, watched as this nation that became a bastion of political corruption and obstructionism and moral confusion. Truth has been challenged and the anchor institutions in Israel are failing. Because they have surrendered to the values of the empire.

11:05 They've cast aside the Torah. The wisdom of quick financial gain has now become the wisdom of the day. The sacred wisdom of the Torah has been cast aside now because they want a quick buck. They are living in exile. They are underneath empire. Isaiah is speaking about a new nation and a new community and what this nation shall become if the people are willing to be possessed by the spirit, by the breath of God. Hear the poet this day, the spirit of the Lord. Let me give you another translation. The spirit of the Lord, the breath of God is upon me. God has anointed, that means set apart, anointed me to proclaim the good news to the economically exploited.

12:07 In other words, the poor. Isaiah speaks with divine authority stating a people possessed make the poor a priority. Let me say it again. People possessed make the poor a priority. They make the poor a priority. I'd have to say it this way. I love worship. Love everything about worship. I love the music in church. Can't wait to hear the music in church. I love preaching. I love to hear people preach. I love the word as it goes forth. I love to hear the beauty and the poetry of prayers that are offered. I love theology. But if we do not take hold of something as simple as making an impact, making an economic analysis now that does not sound so theological but that is what Isaiah is saying is saying your spirit of the Lord is upon me and it's called me to preach this good news preach this love and justice to the economically exploited in other words that if you are going to demonstrate that you truly are possessed by God you've got to tear down some structures that keep people from living out their full humanity.

13:34 Our preaching and our ministry must confront the reality of the world that seeks to exploit those who are poor, and this world creates structures to keep them poor. You see, if a church never speaks about food insecurity, if a church never says a thing about health care, If a church never speaks about housing and homelessness, the trauma that's created by a nation that has unethical structures, if a church does not engage what keeps people from reaching their highest level and the systems in place, then we are not following Christ. We are just becoming comfortable in the culture. If you want to see the church rise and witness a new generation take leadership, then speak some truth to power and make the poor priority in ministry, speech and action. I want to say this. I want to say this. I want to say this to everyone who is under the sound of my voice that we're about to move in back into this church.

14:46 Not everybody. We've had these major protocols going on, but I want to say it this way. That it's nice. We are going to worship. It's going to be powerful, but God has spoken to us in a special way. That this is a beautiful building, but there will be no blessings coming from this building until we make an impact in the community. That is our role. What would happen? What would happen if we were to close our doors, never open again? Would anybody in Washington Heights even recognize that the doors were closed? That should be the metric that we use to measure whether or not we make an impact. Does it really make a difference or is it just for us so we can say we were doing something? No, God has called us to make an impact and be a people possessed.

15:50 Scripture states proclaim liberation to all the captives. Isaiah is speaking on behalf of God to the people, a people who have been victimized by policies first by Egypt, better known as slavery, and now Assyria. In both counts, they were viewed as only three-fifths of a human being. They were only considered to be subhuman. They were not fully, full citizens. You see, if we are to be a people possessed, not only must we make the poor a priority, but we must have a heart for the oppressed. Our ministry must raise questions. if I may teach this for a moment, about suffering and how do we alleviate this suffering for those who are poor and those who've been locked out by systems that keep them from thriving. We must raise questions about how we disenfranchise ourselves.

16:56 That as a community, we still believe somebody else's ice is colder than our own. we must make declarations let me help you out there's something here that we have done at trinity that many of the members don't even know that we do it that there is a particular three prong priority that uh that we utilize when we're doing work here at trinity whether it is the renovation of our church the work down the street at imanti village or even when we rebuilt the library three prong strategy just simply says this first of all if anybody working any type contract we got to do. It's got to make sure that contract, those contractors that we are hiring black contractors, because that money has got to go in back into the community. The second thing that we've got to, we always do is we make sure that people who are being hired, that somewhere working within that system, you have people who are coming out of the mass incarceration system so that we can put them on their feet and they can begin to develop and grow and possibly even start their own business. And the third thing is, is about the caring for God's creation. So whatever we do in terms of any type of work, it's got to make sure that it seeks to be able to upend the idea of environmental racism. That's an undergirding ethic for everything that we do in any large project that we raise that question. So down at Amani Village, they said, all right, It's got to be black. It's got to dismantle mass incarceration. It's got to be green.

18:33 Down in Andalaya, they say, hey, we got to make sure it's black, dismantle mass incarceration and make sure it's green. Here at Trinity, when we renovated the church, it's got to be black. It's got to dismantle mass incarceration and it's got to be green. Those simple three things, because we want to make sure that we are making an impact economically, making an impact in dismantling mass incarceration and making an impact in caring for creation. And I'm here to let you know, cute is no longer an option at church. When we come back, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can come through if you want to wear your Sunday's best, go on with your bad self. But I'm here to let you know that when you come into church, we're coming to worship and we're coming to get our marching orders in terms of what God is calling us to do in terms of work. We must create space to dance and dare seek deliverance from forces seeking to snuff out the light of our very humanity. We must be a people possessed. We must have a priority for the poor. We've got to be concerned about those who are oppressed.

19:52 But scripture also says release the prisoners. You see a people possessed seek to liberate the imprisoned. I've had many conversations with different people and they say, well, there's this focus on on prisoners Moss. I'm not sure about this. You must understand there is a system in place that wants to incarcerate black women and black men. And if you read Ta-Nehisi Coates' article in The Atlantic, in terms of what incarceration has done to the black family, 70% of people who are incarcerated are non-violent offenders and have been incarcerated because of the war on drugs. read Michelle Alexander's new Jim Crow. And as a result of that, prisons have been privatized and have become one of the great profit, profit creating entities in America.

21:00 And we can no longer, we can no longer sit idly by and just pray for prisoners. And that's why I I love our prison ministry because our prison ministry is more than just prayer and prayer is needed. Prayer is central. Prayer is important. But prayer, but also changing policy so that we can pray, change the policy, then offer a hallelujah when the policy has been changed. that we have seen incarceration destroy families, children who grow up without mothers and without fathers, and we think it's normative, and then we valorize going to prison. No one should celebrate going to prison unless you're going for a cause to liberate other people.

21:58 No, no, we want to dismantle this system, a system that is destructive to the human personality and detrimental to the soul. And Isaiah, the prophet, hundreds upon years before any of us were born, had already proclaimed that part of the role of those who love God, you must set at liberty those who have been imprisoned so that they may have a second chance. Is it not interesting that many of you who remember the 80s and the 90s, that they were saying lock up everybody who was smoking crack, selling crack, make sure they throw away the key that they are in prison for 20, 30, 40 years. But now that we are talking about opioid addiction, all of a sudden it's now a public health crisis and we have to help these poor souls that they have to get off this addiction and these drugs, that it is a medical issue. The only difference is, is that crack they saw as a black and brown issue.

23:11 Opioid they now see as a rule and white issue. And all of a sudden the policy is very different because you see the policymakers do not want to imprison their own children and their cousins and their aunts and their uncles. No. Well, scripture says we are to release the prisoner because Isaiah understood that there was a system in place that was putting people in prison, not because they belong, but because it creates profit. And if any people understand the problem of mass incarceration, it should be people of African descent. It should be people such as us. People possess, see, to liberate those imprisoned. And the poet witnessed Jewish people imprisoned for profit.

24:09 with something else that Isaiah, as he is speaking, is sharing something rather powerful. You see, he understands that the people were in part of an empire that was oppressing them. But there's something I'm here to let you know that when we recognize that we are called to make the poor a priority, that we are possessed when we are liberating the oppressed and setting the prisoner free, that something happens when we are possessed by the breath of God, that there's nothing more beautiful than watching redemption in the life of someone you love. I've said it many times before. There's nothing more powerful than watching someone who was formerly incarcerated turn his or her life around. There's nothing more beautiful than seeing someone addicted make the proclamation that they are sober?

25:13 Because it is these individuals, these individuals who are able to worship at a different level. You ain't heard a shout till you hear the shout of someone who's been drug free for 10 years. You ain't heard a shout until you hear the shout of someone who was incarcerated, but turned their life around. That is when real worship begins to happen because at that moment, there is an impact that is palatable and can be witnessed. And God is calling us to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Proclaim that our debts are forgiven. That is what Isaiah is saying. That is what is being stated in the scripture. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. In other words, it is the year of Jubilee that my debts are forgiven.

26:10 And what the prophet is trying to tell the people is that though you are in the midst of empire and you've taken on the value system of the empire, let me take you back old school and remind you that there was something called the year of Jubilee. The year of Jubilee was about forgiveness of debts because God forgave your debts. You should forgive the debts of those who are poor for every generation, every 50 years. And in that 50th year, everyone celebrates for what has been forgiven in their life. And I say to you today, this is the year of Jubilee. This is the Sunday of Jubilee. Why? Because if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, Jesus has already forgiven you.

27:03 Grace has fallen upon your life and upon your household. And if God has set you free, if God has forgiven you, then you ought to open your mouth and not only say thank you, Jesus, but also say this is the year of the Lord's favor. How do I know? Because I walk in God's favor. I shouldn't be here, but I walk in God's favor. I walk in God's light. I walk in God's with God's direction. I thank God that God has set me free. And I believe we are called to be a people possessed, possessed by the spirit of God, by the breath of God. We will come back into this church, but we will not come back the same after experiencing COVID.

28:09 God is calling us to be a people possessed. I thank you for being with us on this day. I thank you for joining us online. and I invite you if you have not made a commitment to Jesus Christ because I believe Christ is the answer that when you give your very heart and soul and mind to Jesus Christ Everything changes when you choose to be a disciple. Not just a momentary feeling, but I mean give your heart to Christ. And we invite you right now that if you want to give your heart, your spirit to Christ at this moment.

29:08 Right up on the screen you see information. You may become a part of this village. You can call or send an email. I'd invite you to do that now. Wherever you are, wherever you are worshiping, send us a note. Give us a call. If this ministry has been a blessing to you, if the music, if the prayers, if the ministry work we do in the community has in some form or fashion blessed your life, tell us the story. give us the testimony. The reason we want the testimony is so that we can share it with others.

29:51 But we want you to know that we are just a small branch upon a much larger tree. We're seeking to do this work here in Chicago on the South Side. But we believe and partner with churches all across this globe that believe in making an impact. Impact. To be a people possessed is to make an impact. Making the poor a priority. To liberate the oppressed and the prisoner. to know that the year of the Lord's favor, that God's favor is on you, that God has already forgiven us of our debts. It's our responsibility to live out that beautiful grace that God has offered us.

30:52 Thank you for being with us on this day. I would invite you to continue in prayer for this ministry as we're preparing to come back in a very, very limited way. And as we keep our one eye on the CDC and the Delta variant and the other eye upon God, making sure that we are doing what God is calling us to do, not what seems convenient for us to do, but to ensure that people are safe and that we can not only worship, but do the work to make an impact. Let me just pray with you right now. May the spirit of the living God fall fresh on you. May you know that you are called to make an impact.

31:49 May you wrestle with the call in your life. May God's angels cover you and may you be released from any fear or trecidation that may hold you back. May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sunlight of Jesus Christ always grace your cheek and may rain gently fall upon your field. And may God