A friend just sent me

A friend just sent me a link to the sermon that Kenneth Samuel preached at the recent general synod of the United Church of Christ. Given the powerful witness of that church — remember the “God is still speaking!” campaign, and their recent affirmation of marriage equality — this sermon is all the more powerful for its humility and rhythm. I’ve never met Kenneth Samuel, but his voice rings out in the cadences of this sermon:

"In Verse 10, God addresses the nation as the wicked twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because according to Ezekiel 16 in verse 49, the sins of Sodom are the sins of pride and inhospitable behavior toward the poor, the weak, the needy and the strangers. And what caused Sodom and Gomorrah to be destroyed are the same sins that were about to cause the destruction of Israel. This is the reason why God said to Israel, I will not receive your sacrifices. I will not honor your sacred assemblies until you, according to verse 17, learn to do what is right and seek justice. The King James version says seek judgment, but I’ve got news for those of you who think God only speaks in the King James -- that’s a bad translation. A better translation is seek justice. That’s more in tune with the original Hebrew. God is really saying that religious worship without social justice is futile. Praise without compassion is sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. Consecration to God without commitment to the poor is pointless. What good is one nation under God if that nation is divided by classism, bigotry and prejudice? What good is a nation that looks up to God in piety but refuses to look within itself and look over to see neighbors in need and people in danger? What good is it? What good is a nation that insists on displaying the Ten Commandments on the walls of our courthouses while we fail to ensure equity of justice in the halls of our courthouses? What good? What good is a nation that supposedly fights to establish democracy and equal opportunity in Iraq, but fails to deliver democracy and equal opportunity in these United States? What good is a nation like that?"