Reverend Mary Beth Morgan, preaching
Matthew 28:16-20
Degrees of Separation; Degrees of Community
You may have heard the theory of “six degrees of separation.” It suggests that all people are six, or fewer, social connections away from each other. Years ago, someone created a game “Six Degrees from (actor) Kevin Bacon”, which caught on. If you believe in the theory, or not, it is a reminder of our interconnectedness. In fact, Kevin Bacon has played off of this with advocacy for social distancing, by inviting people to respond to the hashtag #IStayHomeFor with the name of someone.
It could be #IWearAMaskFor, #IMarchFor, #IAdvocateFor…. It may be for ourselves, for someone close to us, or for someone we have never met. How might it affect us if we discovered we were six, or fewer, social connections away from George Floyd, or the names of so many others who were killed because of the color of their skin?
Jesus reminds us that we are all God’s children, of our sacred connection to one another, and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. This Sunday, we reflect on the passage in Matthew’s Gospel sometimes referred to as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). Jesus appears to the eleven, and tells them to go out to all the nations, get to know others who are different from themselves, and share what he has taught them. This begins with the Beatitudes, which emphasize advocating for, and with, the oppressed and marginalized.
Charlie Nelms tweeted, “Martin Luther King Jr. said it best, ‘there comes a time when silence is betrayal.’ There’s no better time than now to make our voices heard.” We are fortunate that a conversation with Charlie will be part of our worship service this Sunday. We are grateful for his wisdom and guidance. We will also have a children’s moment (in which we will share the story of Ruby Bridges), offer prayers, hear the scripture reading from Rodney Long, and be blessed by our music leadership with some wonderful and moving pieces and hymns this week. The sermon title is “Degrees of Separation; Degrees of Community”. If this will be your first time joining us, or if you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for decades, we look forward to connecting together on the livestream this Sunday!