Getting a Handle on our Past

A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Randy K. Hammer, February 24, 2019

Luke 17:1-4; Galatians 3:28 NKJV

What I have to say to you today may come across more like a conversation than a sermon.  And I may have more questions than answers.  I want to share with you some of the thoughts and concerns rambling around in my head, in light of some of the things that have been transpiring in our country of late, especially in the area of race relations and those who have been cast in the spotlight because of incidents in their past.  And I want to be perfectly clear from the onset that in the remarks to follow, it is not my plan or intention to pronounce judgment upon anyone, either in the news, in our congregation, or otherwise.  But my aim is to try to lift up some of the issues of our day with the hope and goal in mind of trying to better understand them, as well as offer a few suggestions about how we might respond, and perhaps offer a word of good news for any and all who might carry burdens over past behaviors as well.

A newspaper story reminded me some days ago that this year is an important anniversary year for our country, but not an anniversary year we should be proud of or celebrate.  Four hundred years ago, in the year 1619, the first boatloads of African slaves started arriving on America’s shores to be auctioned off like animals.  The exact date is uncertain and is being disputed somewhat, but considering the year 1619 is close enough to cause all Americans to stop, take notice, and exercise remorse.  The slave trade, and the institution of American slavery with all the evil, tragedy, human degradation, and suffering that accompanied it, is without a doubt one of the two darkest stains upon American history (the other being the treatment of Native Americans).  But there is nothing in the American slavery saga that began 400 years ago to be proud of or to brag about.

But in spite of the fact that the great divide between the white and African races reaches back 400 years, we still have not gotten a handle on our history and past mistakes, as several recent sensational news stories have indicated.  Prejudice, racial profiling, racial suspicion, racial injustices, and past actions that once were commonplace but now are considered racially offensive – such things continue to plague us.  As writer William Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead.  It’s not even past.”

But the issues that really prompted this sermon have to do with what has been going on in the Commonwealth of Virginia of late involving their top government officials.  Someone dug up an old college yearbook containing a very unflattering (and what today is considered racially offensive) photo, supposedly of the governor.  At first the governor immediately apologized for the offensive photo, acknowledging how abhorrent and offensive it was and how sorry he felt about it.  But then he stated that even though it was on his yearbook page, he did not remember either the action or the photo, and it is not within his character today to consider doing such a thing.  In response to those who have called for his resignation, the governor stated that instead of resigning, he wants to remain in office so as to initiate a conversation on the issue and be a catalyst for positive change and better race relations within the state.

And then at the same time, another one of Virginia’s high-ranking officials has been accused of past sexual assaults.  So far two women have come forward alleging the assaults that took place some years ago.

Well, as I stated in the beginning, my aim today is not to pronounce judgment upon any particular person – either in the news or anywhere else.  The real question I have been wrestling with – and this is the real crux of today’s sermon – is this: To what extent and under what circumstances do we punish someone or hold someone accountable for something they might have done through youthful ignorance 30, 40, or 50 years ago?  Such gives rise to a number of other questions:

Is there a difference between one who committed a single act out of weakness or ignorance, versus one who has a pattern of repeated offenses? 

And what percentage of the population might not want all of their youthful lapses of judgment aired publicly for the whole world to see? 

And how do we determine which past actions of those in positions of leadership should be forgiven, and which past actions should not be forgiven, ones for which there are no statute of limitations? 

And, finally, how serious do we take the injunction of Jesus regarding forgiving those guilty of offenses? 

These are hard, complicated questions that don’t always offer easy, clear-cut answers. 

The truth is, many people in their youthful years slipped out of ignorance, weakness, or peer pressure and did things as teenagers or young adults that they would not do again if they could go back and do things over, if they had the chance.  As Nashville Tennessean newspaper columnist Keel Hunt put it, “what has happened to [Governor Ralph Northam in Virginia] could happen to many.”¹  The USA Today newspaper staff has researched hundred of college yearbooks from the 1970’s and 1980’s and they found numerous yearbooks from several colleges and universities that contain photos that today are considered racially offensive.

The Apostle Paul contended, you know, drawing on the psalmist, that “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).  In other words, there is no one who is completely pure and free of error or offense.  All of us are imperfect and make mistakes; granted, some people’s mistakes are much bigger than others.  And Jesus said, “It is impossible that no offenses should come” (Luke 17:1).  Most all of us, in some form or fashion, have sinned against or offended a brother or sister.  Such is the way of the world.

Well, as I thought about and labored all week over what I was going to say to you today, I guess what I came up with – the best I could come up with for the time being, anyway – is that all of the questions I raised above might hinge on two factors:

(1)      Was an action of someone’s past that later is revealed, casting a bad light upon that person and threatening to stain his or her reputation and possibly ruin a career, an action that was a crime, that broke the law, at the time brought physical or psychological harm to another person, something that would have been punished by law at the time the offense was committed had it been reported, and perhaps something that was proven to be a pattern of behavior?  For instance, child abuse, sexual assault, serial murder, repeated spousal abuse or domestic violence, and so on.  Any such actions by those in leadership positions, it seems to me, are deserving of judgment, the loss of one’s position, and appropriate punishment.

(2)     The other factor that I came up with having to do with someone’s past actions has to do with the circumstances surrounding that mistake, if it was a one-time youthful indiscretion or slip of judgment, was not a crime or breaking the law, did not bring physical or psychological harm to another person, but was an action that the exposed party now realizes was wrong or insensitive or offensive, one for which the person truly is remorseful, asking forgiveness, and a case where the person in question truly has changed and is striving to build on that mistake by becoming an agent of positive change in the world.  Under such conditions, shouldn’t we at least consider Jesus’ teachings about forgiving the offending party and give them a second chance to make amends for their past and do better in the future?  Or to frame the question another way, to what extent do we give place to the presence and power of grace in people’s lives, and when people truly are remorseful and are illustrating by their change in behavior and the good they have done that they are a different person?  Do we not have to make room for people to change and grow?

And speaking of grace, and returning to the topic of slavery that began in America four hundred years ago, how could we not be reminded of John Newton who was himself the captain of a slave ship that transported Africans to be auctioned off like property?  But Newton saw the errors of his ways and he was changed and he reversed the course of his life.  Newton became a powerful preacher of the gospel to such a degree that a larger sanctuary had to be built to accommodate the crowds and he penned that famous and beloved hymn cherished by the whole world, “Amazing Grace.”  John Newton was forgiven for the offenses he committed, was given a second chance, and was able to change the world for the better.

The long and the short of it is, sometimes people do need to be punished for their actions of the past that were hidden but eventually come to light.  But in other non-punishable cases, perhaps people are to be given a second chance for youthful indiscretions or lapses of judgment when they give evidence of real change and have the desire and ability to affect positive change for everyone. 

The issue is complicated; there are no bones about it.  But at least part of the time we should be careful about condemning someone outright, giving no room for forgiveness and grace, as we remember Jesus’ injunction that only those who have no sin should throw the first stone.  Amen.        

¹Keel Hunt, Knoxville News Sentinel, Sunday, February 17, 2019.     ²USA Today, Thursday, February 21, 2019.