We The People

On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: “A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you.” Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor. (Isaiah 26:1-6)

This reading sounds like a pep talk for America – perhaps it is a warning.  We are a strong country with a military that protects us from enemies and adversaries.  But, we are to be a “nation of firm purpose” keeping us in peace and always remembering we are one nation under God.  

One firm purpose is the combat of racism in all its many forms.  Some of us might say America is not racist.  “Just read our Constitution!” they might say: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”  Unfortunately, this wonderful and lofty commitment has not been evenly applied.  Our nation has not always been just; we have not been humble.  One example is white supremacy something we Christians do not think applies to followers of Jesus Christ.

Helping to blow apart that false notion is an October article in the magazine Commonweal: a review of religion, politics, and culture.  Entitled “An interview with Robert P. Jones: Baptizing White Supremacy,” Jones answers questions about his new book “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.”  This legacy applies to Catholics as well as Protestants.

Another historical account is provided by Jemar Tisby in his 2019 book “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism.”  His description of our being complicit with slavery is enlightening and disturbing.  He said, “It seems like most Christians in America don’t know how bad racism really is, so they don’t respond with the necessary urgency.  Even when Christians realize the need for change, they often shrink back from the sacrifices that transformation entails.”  

Let us ponder Isaiah’s words just as applicable to us today: "He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down. He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor."   Racism creates poverty and trampling of America underfoot.  

Deacon David Pierce