RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY 2002
ST MARY'S WAVENDON
Murdoch MacKenzie
12 September 2004
Readings: Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15-20
Romans 13:8 -10 ' Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for whoever loves their neighbour has fulfilled the law......the commandments are summed up in this sentence 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law'.
This is Paul speaking but, of course, Jesus had the same message, as recorded in Luke 10:25 for the lawyer who stood up to test him by asking 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He asked him what was written in the Law and the lawyer summed it up as loving God on the one hand and his neighbour as himself on the other. Jesus said to him: 'You have answered right. Do this and you shall live.' But he, desiring to justify himself said: 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Do you know that parable ? It ends by Jesus asking: 'Which of these three proved neighbour to the man who fell among robbers?' The lawyer said: 'The one who showed mercy on him.' And Jesus said to him: 'Go and do likewise.'
Now the one who showed mercy on him was a Samaritan and the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. Were Jesus in Israel today it would have been the Good Palestinian or if he were in Milton Keynes.........? Well, who do you think it would have been about ? The good immigrant, perhaps, or asylum seeker, or the good traveller, the good gypsy ?
The poster for racial Justice Sunday suggests, as do the words of Tom Colvin's hymn that ' neighbours are rich and are poor, neighbours are black and are white, neighbours are near and far away.' Some of them are in Afghanistan and some in Iraq and some just across the English Channel, not to mention the Scottish border. And as the poster for this Racial Justice Sunday shows their skin is all different colours and yet they dance hand in hand because they are one race, the human race. The neighbours my wife and I know best are from Iran and they live just over the fence in Two Mile Ash. Though some of my best friends in Milton Keynes are Christians many are Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs and Bahai. 10% of people in Milton Keynes are from so-called ethnic minority groups and coming from Scotland I suppose I am one of them.
Interestingly enough if we think back over history it makes fascinating reading. In AD 43 Romans invaded and ruled till 410. A division of North African Moors defended Hadrian's Wall in the Third Century. Between 410 and 1066 immigrants arrived from Germany, Holland, Norway, Denmark and France - namely Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. None of them had a visa! The first Jews came in 1066 with William the Conqueror but in 1290 they were expelled and not till 1656 were they allowed back into England by Oliver Cromwell. In the 15th century Romani gypsies arrived from continental Europe but they had a rough time - In 1530 Henry VIII banned them. In 1553 Queen Mary banned them. In 1562 Queen Elizabeth banned them and in 1596 and 1601 she expelled black people from England. For two centuries from 1550 to 1750 French speaking Huguenots came to escape religious persecution, many to this part of England.
By 1660 there was a small but flourishing Jewish community in London and by 1750 about 10,000 black people were in Britain. Between 1845 and 1850 the Irish arrived, also in the 1850's the Arabs, from the 1880's the Jews, the Italians and the Chinese. After the end of the war in 1945 Czechs, Poles, Hungarians and Romanian refugees arrived fleeing from Stalin. In 1948 the Nationality Act gave citizenship to citizens of Britain's colonies. After 1948 there was immigration from the Caribbean and in the 1960's from the Indian subcontinent. In 1972 6000 Ugandan Asians arrived fleeing from Idi Amin. In 1968, 1971, 1981, 1993, 1996 and 1999 new laws were passed which sought to control and restrict immigration into the UK although Kurds, Somalis, Sudanese, Sri Lankans, Bosnians, Algerians and Philippinoes have arrived either as refugees or because they were needed such as our many nurses in Milton Keynes hospital. My own son-in-law is one of them and my two grandchildren are a quarter English, a quarter Scottish and half Bosnian.
When I first came to Milton Keynes I met a young man from Zanzibar and he showed me how his arm was dislocated at the shoulder as a result of the torture which he had received before he fled as a refugee. His face was also cut and disfigured and I asked him if that was also due to the torture. 'Oh, no' he said: ' that happened in Milton Keynes when I was attacked.' Racism and particularly institutional racism is quite common as is racial harassment. As a member of the executive of the Racial Equality Council I am at present helping the Chamber of Commerce to implement a racial equality policy. Graham Skipsey, as Convenor of the Social Justice and Global Issues Commission of our Mission Partnership is presently working on such a policy for all our churches. In my pocket together with my credit card, my card for the RAC and my Donor Card, I carry this racist incidents card, of which I sent copies to all churches about a year ago, which underlines the Thames Valley Police Commitment to Victims of Racist Incidents. If we are going to fulfil the law by loving our neighbours as ourselves then we need to do something about it, otherwise what point is there in coming to church and hearing the words of the Bible and allowing the seed to fall on stony ground. 10% of Milton Keynes means 22,000 people living among an ethnic majority of 220,000. Some, not all, but some of the 22,000 are desperately lonely, isolated and fearful in our society. Even some who are relatively stable such as the Sikh community suffer racists attacks. Last year on racial justice Sunday some of us, including Stuart Dennis, went to the Sikh Gurdwara to offer our solidarity as we spoke at the end of their service of worship. They were overwhelmed and expressed the wish to come to some of our churches and speak for ten minutes there to express their thanks and their solidarity with us. Although I have advertised this several times in the monthly information sheet, as far as I am aware there isn't any church which has actually done this. In the material which I have given to David there is a section called COMMITMENT AND ACTION - a whole page of suggestions as to what we could do to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. It could be the agenda for our next council meeting , that is if we are serious about loving our neighbours as we love ourselves.
And as the majority community, and as inheritors of the Biblical tradition of giving a special place to the stranger in our midst, it is our responsibility in the words of Jesus to the lawyer, to go and do likewise.
And to God's Name be the praise and the glory. Amen
Murdoch MacKenzie
12 September 2004
Readings: Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15-20
Romans 13:8 -10 ' Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for whoever loves their neighbour has fulfilled the law......the commandments are summed up in this sentence 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law'.
This is Paul speaking but, of course, Jesus had the same message, as recorded in Luke 10:25 for the lawyer who stood up to test him by asking 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He asked him what was written in the Law and the lawyer summed it up as loving God on the one hand and his neighbour as himself on the other. Jesus said to him: 'You have answered right. Do this and you shall live.' But he, desiring to justify himself said: 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Do you know that parable ? It ends by Jesus asking: 'Which of these three proved neighbour to the man who fell among robbers?' The lawyer said: 'The one who showed mercy on him.' And Jesus said to him: 'Go and do likewise.'
Now the one who showed mercy on him was a Samaritan and the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. Were Jesus in Israel today it would have been the Good Palestinian or if he were in Milton Keynes.........? Well, who do you think it would have been about ? The good immigrant, perhaps, or asylum seeker, or the good traveller, the good gypsy ?
The poster for racial Justice Sunday suggests, as do the words of Tom Colvin's hymn that ' neighbours are rich and are poor, neighbours are black and are white, neighbours are near and far away.' Some of them are in Afghanistan and some in Iraq and some just across the English Channel, not to mention the Scottish border. And as the poster for this Racial Justice Sunday shows their skin is all different colours and yet they dance hand in hand because they are one race, the human race. The neighbours my wife and I know best are from Iran and they live just over the fence in Two Mile Ash. Though some of my best friends in Milton Keynes are Christians many are Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs and Bahai. 10% of people in Milton Keynes are from so-called ethnic minority groups and coming from Scotland I suppose I am one of them.
Interestingly enough if we think back over history it makes fascinating reading. In AD 43 Romans invaded and ruled till 410. A division of North African Moors defended Hadrian's Wall in the Third Century. Between 410 and 1066 immigrants arrived from Germany, Holland, Norway, Denmark and France - namely Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. None of them had a visa! The first Jews came in 1066 with William the Conqueror but in 1290 they were expelled and not till 1656 were they allowed back into England by Oliver Cromwell. In the 15th century Romani gypsies arrived from continental Europe but they had a rough time - In 1530 Henry VIII banned them. In 1553 Queen Mary banned them. In 1562 Queen Elizabeth banned them and in 1596 and 1601 she expelled black people from England. For two centuries from 1550 to 1750 French speaking Huguenots came to escape religious persecution, many to this part of England.
By 1660 there was a small but flourishing Jewish community in London and by 1750 about 10,000 black people were in Britain. Between 1845 and 1850 the Irish arrived, also in the 1850's the Arabs, from the 1880's the Jews, the Italians and the Chinese. After the end of the war in 1945 Czechs, Poles, Hungarians and Romanian refugees arrived fleeing from Stalin. In 1948 the Nationality Act gave citizenship to citizens of Britain's colonies. After 1948 there was immigration from the Caribbean and in the 1960's from the Indian subcontinent. In 1972 6000 Ugandan Asians arrived fleeing from Idi Amin. In 1968, 1971, 1981, 1993, 1996 and 1999 new laws were passed which sought to control and restrict immigration into the UK although Kurds, Somalis, Sudanese, Sri Lankans, Bosnians, Algerians and Philippinoes have arrived either as refugees or because they were needed such as our many nurses in Milton Keynes hospital. My own son-in-law is one of them and my two grandchildren are a quarter English, a quarter Scottish and half Bosnian.
When I first came to Milton Keynes I met a young man from Zanzibar and he showed me how his arm was dislocated at the shoulder as a result of the torture which he had received before he fled as a refugee. His face was also cut and disfigured and I asked him if that was also due to the torture. 'Oh, no' he said: ' that happened in Milton Keynes when I was attacked.' Racism and particularly institutional racism is quite common as is racial harassment. As a member of the executive of the Racial Equality Council I am at present helping the Chamber of Commerce to implement a racial equality policy. Graham Skipsey, as Convenor of the Social Justice and Global Issues Commission of our Mission Partnership is presently working on such a policy for all our churches. In my pocket together with my credit card, my card for the RAC and my Donor Card, I carry this racist incidents card, of which I sent copies to all churches about a year ago, which underlines the Thames Valley Police Commitment to Victims of Racist Incidents. If we are going to fulfil the law by loving our neighbours as ourselves then we need to do something about it, otherwise what point is there in coming to church and hearing the words of the Bible and allowing the seed to fall on stony ground. 10% of Milton Keynes means 22,000 people living among an ethnic majority of 220,000. Some, not all, but some of the 22,000 are desperately lonely, isolated and fearful in our society. Even some who are relatively stable such as the Sikh community suffer racists attacks. Last year on racial justice Sunday some of us, including Stuart Dennis, went to the Sikh Gurdwara to offer our solidarity as we spoke at the end of their service of worship. They were overwhelmed and expressed the wish to come to some of our churches and speak for ten minutes there to express their thanks and their solidarity with us. Although I have advertised this several times in the monthly information sheet, as far as I am aware there isn't any church which has actually done this. In the material which I have given to David there is a section called COMMITMENT AND ACTION - a whole page of suggestions as to what we could do to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. It could be the agenda for our next council meeting , that is if we are serious about loving our neighbours as we love ourselves.
And as the majority community, and as inheritors of the Biblical tradition of giving a special place to the stranger in our midst, it is our responsibility in the words of Jesus to the lawyer, to go and do likewise.
And to God's Name be the praise and the glory. Amen
Murdoch MacKenzie