Sermon Details
- Pastor Name: Jonathan Cornell
- Date & Time: June 15, 2014 | 10:00am
In our lives, sometimes the wounds we inflict upon ourselves and one another, the dreams we cling to, the silence and the noise we endure, the injustice and the hopes we hang on to are too powerful, too personal, too memorable for us to endure on our own. In these moments, as the song we just sang proclaims, the Holy Spirit breathes new life into us, brings the presence of Christ to renew our hearts and heal us. Without Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit, reconciliation can become an impossible task—merely an elusive dream.
In 1958, Samuel McKinney began serving as the Pastor of Mt Zion Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington. Shortly after his arrival, conversations began to percolate about a man from the south who spoke of equality for all, a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. “Has anyone ever heard of this man?” was asked once in a meeting in which McKinney was a part. “I have,” McKinney responded, “we grew up together.” This initiated what would become an invitation to MLK to come and speak in Seattle.
Unfortunately, his church was too small for the expected crowds, so Pastor McKinney and his team went to their neighbors, the First Presbyterian Church of Seattle. A gentleman’s agreement was had, and a date was set to meet with the church leadership to discuss the particulars of the event.
As time drew near and publicity was being sent out, the two churches met. Leading the meeting was the clerk of First Pres’ session, a tall stately white attorney. “It appears that the proper paperwork was not filled out, so you will not be able to hold your event here,” the clerk said. “I thought we had a gentleman’s agreement,” replied McKinney. “No sir.” Then sensing the situation was getting tense, the clerk tried to soften things by saying, “We know you spent some money on this, give us the bills and we’ll take care of it.” “We don’t want your money,” McKinney said.
Even in a place like Seattle that was supposedly more open, deep injustices and deep divides were existed. Reconciliation was needed for healing to take place. Then about 50 years later, Dr. McKinney received a letter from First Pres, which he initially filed in the circular file. But something inside him said, “Take it out and read it.”
Download the entire transcript here: Reconciled Gospel According to St. Paul
