What matters is not what we do today. Not how large or loud our protest is. It matters what we do the next day and the day after that and the day after that. Are we willing to put in the work to bring about justice in our communities, our nation and our world? The outcome of a court case wasn't going to transform our world overnight. It is going to take blood sweat and tears. Well Trayvon Martin's blood has been shed. His parents and all who stand in solidarity with them because they know what it's like to lose someone to senseless violence or to be treated as less than for no real reason, we've shed a river of tears. Now the question is, are we going to work hard enough to sweat for the kind of community where we can all feel safe, valued and equal? Those shed blood and tears are only good if they result in something positive: a beloved community.
Many of you may feel hopeless, many of you may be in pain, all of us feel ignored. And while it will take time and our ceaseless efforts to create a society that alleviates that, I came here to tell you that my God is ready to alleviate it right now. Because before Trayvon Martin there was a man called Jesus. They took him in the middle of the night, held a trial on trumped up charges and found him guilty, beat him, hung him on a cross to ridicule him. And then he died and the world forgot about him. He lay in a grave for three days while the world went about his business. But on the third day he rose with all power in his hand.
I know you feel like society has judged you wrongly, beaten you down and then forgotten about you, but I came to tell you there will be a resurrection day, for you, for me, for Trayvon Martin. And you will rise up with power in your hand. What did Jesus do with the power his Father gave Him? He didn't go getting revenge on all the people that did him wrong. He did something even more powerful: he loved them. Perfect love casts out fear and I am tired of being afraid. Perfect love banishes evil and I am tired of the evils in our society. Perfect love puts us in solidarity with God, our brothers and sisters, our neighbors and enemies, and I am tired of feeling alone and angry at others.
There will be times when we are beaten down, treated unfairly, ignored. But when everyone else has counted you out, God has not forgotten and will give you that chance to transform yourself and your situation. And even in the midst of our tears and pain, we can take some small comfort in that and prepare ourselves for the mountain of work before us.
Let us love, comfort and support each other now in this trying time. And let us always keep fighting.
God help us.