Say it Like You Mean it: The Confession of Belhar

August 21^st, 2016       “The Confession of Belhar”     Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Say It Like You Mean It – Confessing Our Faith

Philippians 2:5-11 and Ephesians 2:11-22

          This morning we continue our summer sermon series “Say It Like You Mean It” about our Book of Confessions.  Throughout the summer months we have studied all the confessions in the PCUSA Book of Confessions.  We have looked at the ancient creeds and at the creeds arising during the violent period of the Reformation.  We have studied the Theological Declaration of Barmen from Germany in World War 2.  We have also discussed the modern creeds of the Presbyterian Church including the Confession of 1967 and the Brief Statement of Faith.  This Sunday we complete our sermon series with a look at the most recent addition to the Book of Confessions, the Confession of Belhar.

          Like many of the early Reformation creeds, and the Declaration of Barmen, the Confession of Belhar is a statement that is geographically located.  This Confession comes from the struggle with racism and apartheid in South Africa.  That country has a long and complicated history of racial segregation beginning with the arrival of Dutch settlers in 1652. 

          When the Dutch arrived they brought with them Reformed Christianity.  Over time the Dutch began to think of themselves as the indigenous people of South Africa.  And before you judge that strangeness, think of how Europeans have come to think of themselves as the indigenous people of the United States!  The Dutch began to call themselves Afrikaners and they spoke their own language Afrikaans. 

          By the late 1800s gold and diamonds were discovered in South Africa.  This generated a lot of outside interest and the British began to exert force in the country.  They enforced English as the official language and dominated the Afrikaner population as well as the colored people of the country. 

          In 1948 the Afrikaners overthrew the British government.  They were now free to dictate what they felt was best for the country.  Racism was already firmly established as colored children were banned from schools as early as 1861, but now things began to escalate as Afrikaners denoted a strict separation of the races.  No interracial sex or marriage was allowed, all public venues from buses to hospitals were strictly segregated, and nonwhite people could be detained at any time.  All colored people were required to always carry a passbook containing identification information.  Although only a minority of the population spoke it, Afrikaans became the official language of the country.

          Church too was a place of separation.  Early on the Dutch had been eager to share their faith with the heathen people of South Africa, but they had a strong desire to remain separate in worship and governance.  While they established the Dutch Reformed Church for themselves, they also created the Dutch Reformed Missional Church for all the colored people of South Africa.  Over time the two churches did not get along, and the Dutch Reformed Church constantly overruled decisions made by the Missional Church.  For over a century one church dominated the other based on racial differences.

          Violence in South Africa increased in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s as people of color sought equal rights within the nation.  Memorable events include the Sharpsville Massacre in 1960 where unarmed Africans gathered at a police station for peaceful protest only to be attacked by white police.  67 were killed and 186 were wounded including women and children.  Over 80% of the injuries were folks shot in the back as they fled.  It was after this incident that Nelson Mandela was arrested and imprisoned for his support of the movement.

          Another famous moment of violence occurred in 1976 in Soweto.  Laws had been passed that all schools including the colored ones would teach in only the Afrikaans language.  Many teachers did not speak the language and were fired.  Students could not write in the language and many that could refused to participate in the language of the government that oppressed them.  By this time a quarter of a million children were out of school.  Many children gathered to protest the situation in Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg, only to be met by armed white police officers who shot into the crowds of children.  As news of the death of children began to spread, rioting flared throughout the country and hundreds of the people were killed.  The country seemed destined to be forever torn against racial divides.

          In was into this environment that the Confession of Belhar was written.  Even in the face of violence and injustice, the Dutch Reformed Church continued to openly support apartheid and racial segregation.  The church felt that separation of the races was the will of God and they used biblical, moral, and theological justification for their arguments. 

          Finally in 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches representing 200 denominations and 75 million Christians declared that the South African Dutch Reformed Church was out of line.  It declared that the denomination’s support of systematic racism was heresy and the Dutch Reformed Church was kicked out of the Alliance.  It was a stinging blow to the 1.2 million members of the South African Church.  The Missional Church of South Africa agreed with the ruling and offered the Confession of Belhar in support of the decision. 

          The confession itself has three themes: unity, reconciliation, and justice.  Following Paul’s line of thought in the letter to the church in Ephesus, the confession discuss unity as a gift of Jesus Christ.  Through the work of Christ, God has brought differing people together into true unity.  The forced separation of people is a sin and is against the will of God for humanity.

          The theme of reconciliation is lifted up as God’s desire for relationship with us and our relationship with each other.  In the famous hymn from Philippians, we remember that Christ emptied himself, lowered himself, to be one with humanity.  Through Christ, God took action to reconcile with us.  We therefore should take action to reconcile with each other.  Again, any forced separation of people along lines of race or any other differentiation is declared to be against the will of God.  This separation is an obstruction to the gospel.

          Finally the confession clearly lays out the issue of justice.  God has called the church to work towards justice in the world.  The church is to offer special care to the poor and oppressed of our world.  The church is called to speak out against those in power who would use authority for selfish gain.  If the church is not fighting for justice in the world, then the church is not the true church of God.

          The Confession of Belhar was originally adopted by the Dutch Reformed Missional Church in 1986.  Following change in South Africa, the World Alliance allowed the return of the Dutch Reformed Church as it adopted a statement declaring apartheid a sin in 1998.  In the years following, several other reformed denominations adopted the Confession of Belhar as part of their confessional statement. 

          In 2004 the Racial Ethnic task force of the PCUSA invited the denomination to consider adopting the confession ourselves.  Study was encouraged by all folks in the denomination and in 2008 the General Assembly approved the confession and sent it to the Presbyteries for approval.  The motion failed by just 8 Presbyteries.  The process began again at the 2012 General Assembly and this time was approved by the 2/3 majority of Presbyteries in 2014.  At this summer’s assembly, the motion passed the final vote and now nearly 40 years after it was written, the Confession of Belhar will be added to our Book of Confessions.

          So again we ask, “Why do I care?”  Just as with all the confessions we have studied this summer, the issues that the writers of the confession sought to address are still issues in our world today.  While the United States does not have legalized systematic racism to the level of South Africa in the 20^th century, we certainly have a strong undercurrent of racism that is tacitly accepted by those in power in our country.  As a nation, we continue to struggle with issues of racism, power, and authority and it is all too easy for the majority of us to simply ignore the problem or to pretend that it does not exist.  The Confession of Belhar reminds us that even though we might not experience racism ourselves, that it is the call of all churches to stand up for justice in the world and to fight for the equality of all people.  If we are not speaking out and standing up against racism, then we cannot call ourselves the church.

          As this summer sermon series draws to a close, it is my hope that you have gained a deeper understanding of the Presbyterian denomination and our history as a church.  I know that I personally have learned a lot about the confessions and I have gained a much greater appreciation for our Book of Confessions.  I hope that you have too.  Personally, I thank God that I am called to be part of a church that tackles challenging issues of theology, that questions power and authority, and that continually strives to serve the needy and spread the gospel with integrity. 

          In a world that calls us to only watch out for number one, I am proud to be part of a church that has spent centuries standing up for the little guy.  May we continue to move forward together as a denomination, seeking reform among our own ranks and in our world.  God bless this church!  Amen.

          Our declaration of faith today is from the justice section of the Confession of Belhar.  Let us stand together and “say it like you mean it!”