I WAS INVITED to preach for the sixth commemoration of the martyrdom of the Mother Emanuel Nine on June 17, 2021. The service was held at St. Joseph AME Church in Durham, N.C., jointly sponsored by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of the same city.

After accepting the invitation, I began to do some research regarding the events of that tragic evening of June 17, 2015. After the group had gathered in the basement fellowship hall of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., a young white man came in, and the class welcomed him and offered him a seat at one of the tables. Someone provided a Bible so that he could follow the study session. The Bible study leader for the evening was Myra Thompson. They were studying Mark 4, the parable of the sower.

[Jesus] began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”—Mark 4:2-9

The visitor that night listened attentively during the hour-long lesson. At the end of the session, everyone stood for closing prayer. The visitor took out his gun and began shooting. He told one of the participants that he was not going to shoot her so that she would be left to report what had happened. After the shooting rampage, he turned the gun on himself but discovered that all his ammunition had been expended. He then ran out of the basement fellowship hall, got into his car, and sped away.

I studied the parable and prepared a sermon, which I titled, “What Kind of Soil Are You Determined to Be?” I was warmly complimented for my presentation and hoped that I had gotten to the heart of its message. It was such a powerful word that I wondered why it had not deterred the visitor from the murderous action he had taken that night in 2015.

He had hoped that his heinous action would foment another civil war. This would be his response to the white supremacist claim that Black people were taking over the country. In his mind, this would be just revenge for his claim that Black men were constantly raping white women. How could he not be convinced of the evil of his intent and change his mind as he experienced the kind of hospitality of the members of the Bible class and the gracious spirit of the pastor of the church and the parable of our Lord?

Then I recalled a verse from Isaiah 55:11: “... so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Clearly the visitor did not have ears to hear what the Spirit was trying to say to him.

The parable had not succeeded in all it had purposed, but might there be broader intentions? Or extensions? Could the parable still be at work?

What I would ask the shooter

CONSIDERING SUCH QUESTIONS, I developed an intense longing to visit the shooter in federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. I would like to raise certain questions with him: How do you feel about the fact that divine providence allowed you to run out of ammunition before you turned your gun on yourself? How does the rape of Black slaves over the centuries compare with the occasional assault of white women by men of color? Would it change your mind if it were discovered that more Black women were victims of sexual assault by whites than the other way around? Should whites be exonerated for their brutalities against people of color during slavery and beyond?

What if it became clear that all people are the same in the sight of God and that attitudes about racial differences are deceptive and illusory? I would like to share my poem “A Conversation with Our Nation about Race” with him and to have him share his thoughts about it. At the end of such an exchange, I would like to know if the parable he heard that night at Mother Emanuel had brought him to the point of regret or remorse. Had he even heard anything like that in his Lutheran church? Maybe the parable was still at work in his heart and mind.

I would like also to know how he felt about the willingness of members of the victims’ families to forgive him although he had not expressed a desire for their forgiveness. Did he discuss his racist views with others in the prison or his family? Or were his attitudes shamefully private, only to be shared with the in-group of internet compatriots?

After this length of time of incarceration, has his thinking changed? The shooter acknowledged that after listening to the parable in the Bible study, he felt that if he did not follow through on his plan that night, he would not be able to do it. The parable created a moral spiritual dilemma for him—would he serve the cause of white supremacist hatred, or would he respond to the calling of truth, justice, and compassion?

A moral spiritual dilemma

TODAY, AS WE approach the seventh anniversary of the martyrdom of the Mother Emanuel Nine, all Americans are facing the same moral spiritual dilemma that young man was struggling with that night. Because Jesus’ parable of the sower has not yet completely fulfilled its purpose, let us encourage preachers around the country of all faith traditions to preach sermons prepared from Mark 4:1-9 or similar themes from other sacred scriptures as brought out in “Determined to Be Good Soil.” Can you imagine the impact of a nationwide Bible study, in effect, focused on Jesus’ teachings about gospel seeds falling on good soil?

It may be helpful in preparing for such a study to review two books written by family members of Mother Emanuel victims. The first book is For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre , by Rev. Sharon Risher, and the second, written by Rev. Anthony B. Thompson, is titled Called to Forgive. Each of these books review the details surrounding those horrible events, and we also see God’s grace at work calling people to the wisdom of Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

What a powerful challenge God arranged for the visitor to hear that night! If only his heart and mind were open to hear the voice of God, the world would have become a different place. As we hear the parable for ourselves, will we resolve to say yes to the gospel mandate and heed the prophetic admonitions? “When we all see we are one family / Life will be so much better for all … The blood in our veins should be crying / With their blood that’s still crying today.”

Determined to Be Good Soil

Lord, I have chosen to be your servant
Forever faithful and forever true,
Determined to be good soil for growing
Seeds of your kingdom that are breaking through

I surrender my body, soul, and mind
I yield my life to the Spirit’s control
I’ll help build the beloved community
To make every nation more just and whole

Forces of evil will not deter us
Neither hate, nor greed, nor lust for power
Will recruit us for demonic measures
To block your plans for this sacred hour

Now you await a bountiful harvest
Where all dwell as neighbors in harmony
Where righteousness flows like mighty streams
And the good fruit grows abundantly
                                     —James A. Forbes Jr.

The Sound Out of the Ground

Cain murdered and buried his brother
No one knew Abel’s blood had been shed
Out of the ground came a mournful sound
Abel’s blood cried out in his stead

Our precious children of Newtown
Ask us all for this one sacrifice
Grieve our demise with your eyes on the prize
Save the children, our blood paid the price

Young brother and sister died asking
Must we fall so that others seem tall
When we all see, we are one family
Life will be so much better for all

What is that sound coming out from the ground
It’s the blood of God’s fallen children
The blood in our veins should be crying
With their blood that’s still crying today
Rise above fear, speak out loud and clear
For our children, put weapons away

What is the sound coming out of the ground

​​​​​​​         It’s the blood of God’s fallen children
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​               What is their crying trying to say
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         We’ve got to stop this senseless killing
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         We’ve got to stop this senseless killing
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         We’ve got to stop this senseless killing
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         What is their crying trying to say
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         We’ve got to stop this senseless killing
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         We’ve got to stop this senseless killing
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​            —James A. Forbes Jr.

A Conversation with Our Nation about Race

Is it true that an idea that’s not true
​​​​​​​         Has enslaved many minds
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​     Causing them to see
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​  themselves as superior
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​      and others
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​             as inferiors?

This untruth creeps in almost everywhere.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         Indignities thrust upon residents of reservations
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         cruelty to brown children in border pens,
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         Black codes in the public square
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         corporate boardroom banter
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         when no one is paying attention.

Is the concept of race a mythic, microbic germ-like virus
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         that invades subliminally?
Is it an ideology that attaches itself to people of
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         similar attitudes and hues
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         and
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         bribes them with irresistible benefits
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         in exchange for conscience-less loyalty?

No one recalls when it first began its vocation of domination
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​      or
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         When it was too late to say “count me out”
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​               because
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         By then, it had become officially “just how it is.”

Whatever it is, it produces
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         falsehoods and fears
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         denials and guilt
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         regrets and remorse
resentment and hate.

This xenophobic monstrosity brings
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         mayhem
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         mischief
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         murder
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         and
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         brutality

When seduced by race character is flawed.
Some teach their children to embrace the fraud.
Delusions spread; prejudice gets stronger
Trusting relationships are NO LONGER!

Now it’s high time to come to our senses.
God’s grace will pardon all past offenses.
Repent, repair, resolve to make amends
For racism and all its violent sins.

Sharing their power, privilege, and pride
For some may feel like suicide.
But rather than risk eternal disgrace
Put truth, justice and kindness in place.
An instinctual sense of morality
Says when Black lives matter, all can breathe free.
The human family must protect this right
Making our world more beautiful and bright.

Lord, give us the courage to face what’s real.
To take the steps your love will reveal.
Heal our brokenness and our bigotry.
Make us a nation more pleasing to thee.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​         ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​             —James A. Forbes Jr.