Preaching Racial Justice, edited by Gregory Heille, Maurice J. Nutt, and Deborah L. Wilhelm, is a timely and compelling collection of essays that addresses the urgent need for racial justice. Drawing upon the insights of a diverse group of Roman Catholic contributors, including theologians, pastors, and lay catechists, this book of essays explores how preaching can play a role in overcoming racial injustice.
The fifteen contributors encourage reflection and dialogue that both confront and enrich as they integrate personal experiences, biblical narratives, theological claims, and ecclesial traditions. None of the authors are afraid to challenge the reader to change their thoughts and behaviors. Understandably, this book is a call to action; namely, to “dismantle white supremacy so that nation and church can finally be free and just” (149). This action starts with challenging assumptions and having courage to admit being “wrong in some of our most cherished beliefs” (4).
One of the book’s notable strengths is the diversity of topics related to racial justice the fifteen authors address, such as systemic racism, white privilege, anti-Black violence, reconciliation, original sin, epigenetics, solidarity, and generational trauma. Without promising a “naïve and easy fix” to any of these complex issues, the authors adopt a strong dose of hope and faith in order to summon readers to “find ways forward to beloved community” (xvii).
The book is divided into three sections with each section beginning with a helpful introduction. Of particular note in the first section, “The Preacher’s Journey,” are (1) Dietra Wise Baker’s chapter on how her preaching changed “in the shadow of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson” and (2) educator Lynne Lang’s practical steps for restorative compassion in parishes.
In the second section, “Black Lives Matter,” the authors invite readers to “enter the lives of, and have empathy with, those who experience and endure racial violence and injustice” (78). In the opening piece of this section, author and coeditor Maurice Nutt offers a full sermon on Luke 6 that is an especially valuable addition. More examples like this full sermon would make the book even stronger. Still, those sermons that are included, even just as excerpts, provide illuminating examples of preaching racial justice.
The third section, “Ancestors and Stories,” focuses on the recognition of God’s truth through ancestral “stories and songs, cherished and shared in our families and communities.” Five authors from various racial and ethnic backgrounds present historical and contemporary examples that “God’s word has already been written on our hearts” (149).
The most unique aspect of this compendium of essays is that it offers a very fine example of how a Christian denomination can challenge its treasured ecclesial traditions as a way to move toward reconciliation, wholeness, and justice. Indeed “this book contributes Catholic voice to the literature of preaching about race” (xiii), and it does so effectively. Preaching Racial Justice is an unapologetic challenge by Roman Catholic laity and clergy not only to Roman Catholic preachers in the United States, but all preachers will be both confronted and enriched.
