If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. - Psalm 139:11-12

One of the reasons I am Presbyterian is our emphasis on the transformational role of church in society. We are not sectarians who have nothing to do with "worldly matters." Neither are we pietists who believe that the gospel has only to do with the individual. We believe that sin is both individual and corporate in nature. It can be embedded in social systems and power structures that magnify its capacity for evil and injustice. In this regard we stand firmly in the tradition of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets. Like them, too, we also believe in the power of the gospel to redeem and to heal.

There are occasions when the church cannot remain silent and must speak its word of divine judgment and hope. We call them " kairos" moments - occasions of both spiritual and social significance. One such occasion is before us now, as we wrestle with allegations of sexual assault that bear on the exercise of power at the highest levels of our government.

It is not my purpose here to advocate for or against the Supreme Court nominee or his accuser. Indeed, by the time you read this, the disposition of his nomination may be resolved. But this kairos moment presents the larger question of how we as a church and a nation respond to victims of sexual assault in our own families, churches, and communities.

Studies indicate that at least one in three women and one in six men experience sexual violence at some point in their lives ( https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics). At any given service of worship it is almost certain that in the congregation will be multiple persons - both women and men - who carry with them the life-changing trauma of sexual violence. But it is a topic that one almost never hears from the pulpit.

Shannon Kershner is the Pastor and Head of Staff at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago. In addition to serving one of our largest and most iconic congregations, she is one of the most gifted preachers and leaders in our denomination. Last Sunday she preached a sermon that earned a standing ovation. It addressed our ongoing national conversation about sexual assault. It is a powerful message of healing and hope. Her sermon is too long to post here but I want to share a portion of her message:

So this morning we say to children, to youth, to young men and women, and, yes, especially to those who have borne the shame for decades, "No more." For all those who grew up never hearing a word about it spoken inside the building with pews, a table, and a font, we say "No more." On this day we acknowledge the violence done to you, and we drag it out into the light to reveal it as the sin it was and is; the horror it was and is; the evil act it was and is.

As a part of the body of Christ, we refuse to hide any longer behind any scriptures that have been misused and abused to justify it. We refuse to hide any longer behind the fear of upsetting each other. We refuse to hide any longer behind the fear of being labeled as too political in the pulpit. We refuse to hide any longer behind any excuse that it was the alcohol that caused it to happen or it was just the indiscretion of youth that caused it to happen; or it was just a different time in our world when it happened; or it was only one time that it happened, so can't you just move on with your life and forgive? We refuse to acknowledge any of those excuses as valid. They are not. It should have never happened to you or to the one you love. It is not your fault. You did not do anything wrong. You do not and have never deserved it. We preachers should have said those things decades ago for that has been God's posture from the very beginning.

On this day, we say out loud in this space of worship for all those who have been hurt in this way, who have kept silence, whose children or parents have been hurt in this way, for all who walk into this room every Sunday carrying around a broken heart, we proclaim together that what happened to you or to your loved one has never been OK with God. The God we know in Jesus Christ, the God we hear proclaimed in Psalm 139, that God has wept alongside you all these years; that God has lifted God's own voice with yours in anger all these years; that God has longed to sweep you up into God's healing hand all these years; that God also has been heartbroken with you all these years.

The church can now arise to this moment and say like we do to so many wrongs, "Never again. We will do our best to never again ignore and be silent about the silent shame you absorbed into your being and carried alone for so long, perhaps even into this moment. Little boy inside the old man, little girl inside the old woman, teenager, young adult, middle-aged companion: all of you-welcome home, child of God. Welcome home. You no longer have to live at the edge of hope. You can be soaked in the light of the gospel. You are never again alone with your shame. You belong to Easter, and Easter is rising within you, even here and even now." http://www.fourthchurch.org/sermons/2018/093018.html.