Tag: Jordan Davis

Bishop Jack Lumanog – “I Can’t Breathe”

Jack Lumanog

Video from Bishop Jack Lumanog’s sermon – “I Can’t Breathe” – for Pentecost Sunday from Luke 4:1-21 follows below.

This powerful and challenging word is a call to lament and repent in light of today’s celebration of Pentecost Sunday and the events of this past week with the death of yet another unarmed African American in George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“Come, Holy Spirit, breathe new life into Your Church. Help us to be a prophetic voice in this country once again.”

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Luke 4:1-21 (ESV)

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were over, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you’,

11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

—

The Right Rev. Dr. Jon I “Jack” Lumanog
Bishop of The Anglican Diocese of St. Ignatius Loyola

The Right Rev. Dr. Jon I “Jack” Lumanog is an Anglican Bishop in good standing with the Apostolic Communion of Anglican Churches and the leader of The Anglican Diocese of St. Ignatius Loyola. A pastor and evangelist at heart, Dr. Jack Lumanog has planted, revitalized and pastored churches, traveled internationally to teach pastors and church planters and was a denominational leader for 7 years with executive level oversight for over 1,000 congregations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Additionally, Bishop Lumanog is an Associate Member of The Anglican Union for the Propagation of the Gospel, an international confraternity of oratories, which is under the patronage of seven bishops from the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Bishop Jack Lumanog – What do Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis have in common?

Jack Lumanog
Ahmaud Arbery
(Photo from Reuters)

74 days. It took 74 days before two men were arrested for chasing down and then gunning down an unarmed African American man. This happened in Brunswick, Georgia — 4 hours away from where I live in Atlanta.

Ahmaud Arbery was killed on 23 February 2020 around 1pm. And after the killing, the two men were questioned by police and were allowed to go home. Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested 74 days later for the killing.

The massive delay between the killing and the arrests is not because the authorities hadn’t seen the video of the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery. But because the world had seen the video of the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery.

The two men chased down Ahmaud Arbery because they suspected him of a burglary and intended to perform a citizen’s arrest according to their accounts. One of the two accused killers was formerly a policeman from 1982-1989 — but not at the time of the incident.

So here we have a case where two armed, white civilians, a father and son, carrying out mob justice where they are police, judge, jury and executioner. And we are hearing about this incident from 23 February in early May. Because a video finally surfaced of the incident and gave the world a look at this horrific injustice.

Trayvon Martin
(AP Photo/HO, Martin Family Photos)

I can’t help but think about 17 year old Trayvon Martin – killed by George Zimmerman on 26 February 2012 in Sanford, Florida – nearly 8 years ago from this killing of Ahmaud Arbery. George Zimmerman was tried for the murder but he was acquitted after a sensational trial where some of my friends became armchair defense attorneys with their talking points from Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Sadly, I had leaders I was working with in the ACNA at the time defending George Zimmerman since he was acting in self defense with the Florida “Stand Your Ground Law.” Unbelievable.

Jordan Davis
(Photo from Twitter)

And then there was Jordan Davis. Another unarmed 17 year old killed. This time in Jacksonville, Florida on 23 November 2012. He was shot to death because a 45 year old white over an argument over loud music being played at a gas station. Michael Dunn was arrested and convicted of first degree murder of Jordan Davis in a second trial. 3 of Jordan Davis’s friends were also shot in the hail of gunfire rained down from Michael Dunn and he was convicted of 3 counts of attempted second degree murder. Dunn is serving a life sentence for the killing of Jordan Davis.

Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis. What do they have in common? These are three unarmed, African American men who should still be alive today. They were shot and killed for not obeying the orders of armed, civilian white men.

Ahmaud Arbery did not stop after being chased down by an armed self-deputized father and son team who suspected him of committing a burglary. Killed for running while black.

Trayvon Martin did not obey the orders of armed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. Killed for walking while black.

Jordan Davis did not turn down the music as ordered by Michael Dunn. Killed for listening to music while black. And 3 of Jordan Davis’s friends shot for listening to music while black.

Underneath it all in the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis is white supremacy writ large. Or white privilege that says it’s okay to execute another human being because they did not obey your order as a white man.

This is unacceptable.

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

—

The Right Rev. Dr. Jon I “Jack” Lumanog
Bishop of The Anglican Diocese of St. Ignatius Loyola

The Right Rev. Dr. Jon I “Jack” Lumanog is an Anglican Bishop in good standing with the Apostolic Communion of Anglican Churches and the leader of The Anglican Diocese of St. Ignatius Loyola. A pastor and evangelist at heart, Dr. Jack Lumanog has planted, revitalized and pastored churches, traveled internationally to teach pastors and church planters and was a denominational leader for 7 years with executive level oversight for over 1,000 congregations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Additionally, Bishop Lumanog is an Associate Member of The Anglican Union for the Propagation of the Gospel, an international confraternity of oratories, which is under the patronage of seven bishops from the worldwide Anglican Communion.