You received yesterday the sermon I had intended to preach but did not. It was already scheduled to go out and did. What follows is what I actually preached with some editions and edits (after all I wrote it 20 minutes before the 8 am service began and have since had time to refine and expand it). I wasn’t going to send it out but have received multiple requests from people who were present for a copy, as they would like to share it with others. If this sermon angers you and you feel the need to share your anger in email form, I will not be responding by email to your anger. You are welcome to make an appointment with me to talk about it in person.
I woke up this morning with the very clear realization that I could not preach the sermon I had intended to preach. This was not because there was anything wrong with that sermon or because it was a bad sermon. I realized that the problem with the sermon was that I had completed it on Thursday and it had nothing to do with the current moment that we find ourselves in.
As everyone is well aware, unless they have been living under a rock, Renee Good was murdered by a United States Immigrations and Control Agent on Wednesday of last week. Following her murder, members of the current administration did not issue what we would expect to hear from a leader in the federal government following such an incident: “The shooting of Renee Good by a US ICE Agent will be fully investigated by local, state, and federal officials. The agent in question will be placed on administrative leave while the investigation takes place. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Renee Good.”
Instead, what Kristi Noem, head of Homeland Security, immediately after the shooting called the incident an “act of domestic terrorism” against ICE officers, saying the driver “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.” She had already come to a conclusion before any investigation had even occurred. Vice President J.D. Vance said that Good had “aimed her car at a law enforcement officer” and cast her as part of a “left-wing network to attack, to dox, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.” President Trump said that she “willfully and viciously” ran over the agent and Noem went on to call Renee a “domestic terrorist.” They then barred local and state officials from participating in the investigation, which they would normally be allowed to do in this kind of situation. It is difficult to believe that a fair and balanced report will come from any investigation in which those seeking the investigation have already come to their conclusions.
Videos taken by bystanders at the scene made their way around social media almost immediately. (The below descriptions are adapted from “January 10, 2026 – by Heather Cox Richardson” for ease in description. I have watched the videos multiple times myself, and Richardson’s descriptions are accurate.)
These videos show a maroon SUV sitting perpendicular on the street. A silver SUV driving up the street stops. Two officers wearing badges that say “police” and body armor get out of the vehicle and walk toward the maroon car.
One of them says, “Get out of the fucking car,” and the other reaches through the open driver’s side window while trying to open the door. The driver backs up the vehicle and straightens the wheel as if making a three-point turn. Then she starts slowly to accelerate along the street.
A third officer who has been standing on the side of the road pulls out a gun as the car is turning away. He shoots three times. The maroon car does not hit anyone as it rolls up the street, hitting another vehicle and then a utility pole. The shooter walks briskly away, apparently uninjured.
Seen in slow motion, the video shows the wheels of the maroon vehicle were fully turned away from the shooting officer, who made no effort to jump away, clearly suggesting he did not feel as if he were in danger. His first shot went through the windshield; the next two went through the driver’s side window as the car moved past him. An onlooker shouted “What the f*ck?!”
Video taken by another eyewitness shows ICE agents refusing to allow a self-identified physician to tend to the victim and telling him to back up. Although there is no one tending the clearly visible woman in the car, an agent says: “We have medics on scene. We have our own medics.” When another bystander screams: “Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?!” an agent tells her, “Relax.” “How can I relax?” she shouts. “You just killed my fucking neighbor.”
The video from the agent who shot Renee Good was released over the weekend. It shows the agent getting out of a vehicle and walking toward a red SUV where Renee sits in the driver’s seat. Renee smiles at him and says: “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.” As the agent walks alongside the car, she repeats: “I’m not mad at you.” As he reaches the back of the vehicle, another person, presumably Renee’s wife, Becca, says: “Show your face.” As he begins to record the vehicle’s license plate, the same person says: “That’s okay, we don’t change our plates every morning,” referring to stories that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) switch out plates to make their vehicles hard to track. “Just so you know, it’ll be the same plate when you come talk to us later.” The agent’s camera pans up to show the person recording him on her cell phone.
She continues: “That’s fine. U.S. citizen. Former fucking veteran.” As she walks to the passenger-side door, she looks at him and says: “You wanna come at us? You wanna come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy. Go ahead.”
“Another officer approaches the driver’s side of the vehicle and says to Renee Good: “Out of the car.” Get out of the fucking car.”
As the passenger calmly reaches for the passenger-side door handle, the police officer on the driver’s side again says: “Get out of the car!” Other videos indicate that he had then put his hand into the car and was trying to open the door. Good quite clearly turns the wheel hard away from the police officers to head down the street as the passenger yells: “Drive, baby! Drive! Drive!”
Someone says “Whoa!” as the car moves down the street. The agent’s camera shows his face and then sways, as he has been filming all this on his phone. There are three shots and the houses on the side of the street swing back into view on the agent’s camera, indicating he did not drop it. As the car rolls up the street, the agent says, “Fucking b*tch!” just before there is the sound of a smash.
According to the Department of Justice’s rules on the use of deadly force (as updated in 2022) that are based on the Supreme Court’s “objectively reasonable” standard from Graham v. Connor, the policy outlines specific conditions for using deadly force:
Imminent Danger: Deadly force is allowed only when an officer reasonably believes there is an imminent threat of death or serious harm.
No Reasonable Alternative: Officers should use de-escalation tactics and other alternatives when feasible before resorting to force.
Fleeing Suspects: Deadly force cannot be used solely to stop a fleeing suspect unless they pose a significant threat of death or serious harm if they escape.
Moving Vehicles: Firing at a moving vehicle is restricted. It’s only permissible if someone in the vehicle poses a deadly threat by other means, or if the vehicle itself is being used as a deadly weapon and there are no other reasonable means of defense.
Verbal Warnings: A verbal warning must be given before using deadly force if it’s safe and feasible.
Warning Shots: Generally, warning shots are prohibited outside of the prison context.
Prohibited Techniques: Chokeholds and carotid restraints are not allowed unless the situation meets the criteria for deadly force.
Duty to Intervene and Provide Aid: Officers are required to intervene to prevent excessive force and provide medical aid when necessary.
There will be disagreement about whether or not Renee should have complied with the orders of the ICE agent and whether or not she broke the law. If she had been followed and arrested for her acts, I would have disagreed with her arrest, but at least she would have been alive and able to defend herself in a court of law. I wouldn’t have argued that the Rule of Law was ignored. This is how things are supposed to go in a country operating under democracy and following the Rule of Law.
What should not be in disagreement is that no one should be shot in the head for disobeying a law enforcement official’s orders when that disobeying is putting no one in danger. The use of deadly force according to the established law of our country is only to be used when true risk to the life of the officer or other bystanders is present. If you can see this in these videos, you need to ask yourself exactly what your agenda is and why you are defending the illegal use of force by an agent of our country. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you are doing, or what you have ever done, as long as you aren’t threatening the life of another, you have a right to your life.
Renee does not threaten anyone in the videos that have been released. There were so many ways that the agents in question, who had all the power and authority, and thus the responsibility, could have de-escalated the situation. With the carrying of a badge and gun comes the greater responsibility. The agent who murdered Renee did so because he was angry. He is clearly angry. None of us is safe in a country where our law enforcement agents are above the law and can act any way they wish without fear of consequences. A country in which the Rule of Law is ignored by those in leadership and authority who are charged with upholding the Rule of Law, is no longer a democracy but has fallen into fascism.
Now you may be wondering why a priest, a religious person, is speaking to these things in a religious setting. Well, most people are aware that priests are called as pastors and comforters, and everyone likes us in these roles. What not everyone is aware of is that sometimes, as preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are also called to be prophets. And when I use the word prophet, I am using the word in the Scriptural and Biblical sense—a prophet is one called to speak God’s truth to power, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it is risky and will make some angry.
I woke up this morning with a clear, and I’ll admit, unwelcome sense that today, in my own small space and place, I am being called into my prophetic role. In our Old Testament reading this morning we heard from the prophet Isaiah who spoke unremittingly to the people of Israel about God’s call to them to embrace justice for the vulnerable over comfort and security. In our Gospel reading for this morning Jesus is baptized, a baptism into which all who call themselves Christian are baptized. A baptism that calls us to follow Jesus. And in the chapter immediately following our reading for today, Jesus is driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he is tempted by Satan. Satan offers him security, protection, power, and fame, if he will only give us allegiance to Satan and the powers of the world rather than solely to God. And three times Jesus refuses Satan’s offer and chooses to follow only God. I must do the same as must you, if we are to call ourselves followers of Christ. We must choose God over safety, security, power, and empire.
And this is hard, scary and exhausting work. We must continue to speak the truth in the face of lies wherever and whenever we can. Our scope of influence may be small, I know mine is, but we must speak the truth into our world, no matter what kind of lies are screamed back. And this will wear us out. So, we can’t do this alone. We must gather here with each other at St. Andrew’s and with others outside of our walls who are seeking to speak the truth. We will hold each other up and together our voices will be louder and more powerful. We must pray. We must pray for ourselves, our community, our country, and especially for those who have been directly harmed by the illegal actions of those tasked with protecting us. Let us pray for Renee Good, her wife, her now motherless children, and the people of Minneapolis. It may feel scary to publicly speak out here in midcoast Maine, but right now at least, it is not dangerous for us. However, for the brave people of Minnesota who are uniting their voices in protest there is very real danger. We must pray for them and join our voices with them. And God will be with us and sustain us as we pray and speak.
And if you are sitting in your pew angry with me because you feel that “politics” have no place in the church. I invite you to ask yourself why you see this as political in a partisan sense, because I don’t. This is a human issue. This is a God issue. A human life was cut short, and we should all sit up and take notice. And I wonder, if this doesn’t belong in church what does? If the church can’t speak about this, why does the church even exist?
An unarmed woman was illegally shot in the head by an agent of the United States, and the leadership of our country is defending the agent. This is not political. This is about sin and evil, and the church is the first place we should hear the truth spoken about this. The church should be shouting the truth to the rooftops. We have been guilty too often in the past, with me included in this guilt, of keeping silent and therefore becoming complicit in the face of sin and evil. Let us not continue this sin of silence. Please join the protests, speak the truth wherever you can, don’t be silent. Don’t let the lies drown out the truth. For the truth shall set us free (John 8:32).
