“Do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” – June 10
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96; Eccles. 9:11-18; Gal. 5:1-15; Matt. 16:1-12
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…for you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters”. (Galatians 5:1, 13)
I wonder if preachers during the time of slavery in the U.S. explored this text from Galatians for a Sunday sermon. If so, how were they heard? Did those who owned slaves think about their human livestock in this context, or did they reflect on other aspects of their lives that held them captive – like fear of disease, crop failure, etc.? Did sharecroppers, living day to day for meager wages, hear these words of promise, that they would be released from their staggering yoke of work and instead take Jesus’ yoke, in which the burden was light (Matthew 11:30)? And what about slaves? Slave-owners were known to impart their religious beliefs and practices to their slaves, and sometimes slaves would attend worship. Would these words be used as a cry for rebellion and resistance among enslaved peoples?
Slavery is messy, complicated, and painful. It has been for more than 500 years. As I reflect on its historical context, ours is not the only country that leveraged the lives of people with darker skin or different ethnic background for their own financial gain. Human bondage as big business was begun by the Portuguese in the 15th century; explorers kidnapped people from the western coast of Africa and took them back to Europe as slaves. Other European nations followed suit soon after. As trade expanded, King Charles I of Spain authorized taking African captives directly across the Atlantic to new territories, as the western lands were being discovered and settled by European explorers.
In 1619, when kidnapped Africans were first brought to the English colonies (that would become the United States), they were to be indentured servants, working off their debts to regain their freedom at some point. A disparity between indentured servants emerged, as those with lighter skin were more likely to be released from bondage, while those with brown or black skin were held, and their servitude transitioned into a perpetual state of slavery. There were physicians and scientists who perpetuated the separation based on science, giving accounts of their research that defined people with dark skin as a different and lesser race – in intellect, morality, and motivation – than those with white skin. While these assertions of scientific racism have been debunked repeatedly, the roots of a systemic power differential grounded in white supremacy spread widely, affecting our societal, ethical, and spiritual contexts.
Brothers and sisters, we are called to freedom by Christ. I believe a warning is included that we are not to use our freedom as an opening for self-indulgence that would embed us more deeply in systems of privilege and hierarchy. In Christ there is no first or last, East or West, Jew or Gentile, slave or free. As Christians we have an imperative – the one rule that undergirds all the others – to love our neighbors as ourselves. Rolled up in this, we get to acknowledge and reach out to our neighbors who are not experiencing freedom in the same way. We have this invitation to bring true, selfless love (agape) into the public space – loving all people, and shining light on policies that reinforce self-serving paradigms where only some people are free.
We shall love our neighbors as ourselves one day…what will you choose to do to start getting there today?
-- Katherine+
Want to know more? Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis made comments on June 9, 2020, about systemic racism and her personal experience. Click here to read her story.
Questions for Reflection
In what ways do you feel free today, and how do you feel enslaved?
Think of someone you know who has a different experience with freedom than you.
Daily Challenge
Read Bp. Baskerville-Burrows’ message in the link above. Ponder where you see white supremacy in the institution of the Episcopal Church.