ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
February 9, 2022
In 1863, a slave by the name of Gordon escaped his enslavement and found his way to a Union Army post. When they inspected him, they found extensive scarring on his back from all the whippings he had received as a slave. You may have seen these old pictures as the Union Army took photographs. The anti-slavery movement for years had been trying to communicate the horrors of slavery, but those who supported the institution of slavery were able to offer a counter-narrative, including stories suggesting slaves and slave owners were almost life family. As the image was disseminated across the country, the truth of slavery and its raw brutality were brought clearly into focus. It was a turning point. There have always been counter-narratives attempting to undercut all kinds of things throughout human history, including the genocide of indigenous peoples, the repression of women and the ongoing fight against racism. I’m not a historian by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn’t take much knowledge to see how those who have everything to lose will produce a counter-narrative to oppose progress. It’s one thing when a person might push back against the automatic transmission in a car out of a love for the old manual transmission. A counter-narrative might get started suggesting the manual is a lot more cool. There would be plenty of folks who would agree, but no matter what side you take, human lives are not in jeopardy. There will always be someone who will tell you that suffering, injustice, oppression or hatred are not as bad as they appear. When that occurs, always take a closer look to see what the person telling the counter-narrative has to lose. In Matthew 12, some of the threatened religious leaders begin spreading a counter-narrative about Jesus. They said he was in cahoots with Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons. At first, it might have sounded like a logical explanation. But then you take a step back and you see more clearly how threatened the religious establishment was by Jesus healing and liberating people. Suddenly the argument of Jesus colluding with demons didn’t hold up. We have a lot of counter-narratives today, and most of them appear to be put forth by those who are trying to protect what they have at the expense of others.
Holy One of the Universe, provide me a faith capable of trusting you. Even when a future change appears threatening to my current way of life, if reform means life-giving transformation for others, then may it be so. Amen.
