Jesus tells a parable this Sunday about a God who unceasingly forgives others debts or sins; 70 x 7 times. Jesus’ new revelation of divinity, an ethic of forgiving love replaces the old deity, Yahweh, and the old ethic of debt slavery. The old deity was invented by War Lords who enslaved people; Amalekites, Canaanites, Midianites, and others. The War Lord class throughout history up to present day use that same deity to sanctify their same earthly enslavement of people. That slave owning class, white in the U.S., founded and continues to shape the U.S. culture.
In Democracy in Chains, Professor Nancy MacLean addresses U.S. slavery; past and present. She explains the history of the U.S. slave owner class, its use of biblical theology to justify their behavior, and its willingness to exploit human beings. She also explains their legacy – how their ethic has been entrusted to successive generations. The slave owning class dehumanize a group of people, for example, women and blacks overtly. They then promote property rights over human rights. The slave owner class then asserts it is not people’s loss of human rights but their loss of property rights that constitutes true victimization. For example, their having to pay a living wage to workers or pay taxes or be regulated in their business. As well, the 1% slave owning class successfully coerces those they enslave covertly, for example whites, into emotionally connecting with them, on the basis of skin color, and thus maintain the slave system that enslaves them too. So it is that 90% of white GOP agree with Trump that when Neo-Nazi slave supporting confederates hold a march and others react, both sides are the problem. Thus, Trump minions say Blacks need to ‘get over’ 241+ years of slavery and Jim Crow but white men have been victimized by 8 years of a Black man in the White House and can now take their country back. The 1% propertied class uses deceptive and divisive strategies to hinder community among the 99%. They restrict democracy, target people’s benefits, control media, isolate policing from democratic input in order to protect and serve their property rights, and break apart all possible collective action such as unions by workers – or ‘takers’ as the propertied class call workers. The 1% slave owning class is not constituted to seek forgiveness from those they enslave. It is constituted to enslave. Can our constitution be to forgive?
Forgiveness does not weaken us but rather strengthens us. We release negative energy of anger and hostility and shift to positive energy to heal. It is the healing energy of African Americans concerning Georgetown University’s slave owning. In 1838, to be free of its debt, the Jesuit Catholic school sold into slavery 272 human beings it owned as property. In 2017 it asked for forgiveness. It has been rededicating campus naming and policies because of the relentless actions of African Americans intent on forgiveness and healing. “We’re willing to forgive” but “it’s not over.” “It has taken a lot of effort on the descendants’ parts to push Georgetown and the Jesuits to acknowledge us and not dictate to us.” Society’s inequalities due to white supremacy remain. Black activists ask white America to acknowledge they are asking for equality though they could be enacting revenge. African Americans have shown a 70 x 7 times forgiving constitution. What is the evidence white Americans have appreciated that truth? The evidence could include a willingness to join African Americans in a communal struggle for human rights in a culture dedicated to property rights.
Prayer: Spirit of Forgiveness, move me to forgive and be forgiven of white supremacy and work toward healing.
Question: In what ways do I pass on the legacy of the white slave owner class and what can I do for freedom’s sake?
September 17, 2017 Gospel Matthew 18:21-35 Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time