Jesus speaks of himself as a gift, “I am living bread that came down from heaven.” He is juxtaposing the gift of life with an Old Testament story. It is the story about the manna in the desert which was not a gift but rather a cruel test of obedience, “For forty years now the LORD, your God, has… tested you by affliction to find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna.”
For hundreds of years now the Lord God U.S. Empire has tested Indigenous people by affliction to find out whether or not it was their intention to keep every treaty the U.S. Empire broke. The Lord God Empire intended you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with commodity food. The Lord God Empire intended you be afflicted with manifest destiny; its annihilation and concentration policy. Hitler worshipped the same Lord God of Empire and applied the U.S. Empire’s indigenous concentration policy to Gypsies and Jews. The Lord God U.S. Empire’s concentration policy of relegating Indigenous people to desert-like lands needed amendment once natural resources were found. Oklahoma was abundant with oil. The Black Hills Dakota region with gold. Alaska with oil and timber. The Lord God U.S. Empire intended you be afflicted with continued theft of land. Lands can also be stolen and used not only for their natural resources but as throughfares to transport natural resources. Pipelines cut across the Dakotas as well as Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The pipelines supply vehicle fuel and grain fed meat that are not healthy for people, the soil, or our environment. They do not nourish us but intend to provide financial gain for a predatory and plundering agribusiness. The land grabs continue for Indigenous land even the Lord God U.S. Empire deems worthless in resources. The Empire uses it for nuclear weapons testing and nuclear waste dumping, thus expanding affliction. The military, which controlled the first thefts and destructions of Indigenous lands, is still doing so with its dumping of toxic waste. The nuclear weapons industry intentionally places elements of its afflictions in every state to ensure lobbied politicians pass its national legislation year after year. Hanford Site in Washington state has been belching a cesspool of radioactive waste for over 60 years. Nothing about the nuclear industry receives any person or any part of nature as a gift. Assaults on the gift of nature and life itself are expanding. Alliances of indigenous tribes, farmers, and lovers of the earth receiving the gifts of the earth are expanding too. Indigenous people have no intention of allowing the destruction of creation. They intend to be living bread and they are nourishing humanity physically and spiritually.
“We lived in harmony with the area, with the river, with all of the environment. All the natural foods and medicines were quite abundant here. And as the snows receded, we followed back up clear into the Alpine areas, into the fall season. And then storing our food that we had gathered all spring and summer, we picked it up on the way back here to Hanford.” “The Manhattan Project was justified here, and everyone was moved out, including the Yakama Nation people.” “The consistent, mass public deception… “Don’t worry, everything’s fine,”… (but) there were tremendous releases of radioisotopes to the environment… an intentional release to test on the people and the environment… the Yakama people and many others are suffering the consequences.” “We have a mandate to preserve and protect our land and resources for the future generations. And we do not look out just for the Yakama people; we look out for all people.” “(A)s long as a mountain stands, the river flows, the grass shall grow, the sun shall shine… For good reason it is that we do not wish to assimilate to the mainstream of society. We can live side by side.” (Jim Russell – Yakima elder and conscience of Hanford)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, we are grateful for the gifts of the earth.
Question: How do I disrespect the gifts of the earth?
June 11, 2023 Gospel John 6:51-58 Feast of Corpus Christi