Jesus decides to “teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this?” “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.”
The self-ordained significant ones, rulers and their scribes, cannot believe Jesus, a commoner, has significance. The rulers respond by taking “offense at him.” Taking offense at people of lower status having higher status is routine in relationships controlled by the ruler class. It is why men cannot believe a woman is their boss – and take offense at her. Also, why white people cannot believe a Black person owns a certain car or a certain home or holds a certain position – and take offense at them. It is why the ruler class is taking offense at Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). DEI initiatives ensure to people rendered insignificant that they are treated fairly and receive full participation. The ruler class, with ample support, devises the insignificance of so many people and has always enjoyed immunity for doing so. It has simply been how the system works. Thus, it is how the Supreme Court works, especially noteworthy of late. Its rulers recently proved the enduring professional and personal immunity granted members of the ruler class. Their recent decision in Trump v. United States asserts, “Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.” So it was that neither Jefferson, nor any other founder, ever stood trial for slave owning. The founders and the political system they were developing did not secure just any person’s significance to a republic. Rather the founding slave owners were securing their own significance to the Monarchy. The founders were significant British colonialists. They made a slight change in their significance when “the King endeavoured to prevent the population of these states.” They became significant U.S. colonialists, relacing British slave owning colonialism with their own stateside slave owning colonialism. The founders used human beings they judged insignificant to spawn their colonialism, women, Black slaves and Native “savages.” Subsequent rulers practiced the same colonialism against human beings they judged insignificant; Jackson’s Trail of Tears, the nation’s Jim Crow, Truman’s Bomb, Bush’s Iraq invasion. A current ruler, Trump does not believe in anyone’s significance. Certainly not the children he looked away from when procured by his old friend Jeffrey Epstein. Certainly not people crossing at the Southern border. Certainly not persons who are trans or Muslim or simply any person who is disloyal to him. Trump is seeking the Presidency because he knows it grants him official immunity – for personal retribution against anyone who thinks they are more significant than him – an impossibility given Trump’s narcissism. To anyone who asserts significance, Trump takes offense. To anyone who asserts Trump’s significance he rewards – be they other criminals or white supremacists, sexists, fraudsters, MAGAs, or Nazis.
James Lawson (1928-2024) who passed away last month, was born to a rendered insignificance, Black in a white supremacist world. He was the son and grandson of Methodist ministers who followed Jesus as his “mentor.” In prison as a conscientious objector to the Korean War, he wrote, “I’m an extreme radical which means the potent possibility of future jails. My life will… offer security only in the sense of service to God’s Kingdom.” Lawson was mentored by another follower of Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi. He brought to the U.S. Gandhi’s nonviolent philosophy and tactical mission for implementing Jesus’ way. Lawson was expelled from Vanderbilt University for implementing that nonviolence at lunch counter sit-ins, bus boycotts, and union organizing. He spent his life enacting DEI initiatives, gaining fair treatment and full participation for people living out their significance to a ruler class who took offense at them. Lawson advised deep preparation for encounters with members of the ruler class and their supporters. Know your message, your core truth and communicate it in as many ways as possible. Also, know your strategies – understand ahead of time options for engagement so that the change you seek, you make happen.
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, Our lives flow with significance.
Question: What is the significant action to which I am called?
July 7, 2024 Gospel Mark 6:1-6 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time