Redeemed from slavery.
In
Deuteronomy 24 God instructs the Israelites that “True Justice must be given to foreigners living among you” (V.17,
NLT) and the following verses remind them of their own redemption from slavery
in Egypt
George
Bernard Shaw wrote: "We learn from history that we learn nothing from history." On a very wet Jubilee weekend in
Hay-on-Wye, we visited this year’s literary festival and had the opportunity to
listen to Harry Belafonte; the actor, singer and Civil Rights hero, who acted
as a conduit between Martin Luther King and the Kennedys. During the 60s he
become one of the world’s most popular singers, but he was never content to
simply be an entertainer. Even at enormous personal cost, Harry could not shy
away from activism and breaking down racial barriers and this broadened to a
lifelong, passionate involvement at the heart of the civil rights movement and
countless other political and social causes.
Although
he did not profess an open relationship with God, Harry did admire Christ’s
example of a non-violent approach in dealing with serious injustice and
oppression. Harry’s view on religion had
quite obviously been affected by the racial hatred and oppression he had lived
through. But also by the response, behaviours and attitudes of church members
to social activism. His interview ended
with Harry reflecting on his first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., when he
asked Harry, “Do you believe in Christ”. Harry replied “Yes, but I don’t believe in the Church”, to which Martin Luther
replied “Well Harry, we’re gonna get
along just fine…!”.
As
we reflect on the experiences of history and those within our city and the
world today, let’s remember how Jesus responded when some disciples asked Him
to grant them high positions, when He said to them, '’…it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great
among you shall be your servant'" (Matt 10:42-43).
Today,
as we go about our work, as we buy our coffee or meet with our friends, let’s
not just dream about a better society. We should not only yearn for unity
between people, but let us lead others to the true unity offered by Jesus –
that crucial unity between a person and God.
(member of the congregation)