Recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day
Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31 - 20th Sunday after Pentecost, October 3, 2021
Pastor Ritva H Williams
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
These powerful verses always call to my mind the scene in Terry Brooks’ novel The Sword of Shannara where Shea Ohmsford encounters the sword. He grasps it and is horrified by a vision of himself “revealed … in an endless line of events … [detailing] every hurt he had caused to others, every pretty jealously he had felt, his deep-seated prejudices, his deliberate half-truths, his self-pity, his fears — all that was dark and hidden within himself.” Yet, in the midst of his horror, some inner well of strength opens Shea’s mind to receive, embrace, and admit that this too is part of who he really is (pp. 410-411).
Where did that inner well of strength come from? Richard Rohr would probably call that inner well of strength the immoral diamond — the true self — that droplet of divine DNA at the core of every human being. The author of Hebrews would point to Jesus, who sympathizes with our weakness because he experienced tested and prevailed. It is Christ who activates, stirs up, nurtures and nourishes that inner well of strength that enables us to hear and accept the truth about ourselves.
In our Gospel lesson this morning Jesus confronts a man who cannot accept the truth about himself. The man wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks if he has kept the commandments not to murder, commit adultery, steal, lie or defraud, and if he has honored his parents. The man says he’s followed these rules since he was a boy. Notice that Jesus does not about the commandment not to covet his neighbor’s house, wife, slaves, livestock or anything else that belongs to his neighbor. Coveting grows out of envy and greed.
Instead Jesus says, “You lack one thing: go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the man hears this he is stugnasas, translated in our reading as shocked and grieving. But stugnasas can also means “bitter and sullen” or “grim and cruel.” These are not passing emotions. As Professor Luis Menendez-Antuna writes, “Jesus’ teaching creates a crisis of character … reveal[ing] the durable disposition of a man unable to release his belongings (slaves included).” In the world of Jesus, wealthy men owned slaves who worked their land, took care of their houses, and ran their businesses (www.workingpreacher.org). The man also had a lot of other “stuff”: social status, honor, prestige, privilege, and power that he couldn’t or wouldn’t let go of.
We began our worship this morning with a recognition and lament for the deaths of indigenous children in residential boarding schools in the United States and Canada. We do so in solidarity with our siblings in the American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association, and because tomorrow is Indigenous Peoples Day.
On most calendars tomorrow is labeled Columbus Day, a federal holiday established in 1971 to commemorate the alleged discovery of America in 1492. The fact, however, is that Columbus accidentally stumbled on the islands of the Caribbean while trying to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia. In his search for riches, Columbus kidnapped, enslaved, and contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in the Caribbean islands. This behavior was rooted in “The Doctrine of Discovery” set out by Popes Nicholas and Alexander respectively in 1455 and 1493. The Doctrine of Discovery authorized the seizure of lands occupied by indigenous nations based on the claim that indigenous people were neither human nor Christian.
In North America, the Doctrine of Discovery made possible the creation, recognition and later denial of treaty rights, the removal of indigenous nations from traditional lands to reservations, and the creation of residential schools. “Kill the Indian, Save the Child” was the motto of Richard Pratt who established the first residential school in Carlisle PA. Children were forcibly removed from their families, had their hair cut off, and their native clothing replaced with uniforms. They were given English names, forbidden to speak their native language and practice native spirituality. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, malnutrition, lack of medical care, overwork, corporal punishment, physical, mental and sexual abuse resulted in sickness and death at rates six and a half times higher than for other children in America. We may never know how many children died in these residential schools as it seems that records have gone missing. Although, most residential schools closed in the 1980’s and 1990’s, there were still 9,500 native children in boarding schools in 2007.
The Doctrine of Discovery ensured that European settlers had unrestricted access to land and economic resources. The Doctrine of Discovery is the foundation on which white privilege in American has been built. The Doctrine of Discovery was cited as recently as 2005 in a Supreme Court ruling that tribal sovereignty is not restored when tribal nations buy back their traditional lands.
The Doctrine of Discovery has been condemned by the United Nations, and repudiated by the Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Church of Christ, the Christian Reformed Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton writes that repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery “alone will not suffice. As a church, we must sustain our efforts to educate ourselves and the wider community on the consequences of the Doctrine of Discovery [for] native peoples. We must continue to do this, repudiating racism, white supremacy, and logos, mascots and stereotypes that perpetuate prejudice against Native Americans. We must learn and tell the stories. We must educate ourselves and everyone within the sound of our voices about all the corners of our country’s dark and shameful past … As we celebrate our rich history as Americans, we should reflect on the reality that the arrival of Europeans to these shores is seen differently by those who have experienced great pain and suffered many broken promises. Naming and honoring Indigenous Peoples Day moves us all toward a better place.” (1)
The story of the rich man who cannot let go of all the “stuff” he possesses raises important questions for us in relation to our indigenous siblings. How much of our personal and social identities are rooted in money, possessions, status and privilege? Do we trust Jesus the Christ enough to release all our stuff to into his care? Do we have the courage to face the word of God which is sharper than any two-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts? Do we have the fortitude to confront what will be laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account?
Please pray with me:
O God of all, with wonderful diversity of languages and cultures you created all people in your image. Free us from self-delusion, prejudice and fear, that we may see your face in the faces of our indigenous neighbors. Open our ears to hear their stories. Give us the courage to stand in solidarity with them by releasing our hold on our privilege, status, and yes even our possessions. Amen.
“ELCA Presiding Bishop issues Indigenous Peoples Day Statement,” 10/12/2020, elca.org
