Truth to Power II

Matthew 25:26 – “His master answered him, saying, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter?”

This is not going to end well for this slave. But we knew that. Right away, the slave gets called names. Sadly, that and much worse happens in our world when we go up against “the man,” when we speak truth to power. Women who dare to speak up on the internet get called hussy, slut, stupid. They get told that someone should rape them. They can be doxxed, which entails sending out as much information about a person so others can threaten them in person, on the phone, in email, and even through the mail. This may seem like just words, but it is a traumatic experience. The only reason I haven’t experienced this is because very few people read this blog.

This is the exact reason many of our Republican leaders are quietly standing behind Donald. Not all of them; my Republican senator is a true believer. But there are many Republicans who do not talk to reporters. We read and listen to interviews with the same small cast of Republicans who are 100% in on Donald’s agenda. Rather than do their jobs and speak truth to power, others are cowering behind McConnell and McCarthy, letting them do the dirty work. I can only hope that as time goes on, they begin to grow the courage necessary to speak out in public rather than in private.

Yet, in reality, McConnell and McCarthy are representative of the two “good” slaves in this parable! They eagerly do what the master wants without question. They too know that the master cheats others in business. Yes, they are the “good” slaves. All those who privately talk to reporters or other senators but do not speak out publicly are representative of the slave that doesn’t do what the boss wants. It’s not a perfect representation, because the “bad” slave speaks the truth to his boss, whereas these legislators are silent in the face of the evil that Donald is spawning. They are the slaves who will not be ready when the master/Jesus comes. They are lukewarm and, like the slave in the story, they will get what is coming to them. Hopefully in November.

I relate to both types of slave. Many times, it is simply easier to go along to get along. Not wanting others to get angry with us or evil people to notice us is human nature. We tend to shy away from confrontation. At least I do. It is hard to speak up when we’ve spent our entire lives keeping our heads down. However, when actual harm is being done, that position becomes more difficult to justify, which is why there are so many different justifications for what Donald does or for not holding him accountable. None of these justifications are congruous or creditable.

I relate to the other slave too. That one takes a rebellious course of action, a small protest on behalf of those the master has been cheating. When asked why, he speaks the truth. He doesn’t make up some bullshit story about “it’s not an impeachable offense” or “everybody does it.” He speaks the truth. Sadly, it’s too small a protest to really change anything. He is only one slave, after all.

That is why people rarely protest alone. We come together with others who share our views and decide on ways that might get “power” to listen. Together, we are more than the sum of our parts. 

What about us? Have we spoken truth to power lately? Why or why not? Sadly, we are not at a loss for causes to support or policies to protest; there is a lot of truth that needs to be spoken. Why not speak some truth today?

B

Truth to Power

Matthew 25:24-25 – “Then the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not spread seed. So I was afraid, and I went and buried your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’”

Speaking truth to power. In the next verses, we’ll see what happens to those who speak truth to power. 

Obviously, that was not Jesus’ point in this parable. His point is that this servant is no good and doesn’t deserve to “enter into the joy of his master.” We are not to emulate this servant but rather the servants that made money off the money given to them for that purpose. They were committed and ready for him to return.

It is as if. Speaking truth to power always gets a person into trouble. Then as now. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, let’s get ourselves into trouble.

B

Faithful Over a Little

Matthew 25:20-23 – “Then the one who had been given five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed me five talents, see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And also the one who had been given two talents came forward saying, ‘Master, you delivered me two talents. Here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’"

Those who have been faithful over a little are now being entrusted with more. That is the life of following Christ in a nutshell. Most of us don’t start out jumping into the middle of a movement or beginning a ministry without preparation. This test of his employee’s is part of the master preparing them for further responsibilities. These two employees passed the test.

However, to pass the test they had to cooperate with the economic system of the time. This meant oppressing the poor and vulnerable. You might say, as many do, “Well, they worked for it.” Yes, they did, but in a system that was designed to make success easy for them and almost impossible for others. They were those who had privilege in their society. True, for these men it was the privilege of their master in whose name they were trading, but that doesn’t remove the fact of their privilege.

Such a system in God’s eyes is immoral. That is why Jesus says elsewhere that it is almost impossible for rich people to get into heaven. I believe that saying holds true here in the US. The wealth that white people have created in this country was literally built on the backs of slaves. Yes, people work for their money. But again, to make that kind of money one has to cooperate with the system that excluded Black participation for centuries. And when Black people did attain some economic status, they were massacred. Think about the Tulsa Massacre of Black Wall Street. Or, think of the results of Donald’s tax reform bill. Most of the people profiting from that reform were rich, white billionaires, not the working or middle class.

White people didn’t want to compete with Black people. If they were unsuccessful, their ideas about the laziness, criminality, and animality of Black people would be challenged. So they set things up accordingly. Black people were excluded from FHA loans. And even when the program was open to Black people, they were redlined into undesirable neighborhoods. White people had a huge financial head start, and their children are reaping the money from the real estate that grew in value over the years. 

I live in an undesirable neighborhood. I see this happening with my neighbors. I see this in the local paper, in which our neighborhood and others like it are dismissed as being inhabited by criminals and thugs who don’t want to work. Whether the people who spout such sentiments are hard-hearted, they certainly are ignorant of the history of relations between white people and everyone else.

What about you? How are you preparing to pursue your calling? What about your neighborhood? What is its history? How is it viewed by others from the outside? Is it multi-ethnic? Are funds for public schools justly distributed? Are you being called perhaps to change things, to be faithful in a little?

Let’s look around our neighborhoods and see where we can make them better places to live. Let’s examine our minds for attitudes that hurt others or keep them at a distance. A good way to start being "faithful over a little" is to read about racism in the US. I’ll warn you, though. It isn’t pretty.

Book suggestions:

Debby Irving, Waking Up White

Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law

Ibram X. Kendi, How to be an Antiracist

Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race

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