Justice Comes With a Cost

Matthew 25:28, 30 – “So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents … and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there people will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Of course, Jesus uses this parable to demonstrate what happens to those who are not prepared for the return of the master. I am reading it as a parable for today, in which the “worthless” slave resists the injustices of the master. As with this servant, justice has a cost to those who fight for it. The servants in this parable who went along with the plan were given the money they invested. The servant who resisted was robbed of what should have been his and was then cast “into the outer darkness.” I am reminded of the darkness of slavery – where women and men wept and gnashed their teeth. Slavery has been around for centuries, not just in America. It has always been a living hell for those who get caught in its grasp. Rape, selling off of families, overwork, undernourishment; all these are and have always been features of slavery.

Yet, even after slavery ended here in the US, White people continued to subjugate Black people in the North as well as the South. The terrorism of the KKK, lynching, wholesale massacre of towns, and the above-mentioned abuses continued. Black people all over America were kept from decent housing, decent wages, decent living conditions, and being seen as people in a thousand ways. Redlining and the refusal of banks to loan Black people money also added to the pressures of being Black in the US. 

Justice and resistance cost those who fight for it. This last Saturday was the 55^th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans. As the march from Selma to Montgomery attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were attacked and mowed down by officers on horseback as well as those on foot. The price these protestors paid was great, and those who were able marched again two days later. We do right to remember and honor them. In my opinion the best way to honor them, and all those who have resisted injustice and abuse, is to join their fight. It hasn’t been won yet. 

Many people would like to think, and like us to think, that racism is over in the US because we elected a Black president. Yet, many of the protections won under the Civil Rights Act are being dismantled piece by piece. Notably the Supreme Court case of Shelby vs. Holder, which struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act. Removing this clause, which contained the formula for which states would require preclearance from  the federal government before making any changes to their voting process, opened up the voting process to the abuses that it was designed to eliminate. The result has been more egregious gerrymandering and election fraud through removing voters from the rolls, closing polling places, enacting voter ID laws, and making it more difficult for Black people to vote. People died in this fight and we honor them best by continuing the fight in whatever way we can.

Lent is the season of self-reflection and repentance. Let's as ourselves where we have been blind to the oppression of others. Where have we contributed to another person’s suffering, even if we weren’t aware of it? I challenge us to look around our neighborhoods and towns. What issues are important to the people around us? Where could we make a difference? We can start small if we have busy lives, but let’s start. 

In this season of Lent, where is Jesus calling us to repent and make amends? 

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