Reflections by Rev. Grant Dawson
Some thoughts on expectations
Until about two centuries ago, slavery, in one form or another was thought of as a necessary part of society. Just south of us, George Washington owned slaves until he died. And so did Thomas Jefferson, who had even written that “all men are created equal” and have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. In fact, he lived with his slave Sally Hemings, who bore him seven children. Indeed, twelve American presidents owned slaves, eight of them while in office.
And let’s not become too self-righteous as Canadians. Slavery was legal here as well until 1834.
Now, given this widespread acceptance of the institution, the majority of people in the world through most of its history would have been amazed if you told them that slavery would, or even could be abolished. It was seen by most as a part of the social structure—a given, a necessity for the economy to work. And yet now it is looked upon as an abhorrent perversion that we have put aside.
And the same may be said of many other practices that were once thought of as indispensable but are now largely shunned or at least questioned. And here I think of racism, ageism, and sexism.
So today I suggest that we spend more time reflecting on a thought put forward by the theologian, John Dominic Crossan who wondered that if all these practices that were once acceptable and even natural could be re-examine and put aside, why cannot we work to re-evaluate the place of institutions like poverty and war and make these obsolete?
And is it not possible that a century from now, someone will write a little article like this asking people to imagine what it must have been like to live in the primitive early years of the 2000s accepting that lives would be destroyed by hunger and violence because that is just the way things must be?
Really? Why do we have to accept such realities?
This is certainly not the way of Christ.
Grant
A Prayer
Just sit calmly for a minute or two and imagine a world in which the spirit of love and justice truly reign.
And ask:
What do I two to make the primacy of compassion a reality? What am I going to do today?
How can we make sure that all receive the same opportunities for growth and development? What am I going to do today to change how things in my small area of the world work?
Amen.