Let my people go - Thursday, December 10 (Advent 2020)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
Exodus 8:1
Advent is the time we celebrate the birth of God’s holy deliverer, Jesus Christ.
And, boy howdy, do many Native American folks need deliverance. Among any demographic group in the United States, they have some of the highest rates of suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, obesity, single-parent households, incarceration, and abuse. Our staff lives, daily, with the ugly effect of this.
The victim in the Good Samaritan parable was robbed and beaten only once. Native people, historically, have suffered theft and denigration over and over. People with feelings of worthlessness make different decisions than those who feel valued. If the seed of the Word they receive does not fall on good soil, it may sprout but wither quickly.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb, back to the world of the living, He left one thing undone.
Seriously, Jesus left something undone. But he didn’t make a mistake.
He left something for His followers to do. Jesus said to those gathered around, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11: 44b) We must remove the wrappings of death, the decayed trappings of the old for the new. We may have new life in Christ, but it is up to us, God’s people, to help each other remove all that holds our brothers and sisters in the darkness.
So, God sayeth: "Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt land
Tell all Pharaohs to
Let my people go"
We must be there to help our Native brothers and sisters find deliverance from the bondage of their past trauma and pain.
Read the epistles carefully and this is what their writers were doing. Through God’s wonderful grace and amazing gift of His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, this is what Lutheran Indian Ministries is doing every day in Indian Country. We proclaim, disciple, and heal.
Lord, the Native people of the United States are truly are neighbors, both literally and figuratively. Help us to love them through our prayers and resources.