The First Juneteenth Vacation, 2021

[FROM THE ARCHIVE: June 20, 2021]

This weekend we have fun the primary nationwide vacation of Juneteenth, the fruits of the liberty of slaves within the USA (on paper no less than).  It’s a vacation and holyday lengthy overdue within the bigger group, commemorating a keystone in Black American historical past. 

Juneteenth is to that group what the Exodus from Egypt was and is for Jewish folks.  A day of victory, celebration and remembrance of a fantastic liberation.

Simply as Exodus has impressed enslaved folks of many various cultures and intervals all through historical past, right here’s hoping that Juneteenth does the identical.

I seek for the explanations behind slavery and behind genocide towards indigenous peoples.

Allow us to not neglect the enslavements we name speciescide or ecocide that our tradition is concerned in even in the present day insofar as we deny local weather change and refuse to take duty for the extinction spasms taking place all about us on Earth.  So many species struggling to outlive.

Is there a standard denominator to those tragic tales of genocide, slavery, ecocide and extinctions?  Sadly, I imagine there may be.  It’s our neglect of the sacredness of nature—human and more-than-human.

Is that this not what all creation tales are in essence telling us?  That we didn’t make nature; nature made us.  Nature preceded us, we now know, by 13.8 billion years.  We’re nature’ s visitor.  Have we been good and grateful friends?  Or have we been punishing our host/hostess, nature, for inviting us right here?  Have we projected onto nature our personal self-hatred instead of awe, marvel, reverence, and gratitude?

If people assume we’re #1 and earth creatures are right here is to serve us, feed us, make our business prosper or entertain us, that’s the starting of the downward slope.  However the creation tales of the world don’t inform us that that is the case.  

Slavery was each an financial factor and a foul spiritual factor.  The “discovery doctrine” from 15^th century popes inspired Christian kings and queens to take what they needed from African peoples and peoples of Turtle Island as a result of they weren’t “redeemed by Christ.”*

A non secular consciousness that leads with redemption and never gratitude for creation buttressed such atrocities.

Creation Spirituality leads with creation and gratitude for the Creator. Thanking could be very completely different from conquering within the identify of redeeming.

How would possibly historical past have been completely different had a creation spirituality accompanied 16^th century European explorers and missionaries?

*To his credit score, Pope Francis lastly apologized for the Doctrine of Discovery, however the apology was very late coming and lengthy after the horse had left the barn.

See Matthew Fox, Julian of Norwich: Knowledge in a Time of Pandemic—and Past, pp. 109-124, xxxviiif.

Banner picture: Conventional African track and dance at Booker T Washington Nationwide Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom, 2019. Wikipedia.

Queries for Contemplation

Meditate on how a spiritual consciousness that leads with the sacredness of creation together with all of nature and all people leads to a unique historic end result than that manifested by slavery, genocide, ecocide, matricide and misogyny.  Take into account the faith Julian of Norwich espoused, for instance.

Really helpful Studying

Julian of Norwich: Knowledge in a Time of Pandemic–and Past

Julian of Norwich lived by the dreadful bubonic plague that killed near 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a deep knowledge that she shared in her e-book, Showings, which was the primary e-book in English by a lady. A theologian method forward of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mom on the coronary heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings on this highly effective and well timed and galvanizing e-book.
“What an totally magnificent e-book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the center of the eco-spiritual fact that each one life breathes collectively.”  –Caroline Myss
Now additionally obtainable as an audiobook HERE.

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Reworking Evil in Soul and Society

Visionary theologian and best-selling creator Matthew Fox gives a brand new theology of evil that basically modifications the normal notion of excellent and evil and factors the way in which to a extra enlightened therapy of ourselves, each other, and all of nature. In evaluating the Japanese custom of the 7 chakras to the Western custom of the 7 capital sins, Fox permits us to assume creatively about our capability for private and institutional evil and what we are able to do about them. 
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a greater imaginative and prescient and depth of notion far past the grasp of anybody single science.  A breath-taking evaluation.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, creator of Quantum Theology: Non secular Implications of the New Physics

Authentic Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Matthew Fox lays out an entire new route for Christianity—a route that’s in actual fact very historic and really grounded in Jewish considering (the truth that Jesus was a Jew is commonly uncared for by Christian theology): the 4 Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an prolonged and deeply developed method.
“Authentic Blessing makes obtainable to the Christian world and to the human group a radical treatment for all darkish and derogatory views of the pure world wherever these could have originated.” –Thomas Berry, creator, The Dream of the Earth; The Nice Work; co-author, The Universe Story