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bPentecost Sunday ~ May 24, 2015 ~ A homily preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT Ezekiel 37.1-14; Psalm 104.25-35, 37; Acts 2.1-21; John 15.26-17, 16.4b-15 When I consider today’s lessons, it’s hard to miss the idea of the Holy Spirit. But, there are some phrases in the readings that pop out at me. From the Collect, “to every race and nation.” Then, Ezekiel writes, “The hand of the Lord came upon me.” Luke in the Acts of the Apostles says, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit” and later “even upon my slaves, male and female.” Lastly, from John’s Gospel, “the Spirit of truth.” Here we are on Pentecost Sunday, the day we celebrate the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon us. Holy Spirit serves as the deep voice within from which resounds the goodness of truth both individually and collectively. As such, Spirit provides the courage to stand for what is right. And yet, what is right may not always be obvious. Every race and nation. Slaves, male and female. The Spirit of truth. What is right? In ancient days and, my God, 155 years ago in this precious land, slavery was condoned. Even today, abhorrently, it abounds around the world by a different name—human trafficking. We all know, however, that slavery is an anathema to what’s right, to the Spirit of truth. For a time, there was among us a woman, a slave—a human being owned, owned, owned like someone owns a car—who embodied the Holy Spirit in her guts and who stood in the fires of righteousness and risked her very being against that awful institution. Her name is Harriet Tubman. A couple weeks ago, the group Women on $20’s presented a 600,000 person petition to the President suggesting that the face of Harriet Tubman replace that of Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Maybe that seems like a small thing, trivial even. First, there’s nothing sacred about Andy on the $20 as he replaced Grover Cleveland in the 1920’s. There is, on the other hand, something noteworthy about the fact that only men adorn our paper money—George, Abraham, Alexander, Andy, Ben and Ulysses. My dear friend Sacagawea, of course, is on the “new” dollar coin. Various other females have been on our coins over the years, most notably Lady Liberty, but none on the paper money we hardly ever use any more. So, why is this a big deal or even a small deal? Perhaps you remember Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra, now known as Corinth. He was a deceitful

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character and his punishment was to roll a huge stone up a hill during the day, only for it to roll back down at night so he’d have to repeat the effort time and time again. So it is with the progress of women in the warp and woof of the fabric of American life—where they receive 70¢ to their male counterpart’s $1 wage; where they are denied maternity leave or lose their employment when they have children; where other people, most often men, tell them what to do with their bodies; where they’re usually unequal partners in the domestic side of their marriages; where staying at home and raising children is not considered meaningful work; where they’re labeled the aggressor when raped; where, still, they cannot do certain jobs in the military; where only recently have they dared to run for President. You know the list. The “women’s liberation movement” of the 1960’s and 70’s shined a light on the station and plight of women in America and many brave souls spoke out, marched, painted, sang and wrote about changes to the place of women in our society. The Sisyphus’ boulder crept slowly up the hill. However, with the demise of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1982, the momentum slowed, the rock rolled back down the hill. Kudos to those who labor to push it back up today. However, in my own opinion—obviously as a man—it seems these days, with a new generation of women (and men!), the outward energy of women working together in the name of true equality has slipped. That’s not to say there aren’t bold pioneers and leaders in business, education, science, athletics, the military, politics and elsewhere. There are and bravo. Yet, the skirmishes keep arising—abortion restrictions, lack of maternity leave, unprosecuted rapes, keeping the minimum wage low, that damned glass ceiling, etc. Where are our Harriet Tubman’s, Eleanor Roosevelt’s, Gloria Steinem’s? Yes, Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina are running for President but where are trench fighters like Bella Abzug and Barbara Jordan? Ah, there’s Elizabeth Warren who is bold and outspoken on behalf of America’s underclass, and not just for women. A good thing. When I think of my own daughters and my daughter-in-law, I’m extremely proud of them. Really good, strong women. But none feels called to work for the rights of women as a major avocation. They’ll stand up for women and criticize the injustices. But they, like so many others, aren’t marchers.

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In the spirit of the Celtic experience we had a couple weeks ago, the notion of Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill is another example of going back to the future.

Harriet Tubman was born a slave on the eastern shore of Maryland sometime between 1820 and 1825. Her parents were owned by separate masters—her mother by Mary Pattison Brodess and her father by Anthony Thompson. Minty, as she was known—her real name was Araminta Harriet—was one of nine children. Her early life was fractured by physical abuse and the selling off of some of her siblings. In 1844, she married Jack Tubman, a freed black man. It was then that she changed both of her names to become Harriet Tubman.

In 1849, her owner became extremely ill and she escaped to Philadelphia. A $300 bounty was posted for her capture and return. Remember, she was property. It was like some stole a car. She later said that when she crossed the line into Pennsylvania, a free state, she looked at her hands to see if she was the same person. Harriet Tubman proceeded to help hundreds of slaves escape from their masters and gain freedom. She was an abolitionist conductor on the Underground Railroad, a dangerous profession. The Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, the spirit of righteousness came upon her and she risked everything to followed that voice. There is much more to Harriet Tubman’s life that you can find on-line or in any number of books. A contemporary admirer, Sarah H. Bradford, wrote a biography entitled Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman. One of the not-so-subtle points I’m making is that the person of Harriet Tubman and her accomplishments as an abolitionist are anything but associated with money. Rather she is known as a person who put genuine value on any and every individual. Genuine value is not the sale value of the person on the auction block nor the reward for being captured and returned to shackles. The irony and juxtaposition of Harriet Tubman’s visage on the $20 bill—the currency we use the most—is priceless. Here is a female human being who was owned by someone who could buy or sell her at will using $20

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bills. Money is just money, right? What if our money also made a social, moral and economic statement in addition to knowing that the Federal Reserve backs our bucks! And, here is also the unmistakable fact that Harriet Tubman is a woman, a black woman, an escaped slave and a woman on a sacred mission. With Harriet Tubman on the $20, we’d be telling quite a story, a truly American story, the bad, the ugly and the very good. Is this what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Jesus would say, “Yes!” Amen. http://www.biography.com/people/harriet-tubman-9511430#early-life Copyright © 2015. Erl G. Purnell All rights reserved.