everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
In today's Gospel the Jews -- Saint John's word for those who oppose Jesus, not to be confused with all Jewish people of today -- bridle at his implying they are slaves. No one wants to hear such a word.
But slavery stubbornly persists even in the world today, even in these United States. I wonder if slavery, like Original Sin, must remain with us until Judgement Day.
I'm speaking here of real slavery; and not the metaphor of people who are enslaved to alcohol, recreational drugs and so forth. Men and women are imported from Mexico and other nations to the United States by organizations that sell them to "employers." The "illegal immigrants," speaking no English, are virtually at the mercy of those who hold them. They are told they can work their way out of their indentureship, but that day comes only when they're no longer useful to the bosses. Their "debts" mount with every meal, every cigarette, and every beer they are given. Without documents, alternate housing, or civil protections they live in fear of the police who might help them. If they are released the INS ships them back to their native land, penniless, at no cost to their captors.Slavery as an institution that degraded man to a thing has never died out. In some periods of history it has flourished: many civilizations have climbed to power and glory on the backs of slaves. In other times slaves have dwindled in number and economic importance. But never has slavery disappeared.MILTON MELTZER, Slavery: A World History
But that is the milder form of slavery as it occurs here. The worse forms involve forced prostitution, beatings, drug-enduced mental states, fear and death. Women are more commonly held in this way, though young men are also captives. As I understand, many slaves are not native to the country; but more are children driven from their homes by neglect and abandonment.
Living in the street is a misnomer; no one lives on street. They only die there.Homeless, they are exploited by the criminal societies that operate throughout the United States, in the major cities, small towns and rural communities. Law enforcement has few resources to address the problem and slavery remains largely hidden, especially because exact definitions of human bondage are hard to come by. The helpless captives are often complicit in their chains. If they are delivered from their captors they have no where to go but back into it.
A society that was once founded upon biblical principles of family, community, law and covenant has rededicated itself to the individual's pursuit of happiness. Law is simply a tool to be used when convenient and ignored wherever possible. Few are willing to support our several layers of government by the generous payment of taxes; if they expect anything of government they want nothing more than support of their middle- and upper-class ways of life. Those who lack resources also lack rights and freedom. Entire neighborhoods fall under the ban.
In the VA hospital I watch society fraying at its edges as individuals and families fall off the edge and "through the cracks." Alcohol, drugs, mental illness, marital and familial infidelity, ignorance and poverty take their toll. Can anyone be surprised that slavery persists among us?
Jesus nailed it when he said, "Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin."
"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Letter To Henry L. Pierce and Others" (April 6, 1858), p. 376.
No slavery can be abolished without a double emancipation, and the master will benefit by freedom more than the freed-man. THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, Aphorisms and Reflections
You speak the truth that is easy to hide in our society. Thank you.
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