Redemption- Rev. Rali Weaver

First Church and Parish Dedham

April 20, 2008

As I have been preparing for this service and meditating upon the concept of Redemption this week--- that song by Bob Marley has been going through my head.

You know the one- Redemption songs

I tried to get the choir to sing it for you. But instead you are stuck with me…

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;

None but ourselves can free our minds.

Have no fear for atomic energy,

cause none of them can stop the time.

How long shall they kill our prophets,

While we stand aside and look? ooh!

Some say its just a part of it:

We’ve got to fulfill de book.

Wont you help to sing

These songs of freedom? -

cause all I ever have:

Redemption songs;

Redemption songs;

Redemption songs.

It is such a beautiful lyric- a song of struggle of suffering- of slavery and of liberation- the full cycle of redemption.

While Bob Marley’s song has little to do with Passover specifically I believe it has a great deal to do with the themes that are celebrated at Passover, the struggle of a people to both be liberated from as well as remember their past.

The Encyclopedia Judaica defines redemption as "salvation from the states or circumstances that destroy the value of human existence or human existence itself." At the Core of Redemption lies a relatively simple idea: If we remember our past the future will be better than the present.

"Now we are slaves. Next year we will be free” are words read at every Passover. This reminder is the reminder of the liberating nature of time. Redemption in this context is about the potential for positive change, ultimately dramatic change, even if it comes about slowly.

In the more than 2500 years that have passed since the Exodus would have taken place, this special night has been reenacted in a wide variety of circumstances. In hidden rooms, in prison cells, in concentration camps, in countless difficult times in a variety of languages the words “Now we are slaves, Next year we will be free” have been spoken and brought comfort. And even in years when things seemed fine, when comfort and pleasure was to be had these words have continued to be spoken and stand as a reminder that slavery that exists anywhere in any form is still a problem and there can always be more liberation --we can always strive one step closer to the promised land.

I would argue it is these stories that are told, these histories that are shared are the true nature of redemption.

The freedom that comes from knowing it has all been survived before and can and will be survived again is the redemptive gift of the Passover celebration.

It is the redemptive way that stories are held up to inspire us, held up to redeem us from our suffering --that I would like us to reflect upon today.

When I was a teacher for children with emotional difficulties I always wondered what it was that made some of my students resilient to their circumstances and some of them not.

To be quite frank it never seemed to add up to me why one child who never caught a break, who had been born with physical and/or learning differences, abused since birth, and offered little affection in life, could keep a positive attitude and overcome their difficulties --while another child with seemingly fewer obstacles could never get out of his/her own way. It never seemed to add up to me why some children were resilient to their circumstances while others were not. I used to say if I could figure it out – what made one student successful despite the obstacles they were born with- and another struggle without rhyme or reason-- I would bottle it up. I would have called the elixir redemption syrup and I would have given it away for free.

While I still don’t know what it is that makes some people bounce back and others create prisons in their own brains, I know for sure that one ingredient would be the stories we tell ourselves.

We always hear about the Redemptive power of love- and I know it is true. Love can heal many wounds but I would argue that there is an even stronger redemptive power to memory and to story.

In our American culture we are taught to want to forget- to get over it- to move on.

But Passover reminds us of the redemptive power of remembering.

Another place where this has proven true is in the Truth and Reconciliation hearings in South Africa. As most of you probably know --part of the settlement that led to the end of apartheid and election of Nelson Mandela as president, also established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in order to investigate the crimes committed during the fight against apartheid. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission set a system for airing the complaints of violations of human rights and was considered by many in South Africa to be a means of healing the wounds of history. Desmond Tutu who won Nobel Peace prize in 1984 said "We needed to look the beast in the eye, so that the past wouldn't hold us hostage anymore."

After nearly 2 years of hearings and countless stories being told the commission published a report making permanent record of the violations from the perspectives of both the injured and the perpetrators. Unpacking the history in this way was surely painful and difficult. The stories that were told were of abductions and beatings, torture, rape and murder. Not pretty stories to be sure. But stories that were necessary to tell for the healing to begin.

Imagine for a moment what South Africa would be like if Nelson Mandela had been elected president and the stories had never been heard? What un-channeled aggression, what anger, what frustration would still be in the hearts of the people if there had never been a place to air their side of the story.

There is something that comes out of telling the unspeakable truth and being heard- that is in and of itself redemptive.

I offer this to you because I think it is part of the truth about redemption. There is an element of telling the story that is necessary to heal the wounds and begin to repair the spirit.

This has been proven true for victims of domestic violence as well. Traumatic experience is often is characterized by an inability to remember and it becomes easy for an individual who’s been traumatized to become isolated. It is only through telling his/her own story (sometimes over and over again) that the victim is able recognize he/she is no longer in danger and not alone.

Telling the difficult story over and over again is the part of the redemptive nature of Passover.

The second part is holding up the success instead of the failure.

The truth is if we looked at the Passover story from a different angle, we might have a totally different story to tell. Just for a moment let us imagine all of the difficulties the Israelites had to face while leaving Egypt. Imagine the worry of a new mother that God might miss the Lambs blood on her tent and take the life of her first born. Imagine all the things that would have had to be left behind in order to leave the only home you have ever known. If the Haggadah focused centrally upon on all of the struggles and the difficulties and the woe- if for centuries the story was told from Moses’ point of view – Moses who never made it to the promised land- how might that change the perspective of the people? If the story had been focused on the violent vengeful God the Egyptians were experiencing instead of the protective care giving God the Israelites experienced how might that different story inform a people’s view of themselves?

Holding up the bright spots, remembering the triumphs is part of the redemptive nature of memory.

I remember a time not long after my mother died when I was still grieving and lost without her and a friend and I went to the beach up in Falmouth, Maine to create a ritual together- when we got to the beach it was deserted, and just turning to dusk. We went out onto a point we tried to light a candle to start our service, only the wind was too strong. We tried to read the words of prayer we had written but the paper blew away and then you know what- it started to rain. Not just rain either, there was hail. I was frustrated and upset, and ready to throw in the towel – and I turned on my heel with my friend behind me and we headed off the beach into the field just as the sky turned to black.

But then all of a sudden the rain and hail stopped and the field sparkled with about a billion lightening bugs. We couldn’t light the candle and we couldn’t read the words but as far as the eye could see there were lightning bugs flitting and flying among the grass. The moment was magical and hard to describe- but I still remember it- a moment so full of magic and hope that I still hold it in my heart 17 years later. I hold it for the days when nothing works out. That field and those lightning bugs appearing in one of my darkest moments remain for me a reminder- that there is something out there to renew my spirit whenever I need it. I may not be able to plan for it- or even seek it out- but it is there and if I remain open to it- I know it will come to me- because it has come before.

Now I am perfectly aware that I could remember that story in an entirely different way. I could remember the unforgiving winds, the lost prayers, the ruined intentions, the rain and hail. I could have stayed focused even in that moment on how things didn’t work out the way I planned and certainly all of that is part of my story as well. But part of the redemptive nature of the story I tell myself is the way that I choose to look at it. And my willingness to hold up the magical moment of the lightening bugs as more essential than the disappointments of the ruined ritual is a big part of the redemptive nature of the story I tell myself long after the lightening bugs have gone.

The redemption song is the one we point to when times are tough. The redemption song is the one we sing because we need it to carry on. The redemption song is the one we sing out loud so that it can also lift others up.

This is part of the redemptive nature of the Passover story. And I believe it is part of he redemptive nature of being in our religious community, we gather together as members and friends to tell our stories, to make meaning out of them, to find the magical moments and to lift each other up in order to enhance the value of our human existence.

I sure hope that is what you get from coming to church on Sunday. And I hope it is what you are able to offer to others when you leave.

So won’t you help me sing?

Cause all I ever have- is redemption song.

….