What Must I Do?
Wednesday, 25 September 2024
| Alison Sampson
‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ the young man asked in Matthew 19. These days, you might hear it phrased as, ‘How do I get into heaven?’ The answers come cascading down. Believe this, live that way, and don’t, whatever you do, act gay.
But what was Jesus’ reply? Keep the commandments, more specifically reject murder, rape, theft and lies. Honour elders. Love your neighbours in this world now.
Earlier this year, the School of Indigenous Studies was disestablished by the University of Divinity. The reason given was straightforward: it wasn’t sustainable. By this, we are given to understand that it did not raise sufficient funds to be self-sustaining and it cost too much to run. It needs to be said that, from its inception, the School was reliant solely on charity. Yet the million or so dollars raised in the less than three years it was operational were deemed insufficient, and so the School was disestablished and the staff made redundant.
The School was a place where Aboriginal academics developed and taught Aboriginal theologies to all who were willing to listen. Clearly, not many were. There is now only one tertiary level program in Australia that is focused on Indigenous theological studies. It has one staff member funded by North Americans because in Australia, we are to assume, there aren’t sufficient funds.
Of course there are funds. Look around any suburb and you will quickly realise that the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Uniting Church, indeed any denomination that accepted land grants from the colonial government, is now in possession of extreme wealth.
As people of faith, we say we value truth and we acknowledge the reality of sin. So let’s state it clearly. This wealth is the result of colonisation, that is, it’s the result of systematic murder, rape, theft and lies, disrespect for elders to the point of genocide, and hatred for Indigenous neighbours enshrined in law after law after law. It is rooted in stolen land, and it was built up over the generations through the use of stolen labour, stolen wages, stolen children and stolen lives.
‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Reject murder, rape, theft and lies, says Jesus. Honour elders. Love your neighbours in this world now.
‘I have kept all these’, said the man. It wasn’t me who did it. I didn’t pull the trigger, rape the lubra, steal the land and lie about it all. I didn’t murder the elders, deny the wages, take the children away. Anyway, it was a long time ago. An unfortunate history. Time to move on. Really, I’m just so grateful to God, so blessed. And it’s not as if it’s actually money, anyway. I’m not really wealthy. It’s only property, tied up in trust – and do you know how much the upkeep on those old buildings costs?
So the young man asked, ‘What do I still lack?’
What does he know of lack? Most Aboriginal pastors and theologians work without regular pay. Few Aboriginal pastors or church leaders are tertiary-trained. Even fewer have research degrees. The only exposure most people have to Indigenous theologies are when they are appropriated, interpreted and presented by white tenured theologians. Meanwhile, the wealth of the churches continues to be held and managed by white church leaders, councils and trust funds for white programs and white purposes. Not one building, not one cent, is directed into employing Aboriginal academics in tenured positions, or to raising up and supporting Indigenous theological students or Indigenous candidates for ordination. There are no Indigenous scholarships from white denominations bloated with wealth.
To the one who wants more, always more, Jesus said, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven’. Name the truth of your history and where your wealth comes from, then do something concrete to make things right. Release your wealth to communities that desperately need it. Let them determine how to use it for healing, education and training. Grant them agency over possessions that are rightfully theirs anyway. Change your heart, change your life, change your financial position. Repent.
Because when you do this, you will finally understand what you have been worshipping all along: for it is not me. You will discover what it is to be marginal, vulnerable, even crucified. You will experience true solidarity with the rejected and suffering servant. And having gone on this journey, then, and only then, you will be ready to come, follow me.
When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Ω
Alison Sampson is a Baptist minister who benefitted greatly from learning with the School of Indigenous Studies. She worships, works and plays on Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung country. You can read more of her work at www.alisonandthewhale.com.
Image credit: Graffiti of Aboriginal flag at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park at Wiki Commons. Graffiti artist unknown.