How could a preacher utter the word "slave" and just blithely keep going, emphasizing other themes in the passage without making a full stop to reflect with hearers on this country's evil and devastating history of chattel slavery, and its continuing oppressive and violent systemic effects in our society today?
This is a daunting ethical dilemma for preachers, as the word "slave" occurs often in the texts of the New Testament. The options for preachers include, among others, preaching a sermon that addresses the trauma of chattel slavery in our shared history and present experience; choosing another text for the liturgy and preaching; or choosing one of the translations that interpet the original New Testament Greek word differently.
In the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), for example, the Greek word sometimes translated as "slave" is in other versions translated "hired servant/served you" (RSV) or "hired worker" (GNT) or "servant" (NIV). The work of interpretation and translation is not only historical and cultural, but always ethical as well.
Such dilemmas lead me to be exceedingly thankful for the womanist biblical insights of Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield, author, professor, and since 2019, Director of The Wabash Center, which facilitates collegial and liberative conversations among professors of theology and religion.
Dr. Lynne illuminates the ethical implications of biblical interpretation as she reflects on this Sunday's lectionary gospel text, Luke 17:5-10, in the context of the United States: "For the children of enslaved ancestors, this reference to the tradition of slavery in the ancient Near East can be upsetting and off-putting.... Luke was writing to a Greco-Roman audience where slavery was also widespread, thus creating a multiple-layered metaphor."
"Wrongly, preachers and teachers will compare the chattel slavery of the United States with the system of servitude of biblical times and assert that the slavery of biblical times was "friendlier" or "more humane"--as if models of slavery can be calibrated for tolerability by the enslaved.
"Comparing systems of enslavement is imprecise and crass. Slavery in any period was and is a work of evil. Slavery of every kind creates untold suffering, degradation, and humiliation."
Dr. Lynne emphasizes that this is a challenging passage to interpret. In her own intepretation, she critiques "the current-day prosperity gospel. Prosperity gospel holds to the belief that material wealth is a sign of God's favor. Greed and competition are flaunted and rewarded as the highest values. Those who lack material wealth are somehow thought to be deficient in faith. This passage completely negates that belief. It denounces the theology of prosperity gospel. We must question the pervasiveness of such theology."
As for what we as disciples of Jesus can carry forward from our grappling with this gospel text, Dr. Lynne affirms that a little faith ("like a mustard seed") can set in motion momentous transformation, and proposes that engaging in ministry is its own reward: "the reward for doing well is having done it, and that is all there is to say."
Amen, Dr. Lynne, and praise be to God for your liberating vision and voice! We cannot heal, or follow Jesus into God's justice and love for all, without your ministry of courageous truth-telling.
Dr. Lynne's complete essay on Luke 17:5-10 may be found in Connections: A Lectionary Commentary, Year C, Volume 3, 2019, pages 372-373.
Dr. Lynne's current ministry is described on wabash.edu and wabashcenter.com.