Salutations! How are you doing? On this date of March 10, 2022 we commemorate 109 years since the death of a woman whose birth name was Araminta Ross. She was a courageous woman of Christian faith who did what she could to save men, women, and children who were slaves.
Over the course of eleven years, she personally helped to bring dozens of folks out of slavery into freedom through the Underground Railroad. While it was neither underground nor a literal railroad it was nonetheless a way for people to escape from awful circumstances with the assistance of this resilient woman. When she traveled along the journey “Minty” (as she was nicknamed) would sing the spiritual hymns “Go Down Moses” and “Bound for the Promised Land.”
Back in the early 1990s, the United States dedicated March 10th as a national holiday for this inspiring woman and in 2016 it was announced that her portrait would be appearing on the $20 bill. Though she was born as Araminta Ross she is more commonly referred to in the popular culture by her married name of Harriet Tubman. (harriettubmanbyway.org)
Within his Letter to the Galatians St. Paul wrote the powerful words, “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery” (5:1). Indeed each and every one of us has been set free by the merciful sacrifice of Christ upon the cross and of His glorious Resurrection. We have been drawn into that freedom through the saving waters of Baptism and are enabled and empowered to then live like Harriet Tubman and lead others out of slavery.
While the practice of slavery was formally and thankfully abolished within the United States there are still insidious forms of slavery and oppression that take place in the forms of sinful and unjust behavior. We are called, with the grace of Christ, to be a people of virtue and valor and stand up against diabolical designs. May the Lord bless you and strengthen you as you continue to seek, “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!”