I love a well-researched TV show. For example, did you know that the set of The West Wing was so accurate that it was closed to studio tours for security reasons? It’s extra awesome when a fantasy show is well-researched. I love the show Wheel of Time (haven’t gotten around to reading the books yet) for that reason. As a religion nerd, I love noticing the different theologies, cultures, customs, and histories that the author has clearly drawn from. If you are planning to watch/read Wheel of Time, caution: spoilers ahead!
In Wheel of Time there is a long-prophesied figure, who is said to be “of the blood, but not raised by the blood” of a people called the Aiel. This figure, the prophecy says, is destined to unite, destroy, and save the Aiel. A little convoluted, very foreboding. Is this a dreaded or longed for savior? Or a mixture of both?
We eventually witness this figure learning, and ultimately publicly revealing, the true history of the Aiel people, knowledge that challenges the most central tenet of their philosophy and identity. He learns that this people, proud warriors whose entire system of ethics and behavior codes is centered around honor, came to be because their forebears were cast out of their people of origin for having broken the most sacred oath of pacifism. The knowledge that they are ‘oathbreakers’ is deeply painful and confusing for the Aiel. They are not who they thought they were. The truth about their ancestors and origins changes everything…and it must be faced if they want to survive. Who cannot learn, will not live, the wise ones note.
Departing from fantasyland now: in our nation, Juneteenth is a holiday that both celebrates a joyful milestone in the ongoing history of liberation, and also, in its observance, necessitates facing the painful truth of the origins of our nation, our society, and culture. How we face this knowledge has the potential to unite us in common purpose, destroy the American identity, culture, and society that is rooted in injustice, and save us so we can fully live into a future where all are truly free.
Join us in worship this Sunday to remember and celebrate a milestone of God’s jubilee, and to face the road that still lies ahead. It’s always better when we face it together.
In faith,
Amy
Image credit: We Shall Pass through the Combahee, by Stephen Towns
