A Glimpse of the Peaceable Kingdom
Human Befriends Gorilla
André Bauma, zookeeper/park ranger at Virunga National Park in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, raised two orphaned female
gorillas. They remain very close, as one can see. Photo by James
Gifford of the UK, who lives in Botswana. See “Love you, Daddy!”
Editor’s Corner Essay:
Nativity Narratives and Class-Busting
Matthew’s Story
The two stories of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels, though
differing in emphases and not compatible in some details, both
strongly suggest that in the coming of the Child, conventional
social structures of class and caste are so undermined that they
break down. In Matthew’s birth narrative, celebrated in the feast
of Epiphany (January 6), all the active characters are male, but
they participate in subversive, even revolutionary actions. Magi
from eastern lands arrive in Jerusalem, claiming that they have
seen an extraordinary star rising that announces the coming of a
divine king of the Jews. Magi were Zoroastrian astrologers,
probably attached to a royal court, who were also adepts in
ceremonial magic. They naturally expected to find the newborn
divine king in the capital city, but the blood-splattered,
Rome-appointed “king,” Herod the “Great” (close to his death at
this point in time) after consulting scriptural authorities, sent
them to Bethlehem and asked them to return afterwards with further
information, as he wanted to go and worship the Child himself.
However, his intentions, which were to wipe out this infant
competitor, were foiled as the Magi and the Child’s foster father
Joseph were guided through dreams to take action by which the
Child was saved. The narrator comments at various points in the
story that events happen to fulfil a number of scriptural
prophecies.
It is not hard to see how social class is overthrown in this Birth
of the Hero narrative. A peasant family, near the bottom of the
human social structure, is favored by being given guardianship of
the divine-human hero, and divine guidance that defeats the
powerful, paranoid tyrant at the top; wealthy members of an elite
class of retainers to a foreign monarch bow down before the Child,
offering rich gifts that amount to tribute.
Mainstream biblical scholars consider that the story is
fictional. But whether parable or history, its important image of
the appearance of a divinely-appointed star in the darkness, whose
significance is perceived by the wise, is profoundly meaningful,
true in the history-of-religions sense of myth as a story that
expresses the nature of ultimate reality. If it is seen as
parable, later developments of the story can be as valid as the
original. Probably partly by cross-reference to Psalm 72:10, “Let
the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; the kings
of Sheba and Seba offer gifts,” the Magi came to be seen as kings,
and even given names (Melchior, Casper, and Balthazar), their
royalty a development which heightens the theme of the inverting
of class structure.
Luke’s Story
In the story as told by Luke, not only class but even caste is
inverted. In contrast to Matthew’s story, in which the family
patriarch receives divine guidance and takes action that includes
Mary, it is the young peasant woman (probably still an adolescent)
herself whom the angel visits with news of her role in the
forthcoming deliverance. She immediately goes off, apparently
alone, to visit a relative many miles away who is also expecting a
liberating child.
In nearly all human societies prior to modern times in the West,
women were a lower caste, surrounded by almost insurmountable
walls which kept them/us more or less powerless. Here and there
one could find exceptions--a powerful woman, a small elite female
subclass--but their power did not serve to empower other women in --
--the society. But in the “Song of Mary” in Luke 1, the --
--pregnant peasant girl gives thanks to God who “has put --
--down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the --
--humble.”
Sheep-herders in the fields--a subclass probably even lower than --
--the smallholding peasants (just --
--think: who wants to stay up all night --
--in the cold, minding animals?)--are
also favored with a visit by an
announcing angel, accompanied by a
great celestial army (stratias) of
angels telling of the coming peace on
earth. An army proclaiming peace!
Peace in this setting is an issue of
the imperial oppression--gouging--of a
small, vulnerable country, leading to
loss of farms, hunger, and increase of
the day-laborer class. Probably the
“heavenly hosts” represent the divine
power that is poised to overthrow the
occupying, and massacring Romans;
compare the vision Elisha and his
servant saw of a protective divine army
in 2 Kings 6:15-17. (How Luke’s army
morphed into a choir would be an
interesting study.)
But the most radical symbol of the overthrow not only of class but
of caste is surely the fact that the Divine Child’s birth takes
place in an inn’s stable, probably a kind of caravansary, among
(implied) beasts of burden, his cradle a manger. In later
centuries, artists bring some of the the shepherds’ animals, and
the Magi’s camels, into the picture as well. Members of a low
class may, rarely, move into a higher one, but animals are
somewhat like “Untouchables,” in that we do not see them breaking
caste; they don’t become humans. Yet in this story God appears
among animals: Immanuel, God is with us, including us (nonhuman)
animals. What an astonishing, enormous message for the followers
of Jesus!
The Light of Common Day
However! As we all know, despite two thousand years of Christian
celebrations of both versions of the Nativity story, their deeply
subversive message seems to have gone almost completely
unnoticed. Empires controlled by claimed Christians, have gone on
gouging the countries they control. Women continued to be
oppressed in most cultures, not excluding our own Western culture
(although matters have improved in many ways here). Thousands of
humans are still trafficked and enslaved, although slavery is
illegal in all countries. Animals have always been enslaved,
killed, eaten, now by the millions. Despite the announced
liberation of the oppressed by the heavenly army, Peace on Earth
is scarce.
An example of the near-universality of class can be found in the
way it can appear, virtually spontaneously, among children. In my
childhood I attended a small Protestant Christian school. My
class had seven (later eight) girls and five or six boys, who,
after we moved into third grade at age eight, sorted ourselves
into two categories--the Desirables and the Undesirables. There --
--were no noticeable signs of difference in --
--family income in our spread-out farming --
--community; rather, self-confidence or lack --
--thereof seemed to be the chief criterion for --
--class membership. I was not very conscious --
--of the situation among the boys, but with the --
--girls there were five of the former and three --
--of the latter. The undesirables socialized --
--with one another, but did not respect each --
--other much; they would rather have been --
--accepted by the in-group. There was little --
--outright bullying, but the pain of the --
--undesirables at being avoided and held in --
--contempt was so intense that, after one was --
--killed in a traffic accident, another envied --
--her her escape and became suicidal--at age
ten--and continued so for years. Fortunately, she never did take --
--her own life, but occasionally one hears in the news of a --
--bullied girl doing just that. Class-born pain among boys may --
--erupt in violence in the form of school shootings, often --
--culminating in suicide. (There are of course other --
--motivations for shootings as well.) If this sort of thing --
--goes on among children, it is no surprise that it appears, --
--writ large, among adults, where there are likely to be many --
--more factors involved, especially money, education, and --
--personal power, and correspondingly more harm done.
To Those Who Sit in Darkness
And yet, “the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness
has not extinguished it.” Even when I still firmly believed that
the desirable kids were superior to the others, something in me
felt dimly at the same time that the whole social setup was
terribly wrong. When I saw my mother functioning as the family’s
servant, I was troubled: this isn’t fair, I thought. I sat
around the table with my family eating animals (sometimes I liked
the meat, sometimes I could barely get it down), but at the same
time was relieved that I didn’t have to be the one catching and
killing a chicken from our coop--poor chicken!--because, when I
let myself think about it, I sensed that something was very wrong
at this level too. No doubt many readers have had similar
intuitions in childhood.
In college I had a dorm-mate who liked to talk about her family’s
being from Philadelphia; she seemed proud of it. Being from the
Pacific Northwest myself, I remember asking her “Do you really
think being from Philadelphia makes a person superior?” Her
answer, “Yes, I do,” surprised me; how could someone who shared my
own religious and spiritual commitments believe such an absurd
thing? I thought of an apt rejoinder (later!): ”I hope God is
impressed.” Perhaps it’s just as well I didn’t say it to her, as
she may have been too insecure to deal with it; but there are
doubtless times when an edgy comment like this might actually make
persons with an attitude of entitlement think twice.
It’s important that people of good will who have some social
advantages not underestimate the harmfulness of class attitudes.
We must avoid every sign of contempt of our society’s
“undesirables;’ the pain and psychological damage it causes may
trigger very harmful actions, whether on an individual, social, or
political level. We all know of heroic figures from an oppressed
class, such as Cesar Chavez who responded to the suffering they
and their fellows experienced with compassionate, nonviolent
action for change. But in too many cases, perceived contempt and
abuse lead to evil actions, small or great, as we have seen
vividly in recent years both in the US and other Western
countries.
But even more important than checking the temptation to show
disdain--for anyone--is to find the life-giving: to seek out and
probe, ever more deeply, the symbols and source of love and hope
in our own (and/or other) traditions, and to put them into
action. Actively loving those who operate like enemies is
terribly hard, as anyone who has tried it knows. But there is no
other way to break through evil social structures. Above all, we
must seek the Fountainhead of love and hope, the One from and by
whom we all live. The symbols differ in different religions: God
calls and empowers a human being to liberate the slaves of the
oppressive emperor in Egypt; Allah calls and empowers the slave
Rabia to be the beloved of the divine Heart, and a counselor and
healer, a light still shining on in the darkness of centuries; the
Buddha in an early incarnation gives his life to feed starving
tiger cubs; Hindus of different castes or classes adore the
beautiful, mischievous child Krishna raised by a humble
cow-herding family. God is not impressed by class status.
. . . .A child in a foul stable
Where the beasts feed and foam,
Only where he was homeless
Are you and I at home . . . .
--Editor
The quotation is from G.K. Chesterton’s “The House of Christmas,”
1912
NewsNote
Cockfighting to End in Puerto Rico
In December Congress passed a law banning cockfighting in the
territory of Puerto Rico, going into effect in one year. This
good news for the animals has dismayed many Puerto Ricans, because
the cruel sport is centuries old and makes up a major part of the
economy. Considering our failure to help the territory recover
from Hurricane Maria, it is crucial that we step up now and do
so. See Ban
Unset Gems
“Animals . . . . liv[e] by voices we shall never hear . . . .
--Henry Beston
Letter: Gerald Niles
Dear Editor,
Stanley Milgram’s study [featured in the editorial essay in the
December issue], like Pavlov’s with dogs, ties into twisted
behavior modifications I’ve seen in prisons, as covers for abuse.
Perhaps the false ego of authoritarians is the beam in their
eyes. Increasingly these days they get caught, convicted, and
even imprisoned. Everyone should be responsible, and held
accountable for their deeds.
I think the cruelty of abusive authorities is along the same line
as flesh eating. Said differently, the flesh eaters’ acts in and
of themselves must always be cruel. Thank you for the
thought-provoking depth of your essay. --G.N.
Pioneer: Cesar Estrada Chavez, 1927 - 1993
Cesar Chavez was born March 31, 1927 near Yuma, Arizona, the
second of the six children of Juana and Librado Chavez. He was
named after his grandfather Cesario, who had escaped from slavery
on a Mexican ranch and homesteaded in Arizona in the 1880s. Juana
was one of the most important influences in Cesar's life, showing
and teaching her children that violence and hatred were wrong.
When Cesar was born the family owned a ranch and a store, living
in an apartment above the latter. Later, in the depths of
the Depression, their small adobe house and land were swindled
from them by dishonest Anglos, including the lawyer whom Librado
hired to help him get his property back, an injustice that had a
deep impact on Cesar. The now-homeless family went to California
to seek migrant farm work.
Cesar also had a bitter experience in school, or rather schools;
because the family moved so frequently, he attended no fewer than
37 schools before finally finishing grade school at age 15. He
recalled being hit with a ruler for speaking Spanish (his only
language); in racially integrated schools he endured racist
remarks which made him feel like "a monkey in a cage." At that
time Cesar felt that school had nothing to do with the experience
of migrant farm workers. (In later years, however, he came to
value learning very highly, and the walls of his office were lined
with hundreds of volumes on philosophy, economics, biography,
unions, and the like.)
Because his father had been injured and was unable to work, as an
adolescent Cesar never went to high school but worked in the
fields full time Two years after completing grade school, in
1944, he enlisted in the Navy (where he suffered further
prejudice) and participated in WWII. In 1948 he married Helen
Favela, whom her granddaughter describes as a truly wonderful
person. They were to become the parents of eight children.
Cesar had ample experience of the suffering of farm laborers:
grinding labor, often in a stooping position; suffocating heat;
impossibly low wages; being out of control of one's life and that
of one's family. (As a farm girl working in the fields in the heat
of summer, I had a taste of this bitter fruit, and can barely
imagine what it is like to see no escape from it.) Cesar and his
family further encountered soul-killing contempt and the grave
dangers of the poisons slathered on the fields.
His strong sense of justice and dignity, and his mother's
teachings of the ultimacy of nonviolent love, would not allow him
to accept the idea that he and his people must be permanently
trapped in such endless misery. He found kindred spirits with
whom to discuss solutions: Fr. Donald McDonnell, Fred Ross,
Dolores Huerta. He studied the lives and teachings of Francis of
Assisi and Mohandas (the Mahatma) Gandhi; he informed himself
about the power of unions. After a period of work in the 1950s in
Fred Ross and Saul Alinsky's Community Service Organization, in
1962 he joined with Dolores Huerta to form the National Farm
Workers Association, later the United Farm Workers (UFW).
Progress was slow at first, with much resistance from growers,
including threats of violence, apathy from the public, and
noncooperation from fellow workers caught in anxiety. Under
Cesar's inspired leadership, and the use of nonviolent tactics
such as the table-grape boycott and the 340-mile march from Delano
to Sacramento, the movement gained in power. Like Gandhi, from
time to time Cesar employed fasts. "The fast is . . . a heartfelt
prayer for purification and strengthening [for myself and my
colleagues]. . . . an act of penance for those in positions of
moral authority, and for all men and women . . . who know that
they could and should do more. The fast is finally a declaration
of non- cooperation with supermarkets who . . . profit from
California table grapes. . . . [T]he plague of pesticides on our
land and our food . . . . threatens to choke out the life of our
people and also the life system that supports us all. The
solution to this deadly crisis will not be found in the arrogance
of the powerful, but in solidarity with the weak and
helpless. . . . Together, all things are possible."
In April of 1993 Cesar participated in defending the UFW from a
lawsuit by giant California vegetable producer Bruce Church,
Inc. for their loss of millions of dollars during the lettuce
boycott of the 1980s. Cesar testified for many hours on April 23,
but did not feel ill except for a sense of weakness. But the next
morning he was found dead, a book in his hand, a peaceful smile on
his face.
Cesar's lifelong work on behalf of oppressed human beings is well
known, with several states celebrating his birthday as a holiday,
but his love for and defense of animals receives little notice;
most biographies of him do not even mention this issue. I was
able to interview his granddaughter, Christine Chavez, who carries
on his legacy on behalf both of farm workers and of animals.
Christine told me that it was her grandfather’s study of Gandhi in
the 1960s that convinced Cesar to adopt a vegetarian diet based on
compassion. Another source (cited in Wikipedia) quotes him as
saying "It was my dog Boycott who led me to question the right of
humans to eat other sentient beings." No doubt there is truth to
both statements. Cesar was in fact a strict vegan, rejecting also
the wearing of leather and wool. He was willing to speak up at
dinners in which others were eating flesh (not easy to do, as
readers of PT well know), to point out to them the suffering of
animals which underlies their meal. Christine also mentioned her
grandfather's awareness of the links between the exploitation of
animals and of farm workers; for example, in one instance
undocumented workers were threatened with deportation if they
reported animal abuse at a farm where they were working.
In 1992 Cesar received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
organization In Defense of Animals. In his remarks he said "We
need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people
understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must
protect them and love them as we love ourselves . . . We know we
cannot be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them. . . in
the name of science, ... in the name of sport . . . and in the
name of food." He also declared that "Kindness and compassion
towards all living beings is a mark of a civilized society.
Racism, economic deprival, . . . bullfighting and rodeos are all
cut from the same defective fabric: violence. Only when we have
become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live
well ourselves."
--Gracia Fay Ellwood
Derived from the interview with Cesar’s granddaughter Christine
Chavez as well as from Wikipedia and other online sources. The
black-and-white photo shows Cesar breaking a fast for justice as
bread is shared with him by Robert Kennedy in connection with an
open-air Eucharistic service fifty years ago. The woman on the
left is Helen Favela Chavez. In the present decade Cesar’s
eleven-year-old great-grand-niece, Genesis Butler, continues his
courageous tradition of speaking up for aimals.
Article reprinted from the May 2007 PT.
Recipe
Vegetable Curry
3 yellow onions, chopped
¾ pound cooked potatoes, diced
¾ lb. tomatoes, sliced
½ lb. green beans, sliced
A touch of chili powder
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teas. (or 1 T.) ginger
1 teas. (or 1 T.) curry powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Peel and chop the onions, and sauté them in the olive oil (less is
better); add the garlic and curry powder, and continue for a
further 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and if necessary some hot
water. There should be a thick gravy; if not, shake in some whole
wheat flour and stir. Add the beans and simmer for 8 minutes,
then add the ginger and chili powder. Lastly, add the potatoes
and make sure they are well heated, 5 or 6 minutes. Season with
salt and pepper, and serve with brown rice or chow mein noodles.
--Sonya Richmond, from her book International Vegetarian Cookery
Poetry: Faith L. Bowman, Shel Silverstein
God is There
While the world was wrapped in silence,
Winter night’s swift course half-run,
God’s almighty Word of Wisdom
From her heavenly place leaped down!
To a people battered, bleeding,
Ruled by rapine, fire, and fist
Came a pledge of peace and healing,
Of God’s kingdom in their midst.
Where we call no man our master
But are kin and equals all,
Rich and homeless feast together--
God is there to grace the hall.
May the towers of empire empty,
All that greed and guns devise;
May the Christ, new-born among us,
Plant the seeds of Paradise.
--F.L.B, 1938-
From the website Faith Poems
Point of View
Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless,
Christmas dinner's dark and blue,
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey's point of view.
Sunday dinner isn't sunny
Easter feasts are rotten luck,
When you see it from the viewpoint
Of the chicken or the duck.
Oh, how I once loved tuna salad,
Pork and lobster, lamb chops, too,
Till I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner's point of view.
--S.S., 1930-1999
--Contributed by Will Tuttle