Emancipation Without and Within

Saturday was Emancipation Day in Ontario.  I was not aware of this official day even though it was declared in 2008.   The province designated August 1 as "Emancipation Day" to commemorate the approval  in 1793 of legislation that abolished slavery in Upper Canada as Ontario was then known.  Upper Canada was the first jurisdiction in the British Empire to abolish slavery.   

The declaration of an official day and the emancipation through legislation are both things of which we in Upper Canada can be proud.  However, it is unfortunately that this official day is not generally better known and observed – but perhaps that is more evidence of my shortcoming than a general situation.  In any case, with the Black Lives Matter movement coming to prominence this year it is entering the collective consciousness of residents of Ontario. 

Emancipation of racialized people is something which has not been fully completed as our society is becoming more aware of the extent of systemic racism that exists in different parts of our society.  Racism is an overt aspect of discrimination which exists in many forms in society which many people experience to the detriment of all of us.  It is a hope as well as a goal that true emancipation will one day be a reality in Ontario and all of Canada. 

There is another aspect of discrimination which I want to discuss.  This is the inner prison which seems to be the heritage of all humanity.  There is a definition of sin which I find particularly apt and applicable.  Sin is that part of us which chains us to the past.  I came upon this definition many years ago - unfortunately I am not able to identify the source.  However, the concept of being chained to the past, for me, sums up an important aspect of our lives that prevents us from living fully the lives that God intends us to live.  We need the emancipation of our souls and our psyches from those things which we have done to others and which have been done to us by others which do not allow us to live lives as fully as possible.   

If we are consumed by guilt because of the hurt we have caused others or consumed by anger because of what others have done to us we will not be free.  That is why we can find ourselves awake in the middle of the night with memories of past events filling our thoughts and controlling our emotions.  Fortunately, we are offered something which can come to our aid. What is offered to us is the possibility of forgiveness.  That is why the prayer that was taught to Jesus’ disciples, the Lord’s prayer, is so powerful, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” 

By asking for forgiveness we can receive manumission, a word which I was not aware of until a few years ago.  I was reminded of it when I re-watched the Book of Negros which is a marvelous miniseries-based ion the historical novel by Lawrence Hill. If you are not familiar with it, it can be described as the Canadian “Roots”.  However, to get back to where I left off, manumission is the act of the owner freeing his slave.  When we ask for forgiveness, we are offered manumission by the one who owns us – God.  This is not to say that it is easy to achieve. True forgiveness seems to be difficult to seek and to perhaps even harder to accept.  However, it is ours for the taking.

Blessings on your journey to freedom within and without.