A sermon by The Rt Rev’d Chris McLeod, Dean

Setting the oppressed free – Aboriginal Sunday

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,

 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 14: 18 – 19)

• Letting the oppressed go free.

Jesus’ powerful words find their origin in the Old Testament concept of Jubilee, which in itself drew upon the defining moment of Hebrew history – the Exodus from Egypt. Jubilee was the Sabbath reset of land and people every 50 years (Leviticus 25). The land was allowed to Sabbath rest, and enslaved people were to be set free. There is some question whether Jubilee was ever fully enacted upon or remained just a hopeful vision.

It found its theological fulfilment, however, in the ministry and message of Jesus who announced the year of Jubilee: ‘to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’ (Luke 4: 18 – 19), proclaiming liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and the release of the oppressed.

Christian influence in our nation should not just restrain itself to addressing a few laws that we feel impact upon our personal freedoms or issues around sexual morality, but to offer a much broader vision of a world shaped by God’s reign of justice. The future of eternal freedom meets us in the present through the person of Jesus, as he inaugurated the reign of God’s justice through his life, teaching, ministry, death and resurrection.

• Aboriginal Sunday

Today is Aboriginal Sunday – the Sunday before Australia Day. I think Lynn Arnold preached on this theme last year, but let me remind you of the key concepts behind the day. Aboriginal Sunday was started by an Aboriginal Christian minister and activist called William Cooper. William Cooper was a Yorta Yorta man coming from his traditional area which is near the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in Victoria. William Cooper was secretary of the Australian Aborigines League which was formed by members of the Melbourne Aboriginal Community. William Cooper promoted today as a ‘Day or Mourning’ and a day when sermons should be preached drawing attention to the injustices experienced by Aboriginal people and calling for equal rights and full citizenship. In time, Aboriginal Sunday was replaced by NAIDOC week where the focus would shift to celebrate Aboriginal culture and tradition. However, in recent years there has been a call to highlight Aboriginal Sunday as lead up to the conflicted celebration we call Australia Day.

It should be made firmly clear that William Cooper was solidly Christian and his concerns were based on his Christian convictions and experience of injustice. William Cooper greatly influenced the ministry of Sir Doug Nicholls – Cooper was his great uncle – the first and only Aboriginal Governor of any state in Australia. In 2022, that in itself says something.

• What to do – just 4 suggestions!

• ‘Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God’. Words that are familiar from numerous court room television dramas. ‘Truth telling’ has become a major theme for discussions around First Nations’ justice. We have nothing to fear from telling the story of our nation with all honesty. It will include stories of violence (sexual, physical, and psychological), massacre and genocide, the forced removal of land and children, and numerous other injustices, but there will also be stories of hope and expressions of humanity at its best. Christians are ‘Good News’ people, but we have never stepped away from addressing sin when we encounter it, and calling people to repentance, including whole nations.
• A Voice to Federal Parliament. Our nation needs to hear the voice and wisdom of the First Nations’ peoples. Over 60, 000 years of experience and wisdom is of utmost value to a nation that, officially, is still very young. Resolving the issues around First Nations’ justice demands that First Nations’ voices are listened to, and the shaping of a nation in desperate need of reconciling its past and present.

• Raise the age of juvenile criminal responsibility & stopping First nation’s incarceration

 Intergenerational incarceration is a serious problem for First Nation’s peoples. Over 30% of our gaols are occupied by First Nations’ peoples. In the Northern Territory it is over 80%. Our juvenile detention centres are primarily occupied by First Nations’ children. Incarceration is cyclical, setting up recidivism, poor educational and employment prospects, poor health outcomes, suicide, and the very serious possibility of death in custody. The current movement towards ‘Raising the Age’ is asking to raise the age from 10 to 14. I would argue that 14 is still too young to put a child in gaol. For the long term benefit of First Nations’ peoples, and society at large, more work needs to be done at the ‘grass roots’ level around breaking the cycle of crime and poverty The money needed to be spent must surely outweigh the heavy spiritual, physical, and mental health costs borne by First Nations’ peoples, and the high financial cost of incarceration.

• Preach the Gospel

The Gospel is liberating for all. It is Good News for all. William Cooper was convinced of the power of the Gospel to transform lives, as was Doug Nicholls, as are many other Aboriginal Christian people. Salvation involves the whole of our lives, not just parts of it. Saving souls alone is platonic not Christian – ‘we are souls and bodies’, as the Book of Common Prayer states. Where injustice continues no-one is totally saved; no one is totally free.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,

  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”Amen.