Rev. George Miller
October 10, 2021
Exodus 16:1-8
A bell.
A bell rang out in Cuba.
That’s how the day began on October 10, 1868.
A bell rung as it did for 200 years before.
A slave bell, indicating to the women and men of African descent that their
day of forced labor in the sugar plantation was about to begin.
Spain had established a colony in Cuba.
Sugar was their big export, and sugar required many, many slaves to
placate the world’s sweet tooth.
So, a bell rang out on Oct 10, 1886, across La Demajagua plantation and
the enslaved stood before the owner.
But instead of a directive, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes surprised them.
Carlos Manuel, a rich owner of a large estate, who had managed the place
since 1844, told the enslaved women and men that they were…free.
Free.
The bell had rung. They stood
before de Cespedes as they had done for nearly 7,000 days before.
But today, October 10 was different.
De Cespedes spoke, and he said they were free. Then he gave them an invatation- to join him in
standing up to Spain so they could all achieve universal freedom.
A bell.
A bell that had rung for 200 years to mark the beginning of enslaved work
was now used to mark the day of independence.
Carlos Manuel’s announcement became known as “The Cry of Yara”, and he would
be called “Father of the Fatherland.”
With this 1 act, with this 1 bell, with this 1 set of spoken words, a brand-new
creation had begun.
Not only did the Father of the Fatherland speak words into being, he came
together with others to write what would be known as the “10th of
October Manifesto.”
This document addressed how the Spanish administration had become corrupt
and repressive.
It read-
“Spain governs us with iron and blood;
It takes from us all political, civil and religious freedom.
It forces us to maintain an expensive army, whose unique use is to repress
and to humiliate us.
To the God of our consciousness we appeal…
We profess sincerely the dogma of brotherhood, tolerance, and justice,
and consider all men, equal, and not be excluded from its benefits.
We want to abolish slavery and compensate whoever is harmed.
If Spain recognizes our rights, it will have Cuba an affectionate
daughter; if it persists in subjugating us, we resolute to die before we will
be under (Spain’s) domination.”
Unfortunately, Spain was not willing to recognize Cuba’s rights or claim her
as an affectionate daughter.
Instead, the people of Cuba withstood decades of war.
Cespedes, a well-known lover, father, and musician, lost all of his
wealth, lost his son, and in 1873 lost his life.
Cuba would not gain independence until decades later, but October 10 became
known as the day of new beginning, marked by a bell, a people, and a man who dared
to say
“That sun you can now see rising…has come to illuminate the first day of
Cuba’s freedom and independence.”
Freedom and independence.
Could there be a more universal and timely theme?
Freedom and independence.
That’s what the 10,000 immigrants are desperate for at the Texas border.
That’s what the LGBTQ community began fighting for in 1969.
That’s what women like Susan B. Anthony and Ida B. Wells marched for.
That’s what the people of Hispaniola sought out when they created the
Haitian flag and said, “In Unity We Find Strength.”
That’s what the earliest American people were willing to die for in 1776.
Freedom and independence is all throughout the Bible.
Jesus- the great liberator of people from their tragic mistakes and the unjust
ways of the world.
Martha’s sister Mary, who dared to learn while sitting at Jesus’s feet.
Judith who liberated her people from a king who foolishly thought he was
god.
The people of Israel in today’s reading.
So often we have come together to praise the Lord, to hear bits and
pieces of scripture, that we may have forgotten what a lot if it is about.
So often we rise on Sunday to the sound of a bell or an alarm clock or cell
phone that we may have taken for granted what scripture says.
But that the nucleus of our faith, the beginning of our narrative as a people,
is that once we were enslaved.
It can be hard for us as modern-day middle-class Americans to remind
ourselves of this narrative thread, but it is essential as we move through the
biblical narrative to understand this truth-
That once our spiritual ancestors were enslaved.
That once our spiritual ancestors cried out.
That once upon a time our fathers’ mothers’ fathers were strangers in a
strange land…and that God set them free.
So, when we talk about independence, when we talk about being delivered it
is not something that should be seen as out there…but something that is also
within, and part of us.
What makes today’s celebration of Cuba’s independence so relatable is the
way in which it shows us that –
-sometimes, the biggest revolution, the biggest change can take place
with just 1 person, with 1 set of words, with 1 liberating act.
What Cuba’s story also teaches us is that the 1 person, that 1 set of
words, that 1 liberating act is often just a step, a small step on the way to
freedom.
For as we experience in today’s reading, true freedom and true independence
is never easy.
Here we have the newly freed people of Israel out in the wilderness. For nearly 2 months, they’ve been wandering,
free but not sure what that means or how to survive.
The people in today’s story are free, but they are also hungry, scared, thirsty,
and unsure.
Can they fully trust God? Should they
fully trust their leaders?
They’re not sure if freedom is really best if it means they can no longer
count on a meal.
So again, they cry out, again God hears, again they discover a new way that
God is present.
They also discover something else- that being saved does not mean all difficulties
will disappear.
Being saved does not mean every problem ceases to exist.
What being saved does mean is that there will be challenges, there
will be chances for transformation, and the construction of new realities.
In other words- being saved means a new creation.
So today, we end of biblical study right here. We leave our spiritual ancestors in the
wilderness, trusting that God will continue to feed them with manna and quail.
Today we celebrate with our beloved Ari and all our Cuban sisters and brothers
across the globe what the ringing of one bell can mean.
Today we celebrate that the fight for freedom and independence is real,
and its universal, and it’s from God.
Today we acknowledge that sweeter than sugar, brighter than the sun, clearer
than the sound of any bell
is that we are all the sons and daughters of God, and as such, what God
ultimately wants is freedom for all.
For that we can say amen.
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