Trans Spirituality – Martin Luther King Day

It is very interesting to me that this post is coming out around Martin Luther King Day. This is because on the Jewish calendar it comes out between the Torah readings of Shemot – Exodus and Va’era – I (God) appeared. In these two readings, the Israelites are enslaved by Pharaoh, who is a very insecure man, and is afraid of and disgusted by the Israelites. For these reasons, he subjugates them. The text, however, very quickly moves to the story of the Israelites’ redemption, which begins with the work of Moses in Va’era.

Fittingly, there is a very famous Negro Spiritual which tells this story:

Go Down Moses

Way down in Egypt land

Tell ole Pharaoh

To let my people go

When Israel was in Egypt land

Let my people go

Oppressed so hard they could not stand

Let my people go

“Thus spoke the Lord”, bold Moses said

“If not, I’ll smite your first born dead

Let my people go

Given the connection to MLK day this really works. On MLK day we work to right the wrongs done to Black Americans through the impact of slavery in the United States. The parallels are stark and startling.

It gets more interesting yet. In Exodus, 1:8, it states:

A new king rose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

We are about to replace the Trump administration, and Biden will not “know” all the evil policies of the previous administration. I am writing this the day after the confirmation in Congress of the Presidential election and the Democrat’s wins in the Senate in Georgia.

This led to Trump followers, such as Nazis, Klansmen, Proud Boys and all, violently storming the Capitol. They planted pipe bombs, and their actions led to four deaths. They tried to place the blame on AntiFa and BLM, but we know the truth.

Friends it is this kind of evil, led by Pharaoh, led by Haman, led by Hitler, and all the other evil leaders in history including Trump, that we must erase. We of course hope and pray that with a Blue Congress and White House things will get better.

But with COVID getting worse, the economy tanking, wars all over and Iran getting really cranky, the world is a very scary place. Nothing has gotten better for those of us in the community, and we have an allegedly repentant transphobe as our Vice President to be. Only time will tell if she has truly changed her tune, but remember, leopards do not change their spots.

Be ever vigilant, stay safe, social distance, stay inside as much as possible. Take care of each other in every way you can, and if you have the resources, help out your trans siblings. That is the most holy work you can do. Remember that resources are more than dollars. It could be cleaning their room, or taking them to the clinic. Or maybe it’s wiping their forehead, if you’re poz too…

If we’re there for each other, maybe we’ll all get to the other side…

Peace out,

Rona

Tags: featured, opinion, politics, spirituality

Category: Transgender Body & Soul