How could a preacher utter the word "slave" and just blithely keep going, emphasizing other themes in the passage without making a full stop to reflect with hearers on this country's evil and devastating history of chattel slavery, and its continuing oppressive and violent systemic effects in our society today?
This is a daunting ethical dilemma for preachers, as the word "slave" occurs often in the texts of the New Testament. The options for preachers include, among others, preaching a sermon that addresses the trauma of chattel slavery in our shared history and present experience; choosing another text for the liturgy and preaching; or choosing one of the translations that interpet the original New Testament Greek word differently.
In the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), for example, the Greek word sometimes translated as "slave" is in other versions translated "hired servant/served you" (RSV) or "hired worker" (GNT) or "servant" (NIV). The work of interpretation and translation is not only historical and cultural, but always ethical as well.
Such dilemmas lead me to be exceedingly thankful for the womanist biblical insights of Nancy Lynne Westfield, Ph.D., author, professor, and since 2019, Director of The Wabash Center, which facilitates collegial and liberatory conversations among professors of theology and religion.
Dr. Westfield illuminates the ethical implications of biblical interpretation as she reflects on this coming Sunday's lectionary gospel text, Luke 17:5-10, in the context of the United States: "For the children of enslaved ancestors, this reference to the tradition of slavery in the ancient Near East can be upsetting and off-putting.... Luke was writing to a Greco-Roman audience where slavery was also widespread, thus creating a multiple-layered metaphor."
"Wrongly, preachers and teachers will compare the chattel slavery of the United States with the system of servitude of biblical times and assert that the slavery of biblical times was "friendlier" or "more humane"--as if models of slavery can be calibrated for tolerability by the enslaved.
"Comparing systems of enslavement is imprecise and crass. Slavery in any period was and is a work of evil. Slavery of every kind creates untold suffering, degradation, and humiliation."
Dr. Westfield emphasizes that this is a challenging passage to interpret. In her own intepretation, she critiques "the current-day prosperity gospel. Prosperity gospel holds to the belief that material wealth is a sign of God's favor. Greed and competition are flaunted and rewarded as the highest values. Those who lack material wealth are somehow thought to be deficient in faith. This passage completely negates that belief. It denounces the theology of prosperity gospel. We must question the pervasiveness of such theology."
Dr. John T. Carroll, professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, writing this week on workingpreacher.org, likewise recognizes the ethical challenges posed by this Lukan text: "The distorted power relations depicted in this passage were commonplace in Luke’s world; though familiar, they are, however, disturbing. This is an exploitative system that people and communities of faith must not replicate or sanction today. It remains a pressing concern, in light of the sobering realities of human trafficking and the trampling of human rights of so many marginalized and vulnerable persons on a global scale. Jesus’ call to protect the vulnerable, earlier in chapter 17, already presses against such an oppressive system (verses 1–2)."
For further scholarship on "slavery in the Greco-Roman world and in early Christianity," Dr. Carroll recommends Jennifer A. Glancy's 2024 book, "Slavery in Early Christianity, Expanded Edition," (Minneapolis: Fortress Press).
As for what we as disciples of Jesus can carry forward from our grappling with this gospel text, Dr. Westfield affirms that a little faith ("like a mustard seed") can set in motion momentous transformation, and proposes that engaging in ministry is its own reward: "the reward for doing well is having done it, and that is all there is to say."
Amen, Dr. Westfield, and praise be to God for your liberating vision and voice! We cannot heal, or follow Jesus into God's justice and love for all, without your ministry of courageous truth-telling.
Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield's complete essay on Luke 17:5-10 may be found in Connections: A Lectionary Commentary, Year C, Volume 3, 2019, pages 372-373. Her current blog, podcast series, and upcoming leadership events are available on wabashcenter.com and wabash.edu
Audrey West, in her reflections on this passage at workingpreacher.org, shares her interpretive approach: "The NRSV uses 'slave' to translate doulos here and most other occurrences in Luke. Among the exceptions are Mary and Simeon, who are called servants (Greek doule, doulos respectively, Luke 1:38; 2:29). The NIV uses 'servant' throughout. I have chosen the latter translation in order to distinguish first century practices from the chattel slavery of the U.S. To be sure, both institutions were oppressive, often horrifyingly so, but there are significant differences between them."