Author and spiritual director Therese Taylor-Stinson describes Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) as a public mystic and freedom fighter:
[After] freeing approximately seventy enslaved family members and friends … she also helped liberate approximately three hundred other enslaved people while conducting raids on Confederate plantations during her service in the [U.S.] Civil War. She never lost a person. Moses, as she was later called by slave catchers and ultimately by those whom she liberated, was leading the way to the promised outcome.… [1]
There was an active Underground Railroad conducted by Quakers and other religious objectors in the region, and there were also familial connections and friendships among the enslaved and free Blacks who cooperated with the Underground Railroad. These networks and their resources, combined with Harriet’s ingrained internal freedom, made it possible for her to mentally and emotionally overcome any physical threat from land or person. Minty’s [from Araminta, Tubman’s original name] ancestral connections to Africa were only one or two generations removed. She more than likely inherited her ancestors’ deep connection to the land and cultivated the necessary skills for identifying needed crops and resources on the land to nourish, to heal, and to soothe discomfort, among other talents….
Minty, soon to be called Moses by the slave catchers and Harriet Tubman in her newly found freedom, had a deep connection with a Supreme Being and a deep conviction that she was called to her freedom in order to lead others to the same. Through the many strains of her service to free the enslaved within her reach, she can be firmly seen as a public mystic. Though her narcolepsy was a lifelong disability, Minty used those moments of unscheduled sleep to hear from a God who had no boundaries. She even used her brain injury to discern her path to freedom and to trust Divine leading. Harriet Tubman had a strong conviction to make her life and actions matter for the larger community. [2]
Author and meditation teacher Spring Washam views Tubman’s prophetic witness as a “stream of liberation” speaking to us today.
Harriet says, “Child, there is a stream of liberation, great compassion, and spiritual power that flows down through the Black church. Many heroes, heroines, and great beings come through that stream. The movement for Black liberation started in the church, we organized in the church, we prayed in the church, and that stream now flows down through you.”…
[Harriet] restored and renewed a part of my root system that had been damaged and severed. I made another vow that I would never give up on our ancestor’s “dream” of a better world. If my task is to carry a piece of the movement forward, and to help build something new, then I humbly accept it. I too want a kinder world, a more loving world, a world in which justice and compassion include everyone. Through Harriet, you, me, and the spirited songs sung on Sunday mornings in Black churches, Moses is rising again. [3]
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Sarah Young Jesus Listens
Gentle Jesus, When I’m feeling overwhelmed by my circumstances, please remind me to spend time focusing on You and listening to You. I love to hear You saying to me, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Listening to You while I’m feeling stressed requires a lot of discipline and trust. My racing thoughts make it hard to hear Your gentle whisper. So I’m thankful for the help of Your Spirit, who calms my mind when I ask. I rejoice that You—the Prince of Peace—are with me at all times. Not only are You with me, but You are also in my circumstances. You’re in control of everything that happens to me! I know that You are never the author of evil, yet You’re able to take bad things and use them for good. This doesn’t always remove my suffering, but it does redeem it—infusing it with meaning. So whenever I’m in a storm of difficulties, I’ll listen for Your voice saying, “Take courage! It is I.” And I’ll search for signs of Your abiding Presence in the storm. Your Word assures me that I will seek You and find You when I search for You with all my heart. In Your calming Name, Amen
MATTHEW 14:27; But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”.
1 KINGS 19:12; 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
ISAIAH 9:6 NASB; For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will [ a]rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
JEREMIAH 29:13 NKJV; And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Young, Sarah. Jesus Listens (p. 240). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
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