Actually an Artist

Today I want to continue my meditation on the lessons of the Tridiuum and continue to devote attention to the social and cultural fallout following the mishandling of the release of the FBI and DOJ’s files regarding investigations into Epstein and his crimes. This meditation is much more religiously oriented, but I welcome you to engage with it however it speaks to you. If you missed it, you can find my first post here.

Psalm: Psalm 31:1-4,15-16

¹ In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;
  let me never be put to shame; *
       deliver me in your righteousness.
² Incline your ear to me; *
       make haste to deliver me.
³ Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
  for you are my crag and my stronghold; *
       for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.
⁴ Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, *
       for you are my tower of strength.
¹⁵ My times are in your hand; *
       rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
       and from those who persecute me.
¹⁶ Make your face to shine upon your servant, *
       and in your loving-kindness save me.”

In the Episcopal liturgy for Holy Saturday services, we have readings from Job and Lamentations, the above Psalm, 1 Peter 4, and the burial of Jesus in the tomb (selected verses from Matthew 27 or John 19). We are in Sheol today: “Oh, that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past.” (Job 14:13a) This isn’t hell (which, putting my belief cards out on the table, is not real as we’ve conceived of it), this is an intermediary place, almost a refuge, but not quite comfort, yet: “appoint me a set time, and remember me! If mortals die, will they live again? All the days of my service I would wait until my release should come.” (Job 14 13b-14)

We are presently in this intermediary place as a worldwide society. For Epstein’s crimes spanned the world and used the vulnerability of moving young people across boarders to exploit them further. This intermediary place is dark, God’s promises are unfulfilled, it is a place of death. Physical death in some verses, but spiritual and emotional death in these passages. “If mortals die, will they live again?” is a rhetorical question. It makes me think of the Valley of the Dry Bones, which God does bring back to life, but it’s also pleading: please don’t forget me here. It is not a life-giving place. We never know how long we are going to be in Sheol. But the psalmist has more faith than I do. God’s face will shine in this dark world. A face of loving-kindness.

In listening to Amanda Doyle interview Brad Edwards, who represents about 200 of Epstein’s victims, he said that had the judge responsible for the second case against Epstein not allowed victims to read statements about what they experienced, we would have seen more of them die by suicide. As it is, we have lost some of them already. The time for remembering came and went, and the powers of death overwhelmed them. Now, with the malicious release of Epstein survivors identities, we see a retraumatization. The women harmed by Epstein are being harmed by those who colluded to protect power. But they are not alone. We can all be “towers of strength” against these death-dealers. We can all speak life and truth and goodness. Edwards finishes the interview saying that what the victims most need right now is solidarity. We can fight against public shaming of them (particularly the slut-shaming type of comments you see with victims in these sort of situations). We can pressure our lawmakers to hold those accountable who manipulated systems to work like this. We can go down into Sheol with them. And remind them of the lovingkindness that is there for all.

Holy Saturday is an invitation to solidarity with victims of all injustice, oppression, and violence. It is a ritualized time to contemplate Sheol and see the humanity of the suffering faces in our midst. It’s a reminder that Jesus today is there and even in Sheol there is a time appointed for renewal. It is a reminder, too, that sometimes we do face more than we can take. The victims of Epstein who have died are a reminder not to put some sort of glib spirtual-bypassy saying on it. The powers of death do overwhelm. And just because we know that “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end” does not somehow make this better. We may know how the story continues tomorrow, but it wasn’t some reversal: the journey to Sheol changes you. It changes everything. Our responsibility is to acknowledge and help that change happen for the good.