[From Dww-work]… THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Harriet Tubman knew how precious freedom is. Harriet’s grandparents were members of the Ashanti people of Ghana. Her grandparents were kidnapped from their land in 1725 and sold into slavery. Harriet was the third generation in her family to live as slaves. But Harriet Tubman became a link to freedom, not just for her family, but for hundreds of other slave families as well. Harriet became the most famous conductor on what has come to be called the “Underground Railroad.”

Harriet’s flight from slavery was sparked by rumors that there were plans to sell her and two of her brothers to a chain gang. As if the back-breaking labors of the chain gangs weren’t enough, they would probably never see their family again. So Harriet decided to escape. She wandered by her parent’s cottage that night, plaintively singing a gospel tune about being “bound for the Promised Land.” It was a secret code many slaves used to signal that they were planning to leave.

Harriet Tubman’s escape that night was successful. She traveled mostly by night and hid in fields and barns during the day.
There were designated stops along her multi-state trek at the homes of those sympathetic to the cause of freedom. Her
destination was the Northern states, or even Canada, where many escaped slaves made their homes. Her life depended on her
every step. The fact that this lone woman successfully traveled to freedom is remarkable enough in itself. The fact that she
chose to return to slave country hundreds of times to lead others on the Underground Railroad to freedom is astounding. She
risked re-capture, beatings, jail time, and even death to help others out of slavery. She and her charges must have suffered from
hunger, fear, lack of sleep, extremes of the weather, exhaustion but they still traveled on. At one point, on the last leg of their
trip into Canada, they had to cross a flimsy bridge of wooden planks suspended over the swelling Niagara Falls. Surely there
were times when they all wanted to turn back. It was at these times that Harriet counseled, “Children, if you are tired, keep
going; if you are scared, keep going; if you are hungry, keep going.” And Harriet Tubman herself kept going, risking her life to
lead thousands of slaves to freedom. The March 1997 issue of EBONY magazine contains a telling quote from Ms. Tubman.
She once said, “I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves.” (Maria
Mallory, “Bound for Freedom” U.S. News and World Report, April 14, 1997, p.79, 83. Last quote from Ebony, March
1997, p. 62. )

Did you hear that? She could have freed thousands more, “IF THEY HAD KNOWN THEY WERE SLAVES.” There are
people who are slaves and don’t even know it: slaves to dangerous and disgusting habits, slaves to dehumanizing and degrading
lifestyles, slaves to self-defeating attitudes and life-denying practices. We live in a society that thinks it can defy the laws of
sowing and reaping, but it is an illusion. Want a healthy body, then sow the right seeds for a healthy body. Want a happy
marriage, then sow the seeds of a happy marriage. Want to be financially secure, then sow the seeds of conservation and good
stewardship. We are free. We can choose. But freedom has consequences.

WESTMINSTER PULPIT (Sacramento)
7-2-00    “FREEDOM”  Text: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Preacher: The Rev. Carol Pagelsen

FREEDOM; SLAVERY; SIN; SALVATION