I-tation by Norman H. Redington
In Ethiopia the pre-Easter "Lent"
-- Hudade Tsome -- is observed
with abstinence from certain
foods, confession of faults, the
performance of long church
services using special music in a
special mode heard only at this
time of year... in short, by
"religious activities". But if that is
all they are, Hudade has
completely failed in its purpose,
which is to liberate man and
woman from every idol, including
"religion", and put them in touch
with the Living JAH.
Thus, many Orthodox believers
are particularly fond of Bob
Marley's song "Stand Up for Your
Rights", a song so Christian, and
therefore so shockingly anti-
religious, that attempts have
been made by some to portray it
as satanic when the very
opposite is true!
Get up, stand up, stand up for
your rights
The word "rights" here means
not only political and economic
rights (although they are
included); "rights" translates the
word "zedek", common (in some
spelling) to Hebrew, Amharic, and
Ge'ez. ["Zedekiah" = Zedek Jah =
Jah's Righteousness.] It denotes
perfect conformity with the Love
of God: as Marley sings in
another song, "They sold Marcus
Garvey for rights".
Most people think great god will
come from the sky
Well, are they wrong? This was,
after all, proclaimed in almost
exactly those words by the
Ethiopian Church Council of
Negus Joshua, and no Rastafari
Bredren doubts that the End will
come, JAH will be revealed in
glory, the Black Star Liner will sail.
The error is not the statement of
fact GREAT GOD WILL COME FROM
THE SKY but in the way MOST
PEOPLE THINK.
Slaves think what their masters
want; slave-masters (including
the invisible non-human slave-
masters who kept the plantation-
owners themselves as slaves)
have always promoted religion
as the "opium of the people", a
drug to prevent both political
and spiritual awakening. What
use is a mythical, non-existent
god unconnected to creation?
Take away everything:
The evil one always claims that
God is uninvolved with matter,
interested only in the spirit. It
hardly matters whether the
implication is that only matter
exists or that matter is an
illusion; either way God is exiled
to a shadowy ghost-world far
from ours. The Orthodox
teaching however is that there is
"tewahido", a complete oneness,
in the universe: "Thou art
everywhere and fillest all things."
God is more real than the
universe itself and he is not far
away, but here; he will make all
things new, not TAKE AWAY
EVERYTHING.
And make everybody feel high:
Note the assumption -- which is
indeed how MOST PEOPLE THINK!
-- that they are safe from the
Great Judgement. God will excuse
my little transgressions, won't
he? We'll all be in heaven by and
by, right?
But if you know what life is
worth, you will look for yours on
earth:
Look for it, because it is lost. On
earth, because that is where we
are, and more importantly
because (glory be to JAH) that is
where He is too: "Say not in thy
heart, Who shall ascend into
heaven? -- that is, to bring Christ
down from above -- or, Who shall
descend into the deep -- that is,
to bring up Christ from the dead
-- but rather, the word is nigh
thee."
Waking up to this reality,
realizing the presence of JAH
here and now, is the purpose of
the various Hudade exercises:
Get up, stand up, stand up for
your rights.
Sick and tired of your easing,
kissing game, dying and going to
heaven in Jesus' name:
The whole hypocritical charade
of otherworldly religion, which
bears no fruit (tafari) either in
political justice or personal
holiness. "Neither like Judas will I
give thee a kiss, but like the Thief
I cry unto thee, Egzio Iyasus
Krestos, Son of God, have mercy
upon me a sinner."
For we know and we understand
almighty God is a living man:
Indeed, the only fully living Man.
The rest of us live only to the
extent that we live in HIM.
Without HIM, we are duppies
haunting the earth even before
our physical deaths, but with HIM
we are so alive that physical
death is a minor matter. Indeed,
although we will someday
experience physical death and
physical resurrection (for good
or for ill), this is almost
unimportant, because NOW is the
day of duty (hudade): "Behold,
THIS day have I set two roads
before you, one to life and one to
death. Choose life therefore, that
ye may live."
Get up, stand up, stand up for
your rights.