In the Spirit of Crazy Horse

Lectionary Reflections for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost

By Robert Two Bulls

Readings for Pentecost 13, Proper 17, Year C, Aug. 29, 2004

Ecclesiasticus 10 (7-11), 12-18

Psalm 112

Hebrews 13:1-8

Luke 14:1,7-14

When I make the journey back to my homeland I try to find time to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is a work in progress, and when completed will be the world's largest sculpture surrounded by a vast complex of housing and a major university for Native American Indians.

The memorial is a tribute to the spirit of Crazy Horse – a famous Lakota leader. During my visit, I usually spend time pondering the life of this man, as well as conjuring up memories of Lakota people I have revered. Crazy Horse, and others who I remember, exemplified the four virtues of the Lakota; courage, wisdom, generosity and fortitude. And I always seem to see where I fall short of these hard-to-live-by virtues.

In the annals of history, it is said that Crazy Horse did not readily call attention to himself. I wonder what his thoughts on this memorial would be? He was not filled with pride, the first of the seven deadly sins to which the writer of the Book of Ecclesiasticus warns, and which traditional Lakota society frowned upon. This is because pride and arrogance is the love of self, which can be excessive and exclusive. The heart is withdrawn into the bowels of self centeredness and is a movement away from God the creator and the rest of humanity.

But the writer of the Book of Ecclesiasticus asks why one should be filled with such negativity when the body will eventually “inherit maggots and vermin and worms.” Our own death is imminent. The spirit of Crazy Horse rides high with this verse in the Gospel of Luke, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Monuments seem to prolong a life. There are plenty of people in this world who would love to have a large monument in tribute to their life's work. In this country, we tend to erect memorials and monuments to all of our political leaders, whether they deserved it or not.

Monuments seem to prolong a life. There are plenty of people in this world who would love to have a large monument in tribute to their life's work. In this country, we tend to erect memorials and monuments to all of our political leaders, whether they deserved it or not. We only look to the good that they have accomplished, never minding the fact that many people were left behind and forgotten in their wake.

When I was home in South Dakota recently for a few weeks, I began reading the local daily paper. I noticed that the paper ran a circuit court column a few times a week, which listed the names of individuals, their crimes committed, as well as their sentences. I became interested in the fact that the individuals listed were overwhelmingly Native American males – in this case Lakota/Dakota men. The crimes ranged from petty ones to the most heinous. I later scanned the archives of this newspaper online and noticed that again the people listed were overwhelmingly Lakota/Dakota.

I said to myself that no doubt that this high percentage of Lakota/Dakota people incarcerated might have something to do with the high poverty level in this state among my own people. Sadly, this level has remained constant for decades – I might venture to say it has ever since Crazy Horse was killed in 1877. So what can be done?

This society makes it easier to forget about those in jails and prisons, to be inhospitable to strangers, and to not have “mutual love” for all. We can tell ourselves that people are in prison   because they committed crimes, so forget about them. We tell our children to never trust a stranger, and they carry those thoughts into adulthood. And we can say, “I have “mutual love” but only for my friends and family.” So what can be done?

The gospel calls us to invite the outcast to our party, which in turn compels communication with them. Inviting the stranger to break bread with us is an extreme idea which would require courage. Because it means that we have to get to know them as human, as a real person. The gospel is calling us to look into the face of individuals who we refuse to see and acknowledge as real people. Jesus is calling us to know them and to wrap our hearts around them with love. Are we willing to take this sort of action?

The Rev. Robert Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota) is missioner for Native Ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He is an artist and an educator who develops inter- and cross-cultural models on Christianity and traditional spiritual practices among indigenous peoples and other communities. Robert may be reached by email at indigenous@ladiocese.org .