Harriet: Liberation Love That Blesses Enemies - Black Church (Romans 12:9-21)

Imagine for a moment the dimly lit, cramped quarters of a hidden safe house in the woods of Maryland, circa the 1850s. The air is thick with tension and uncertainty, yet it is also infused with an undeniable spirit of hope. Inside, a group of weary souls—fleeing the shackles of slavery—gathers around a flickering candle. At the center of this courageous community stands Harriet Tubman, her weathered hands clasped in prayer. She is a woman of fierce determination, yet what distinguishes her is not just her strength, but her profound capacity for love, even for those who would see her people remain in chains.

As she kneels, the weight of her mission presses down on her shoulders. She prays not only for the safety and freedom of her fellow travelers but also for the very slaveholders who hunt them. Can you imagine the audacity of such a prayer? She doesn’t pray for their demise, but for their transformation. In that moment, Harriet embodies Romans 12:9-21, where Paul calls us to “bless those who persecute you,” to “overcome evil with good.” This is not a call to weakness or submission, but a bold act of spiritual warfare.

Harriet understands that her prayers are a strategic weapon against oppression. Each entreaty is a declaration of liberation, a refusal to let hate dictate her heart. In the face of tremendous injustice, she chooses love—not an agape love that ignores suffering, but a fierce, active love that insists on freedom for all.

This is the love of the Black Church, a love that blesses even while resisting, that seeks justice while extending grace. It’s a love that says, “I will not be defined by the hatred directed at me; instead, I will sow seeds of hope in the soil of despair.” Harriet’s legacy teaches us that true liberation is found when we dare to love our enemies, for in that very act, we become agents of God's transformative justice. So let us lean into this radical love, just as she did, and watch how God can turn our prayers into pathways of liberation for generations to come.