The fleet is suffering a water crisis but even though they’ve found a planet with enough H2O to avert this crisis, getting it isn’t going to be easy. There is hard labor involved, and the need of about 1,000 able bodies to do it. Someone has the brilliant idea of using a ship full of prisoners to do the work. There’s some talk about simply forcing them to do it, but President Roslin decides to offer “freedom points” for those who volunteer. Apollo is sent over to make the deal but finds himself in a situation he didn’t account for. Tom Zarek, a freedom fighter to some and a terrorist to others, has rallied the troops behind him and they won’t make a deal without his say-so. In reality, Zarek has planned a takeover of the ship and Apollo’s arrival gives him just the opportunity he needs. They overthrow the guards and take control, demanding release and the election of a new government.
In examining this episode for what it has to say to a pilgrim people seeking a new home, I think we have to ask ourselves what this new home looks like and how we envision people being treated in it – especially the people that the society we come from would consider to be of lowly status or perhaps even dangerous. The word “slave” is tossed around quite a bit in this episode, and there’s no question that the line between prisoner and slave is often blurred, even in what we would consider civilized society.
In regards to how we treat the less-privileged people among us, I think that we can find a lot of encouragement in the God’s instruction to the people of Israel after they had escaped the clutches of the Pharaoh. In Deuteronomy 10:19 it says, “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” I love how the scriptures know that we are quick to forget our lowly positions when we have obtained higher ones. The commitment to justice for the lowly is a common thread throughout the instructions of how the Israelites are to live. Whereas most conquering nations take advantage of their power over the ones who have been conquered, God orders the Israelites to do the opposite. Of course, just because God says to do something it doesn’t mean that the people will do it. It’s as true for the Israelites as it is for us.
Thankfully, as Christian pilgrims we also have the example of Christ. At one point in the episode Zarek is talking to Apollo and mentions the fact that his call sign is the name of a god. He says that Apollo is both the god of the hunt as well as a great healer saying, “A god can reconcile two opposing forces but a mortal has to pick one side or another.” Jesus also reconciled what could be understood as two opposing ideas: the idea of a king and the idea of a servant. Though he was more powerful and more deserving of praise than any other being on the earth, he chose to become the lowliest of all – serving the very creatures he formed. Paul’s words in Philippians 2 seem to contradict Zarek’s idea that mortals have to choose between ideas that seem to be at odds. He says, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the very form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
How we treat the lowliest among us reflects how we think of ourselves. After all, if we think we are too good for something – say cleaning toilets for example – then what do we think of those who clean toilets for a living? I believe that a true understanding of the gospel doesn’t leave any room for oppression and that a pilgrim people who are shaped by this gospel would have no place for a ship full of slaves.