Resurrection in Everyday Life: "A Lawyer Who Becomes a Journalist"

Resurrection in Everyday Life:

“A Lawyer Who Becomes a Journalist”

Adherents and observers of Christianity mostly reflect upon resurrection and related themes during Lent.  During the forty-day period preceding Easter Sunday, they meditatively consider Christ’s Passion Narrative in which He turns decisively toward Jerusalem where His ministry culminates with an ironic plot twist.  The perennial spiritual practice of denying a personal enjoyment informally mimics the crucifixion.  Foregoing delights of food, shopping, television, entertainment and quite possibly sex frees time and resources for mental insight and internal revelation.  Utilizing spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer yield increasing ability to listen to one’s inner voice and intuition.  Greater awareness of character defects possibly discards patterns of consciousness and behavior that undermine personal growth.  Hopefully, these newly acquired lessons morph into new patterns of happy, joyous and rewarding daily living.  Lent fosters death and burial of counterproductive habits through self-denial.  Resurrection to a healthier and progressive personality occurs on Easter.

Fascinatingly, disciples can experience resurrection in everyday life.  A horrific situation is not necessary to realize the power of Christ’s teachings.  Discerning your purpose and mission in life may require resurrection.  Often, external pressure of parents, siblings, extended family and close friends proves formidable.  Limited self-acceptance and character incapacities allow their voices to reverberate within the chambers of a person’s heart, mind and psyche.  Appeasing the well-intentioned suggestions and dreams of loved ones can lead to existential death. Some parents live precariously through their children; they expect their children and even grandchildren to achieve their unfulfilled dreams and goals.  Families take great pride in the success of relatives particularly if celebrity ensues.  However, if the carrier of these ambitions does not genuinely possess them within his or her heart of hearts, he or she will experience a glacial but steadfast internal death.  Each day, more vitality and joy will seep out of his or her life.  Of the one hundred and sixty-eight hours in a week, each worker minimally allocates a third of that time to employment and vocation.  It stands to reason that such a substantial commitment of time, intelligence, emotion and talent demands a task that yields more than a biweekly paycheck.  Passion and pure love of what a person does transform any job into sheer joy.  An adage offers, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”  Still, it is vitally and psychologically critical that everyone makes an affirmative and fundamental decision as to how he or she will contribute to the betterment of humankind through a vocation.

I heard the story of a woman’s resurrection at a book release.  Captivatingly, she shared a brief version of her transition from pursuit of a legal career to a rewarding calling as a journalist.  I will identify her as Karen; respecting her desire for anonymity.  She had to reject the dream that her mother, family and community had for her.  This circle of family and friends who dearly love Karen and desired the best of life for her thought she should become an attorney.  Growing up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York during the height of the crack cocaine epidemic in the mid-1980s and 1990s, Karen managed to escape addiction and teen pregnancy.  She maintained academic excellence despite her surrounding challenges and temptations.  Her abstinence and achievements earned the admiration of her family and friends.  Additionally, and rightfully, Karen obtained admission to a prestigious mid-Atlantic research university.  Her circle of loved ones took great pride in her college acceptance as she was an outlier who embodied their dreams and hopes.  They considered her forthcoming matriculation to college as the beginning of her legal career.

Karen deeply felt their collective aspirations for her through the prism of her very close relationship with her mother.  A veteran member of the New York City Police Department, Karen’s mom bragged to her colleagues that her daughter would one day become an attorney and possibly a prosecutor, affectionately called a police officer with a law degree.  To facilitate this dream, Karen’s mother took the bus to and from work; she forewent the purchase of a car, a staple and status symbol amongst police officers.  This act of self-denial enabled Karen’s mother to send a monthly allowance of four hundred dollars ($400) during her collegiate years.  Her mother resolved that her personal sacrifice was worth the investment in her daughter’s goal of passing the New York bar exam and practicing law.

At college, Karen chose to major in political science and minor in English.  Therein, she discovered her love of writing.  She knew internally and intuitively that she wanted to be a journalist.  However, Karen did not know how to tell her mother, family and community.  The end of her college years came and Karen graduated with magna cum laude honors.  Maintaining her silence, Karen earned admission to the law school of her university.  During the summer following her graduation, Karen nurtured her love of writing while treading her increasing anxiety as her entrance to law school approached.  Further repressing the dormant but live volcano in her heart, that fall, Karen left Brooklyn to begin her first year of law school. Feeling great angst, she participated in the annual pinning ceremony for matriculants.  A longstanding and revered tradition at this school, graduates and luminaries in the legal profession returned to campus each fall to put a pin on the lapel of each new student.  Interestingly, that solemn commissioning ceremony was the site of Karen’s epiphany.

Karen knew that she had to withdraw from law school.  She concluded that it was unfair of her to retain her scholarship when some other student could utilize it.  Karen met with the dean of the law school.  In response to hearing Karen’s summary of her emotional, mental and psychological journey to an existential realization that she wholeheartedly wanted to be a journalist, the dean inquired whether she was pregnant.  It took ten minutes to convince the dean otherwise.  Karen asked for a one-year leave of absence with full retention of her scholarship were she to return.  She and the dean agreed that Karen would spend the year in journalism school.  She would practically explore the dream that burned brilliantly within her consciousness and heart.  Karen, in her affirmative meditations, resolved, “God, if I am admitted to journalism school, then I will become a journalist.  If not, I understand You mean for me to return to law school even if I don’t understand.”  Her mother took a few days from her job and traveled to Karen’s law school to assist her in moving after her withdrawal.  In the return car ride, Karen finally revealed her heartfelt dreams to her mother.  As she recounts this story, Karen nearly burst into tears as she recalls her mother’s incredible loving response.  “Above all else, I love you.  We will figure this out.”  Soon thereafter, Karen entered journalism school.  She subsequently accomplished her dream and personal ambition.  Currently, she works for a longstanding national women’s magazine with widespread domestic and international circulation.

The story of this resurrected journalist who died existentially as a first-year law school offers encouragement and hope.  Karen’s withdrawal from law school was in the words of the title of Christian clinical psychologist, Henry Cloud’s, well received book, was Necessary Endings.  The complete title, Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses and Relationships that All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward, captures Karen’s inward journey of self-acceptance and self-determination.  As she discovered the internal resources to differentiate herself and her aspirations from those of her mother and family.  She willingly embraced the death of the idea and image that the legal profession was the only reliable pathway for her to succeed and gain respectability.  This decision necessitated burying the good intentions and well wishes of other people. 

Reminiscent of Christ’s Passion in which Jesus of Nazareth humbly and boldly embraces crucifixion, death and entombment, Karen equally received the non-negotiable reality of terminating the expectations of other people.  Had she acquiesced, she would have entombed herself to an unfulfilling professional life wherein purpose and joy decompose within her heart like a decaying body.  Wisely, instead, Karen chose to entomb herself to divest herself of any patterns of behavior that impeded her spiritual progress and personal development.  She chose to die and await rebirth.  Her hard-won willingness to say Yes to herself on the day of the pinning ceremony was a proactive response to God’s graciously given epiphany.  It allowed her resurrection from being an unhappy and unfulfilled first-year law school student to becoming a journalist living in purpose.

Karen concluded her sharing with a loving and enduring exhortation for the audience.  “Follow your heart.”

Resurrection in Everyday Life: A Corporate Business Woman Becomes an Entrepreneur and Proprietor

Resurrection in Everyday Life:

“A Corporate Business Woman Becomes an Entrepreneur and Proprietor”

I write at the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period in which Christian disciples worldwide embrace spiritual disciplines of self-denial and abstinence.  Colloquially, observants “give up something” as they meditate upon Christ’s teachings and engage introspection as means of more greatly acquiring the mind, heart and character of Jesus.  Reminiscent of the biblical scene in which the Lord retreats to the wilderness for purification, preparation and empowerment, disciples perennially adhere to these spiritual practices.  As they wait to commemorate His resurrection, they follow His example.  Lent reminds them that Almighty God graciously grants them divine power to resolve daily adversities and challenges.  Fortunately, resurrection occurs in everyday life.

Routine celebration of the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as an annual religious holiday diminishes its practical and pragmatic significance in a disciple’s daily life.  Resurrection occurs in common experiences such as termination, divorce, health concerns, financial crises, parenting and myriad other challenges.  Agony, anxiety and anger combine to result in human despair sometimes yielding alcoholism, addiction, homelessness and hopelessness.  Mired within indefinable and immeasurable intrapsychic trauma, debilitating and paralyzing depression is an obvious consequence.  Cynicism and bitterness fuel a person’s downward spiral.  It is as if such an afflicted person undergoes an emotional and existential death. As it relates to any resolution of these dilemmas, the recovery community offers hopeful words, “No human power can resolve [this problem].”  Further, “God could and would if He were sought.”  As for practical spirituality during these fierce trials and inexplicable tests, Almighty God recalls a disciple to life through an experiential resurrection.

Attending a panel discussion of a book release, I heard a woman’s story of personal resurrection.  She began her career in corporate America.  The trajectory of her personal and spiritual journey starts with a multiple six-figure salary and fringe benefits; moves to a period of long-term unemployment after her mutually agreed upon departure from her corporate position; lingering in the depths and despair of uncertainty in job hunting; awakening dormant entrepreneurial abilities; and transitioning to proprietorship of a beauty salon.  Despite her high salary, she did own a house or car.  She wore expensive and nice clothes and shoes and carried equally impressive bags.  It happened that her job was adjacent to designer stores on the East side of Manhattan.  Previously, she studied marketing and advertising.  These factors led her to moonlight as an events planner which included assignments in Canada, Caribbean nations and throughout the United States.  As her “hustle” began to commandeer her time and energy, her work performance suffered.  This clash of passion and priority forced her realization that her heart was no longer in her job.  Proactively, she approached her boss.  “This is not working out.”  Her boss responded, “I agree.  What do you want to do?”  After discussion, the boss granted her request for three months of severance pay and approval of unemployment.  Hence, a year’s beginning of contemplation and existential entombment.

Those three hundred and sixty-five days became the hardest year in her life.  Very soon, marketing and coordinating events dried up.  The phone did ring because no one called.  Emails containing proposals did not receive replies.  As her financial landscape became more arid and fruitless, she and her daughter moved back into her mother’s residence.  Her little sister also lived there.  The security of a living space afforded her the latitude to imagine, dream and pursue various entrepreneurial possibilities that awakened opportunities.  As weeks became months, she received a near fatal blow to her pursuit of her ambitions.  Her little sister shared spontaneously, “Mommy always says you are busy with your fantasy businesses.”  That remark from her mother deeply wounded her.  Pausing in front of her laptop screen as she worked, she fought back tears as she thought, “I’m living with this person who does not believe in me.”  Consequently, she made the decision to move out of her mother’s residence and into her own living space.

In a spontaneous moment of meditation, a vison about a salon filled her mind.  She resolves that God gave her this vision to open a hair salon.  Interestingly, she knew nothing about owning, opening and operating a salon.  Drawing upon her cumulative business and corporate experience, she writes a proposal. Seeking investors, she shops her business plan to previous clients whom she helped.  To her great chagrin, these people declined her offer to collaborate.  Sadly, she found a copy of her proposal on the floor of one client’s sport utility vehicle.  Angrily, she took that copy and slammed it on the dashboard instructing the man to read the proposal and respond.  Whereas he would not invest, he shared her plan with a friend who eventually called her.  When they met, he had read the proposal and listened to her pitch.  When she paused, he simply said, “Ok.”  Accustomed to hearing “No,” she initially did not realize that he approved her proposal and was willing to work with her.  They traveled to the site she previously chose for the salon.  There, he again confirmed his decision to invest.  Finally, she realized that he said, “Yes.”  After a sigh of relief and taking a deep breath, she became grateful for her new partner.  She rejoiced for the end of one ordeal as she braced for what would follow.

A recipient of a friend’s good fortune and a smattering of bread crumbs of grace along her path, she finally opens the salon at her previously chosen site.  Early gross revenues of $10,000 per month hinted toward a successful and promising future.  At its height, the salon earned an average of $60,000 monthly.  Incidentally, some of her relatives and friends would not patronize her establishment.  They said her prices were too high.  In time, several circumstances coalesced and compelled the closing of the salon.  However, she did not fall prey to any feelings of failure.  Her journey toward opening the salon, operating and closing it taught her two valuable lessons.  First and foremost, obey God’s call and vision.  Second, the myriad mysteries and experiences of a person’s journey are often preparation for a greater purpose.

This ordeal’s ingredients of angst, anxiety, anger and agony ordinarily would have defeated a person with a lesser character.  They considerably undermined this woman’s confidence for extended periods of time.  Yet, she embraced her existential death as a corporate professional wherein she merely functioned perfunctorily rather than fulfill a more meaningful purpose.  Events management was a fleeting interest; its temporary profitability soon became evident.  As she found inner resilience and listened to God’s voice within rather than the multitude of voices around her, she experiences her personal resurrection.  Retrospectively, she accepts the opening and closing of the salon as an important precursor to her destiny. 

Her parting words of wisdom for the audience was “Obey the vision that God gives you.

Celebrating the Life, Love and Legacy of The Late Deacon Joseph E. Holley, Sr.

Celebrating the Life, Love and Legacy of

The Late Deacon Joseph E. Holley, Sr.

With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, we celebrate the life, love and legacy of the late Deacon Joseph E. Holley, Sr. whose formidable example as a husband, father and grandfather, Deacon within the church, visionary facilitator and provider of housing, teacher and mentor to young people and servant leader in community organizations will challenge and encourage many future generations.

“Deacon Holley” was the late Joseph E. Holley, Sr.’s official ecclesiastical title.  It reflects one component of his multidimensional character and multiple ways in which he enriched the lives of people with whom he worked, worshipped, served, socialized and befriended.  In addition to “Deac” he was “Mr. Holley,” “Brother Holley,” “Mr. Joe,” “Joe,” “Dad,” and “Granddad” among other professional and personal designations.  Each of these titles and names describes an endearing characteristic that Deacon Holley had.  The person using that description valued him and their relationship because of it.  As we celebrate his life, many of us will have the blessing of private and public remembrances that comfort us during this hour of bereavement.  More powerfully, these personal and collective recollections will transform our present grief and lamentations into permanent gratitude for the relationship we shared with him.

As it relates to his lifelong professional contribution, Deacon Holley worked tirelessly and painstakingly to expand the market of affordable housing.  Conceivably, his closest relationships within his family of origins and formative context instilled this passion within him.  Possibly, it began as he observed a family in need of a permanent residence.  Maybe, a visit to a friend’s house made him contrast the often stark differences in people’s houses and therefore, their ability to actualize their God given gifts, talents and natural endowments.  Undeniably, housing often determines quality of life.  However, the confluence of these and other circumstances created a path that led him from Orlando, Florida to Brooklyn, New York, we are grateful for his dedication to assisting nameless persons and countless families in acquiring housing and the stability it affords them to dream, strive and achieve.  The security that reliable, respectable and gratifying housing yields equates with an emotional and existential foundation upon which Americans build successful and fulfilling lives.  Deacon Holley taught us that the grand American dream of home ownership and residential stability extends to everyone.

His perseverance and passion regarding housing leads one to conclude that Deacon Holley was destined for this work.  Unquestionably, he was a visionary.  Where an average person looked upon a weather beaten, worn, eroded and abandoned house as worthy only of condemnation and destruction, Deacon Holley saw a potentially beautiful dwelling for a family.  He possessed the uncanny ability to envision what could be rather than surrender to defeat and hopelessness.  Not surprisingly, Deacon Holley genuinely desired to renovate and rehabilitate each dilapidated house he passed.  His unrelenting desire to provide a house for everyone sometimes led people to say, “Joe, please don’t stare.  Please don’t state at that run-down house.”  The people who pled with Deacon Holley on these occasions knew that he would inevitably begin a housing project seeking to transform that condemned dwelling into the equivalent of a mansion for someone. 

As an ordained Deacon in his church, he concretized his service to God through meeting this direct need of so many vulnerable people, “the least of these.”  His visionary impulse relating to a physical house equally extended to a person’s internal dwelling of mind, heart, soul and character.  He did not condemn anyone as he left open the possibility that any person could renovate and rehabilitate his or her character thereby making necessary changes to live successfully, joyfully and productively.  In obedience to the Lord’s commands in Matthew 25, Deacon Holley encouraged and empowered “the least” and most vulnerable citizens with a realistic chance to acquire suitable, stable and satisfying housing. Beyond an individual’s understandable desires to enjoy financial gain and material acquisition, Deacon Holley, as a spiritual leader, cared for a person’s holistic health inclusive of a fundamentally fair chance to actualize his or her internal skills and natural abilities.  What he saw in the potential of a damaged house, he also saw in human capability and probability if willing persons are given just and equitable possibilities.  Just as he disliked people’s indifference to a house’s potential to be a blessing to someone or a family, he evenly disdained society’s cruelty toward its most defenseless citizens.  Summarily, he devoted his life’s work to supplying affordable and respectable housing as a primary step to removing systemic barriers.

The word, deacon, translates from biblical Greek into the English word, servant.  Beyond the walls of the Church, Deacon Holley was a servant leader who strove to enhance the surrounding community’s quality of life.  He encouraged young professionals to commit time and service to this purpose.  He facilitated my election to the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Plaza Community Health Center, the first such community service board on which I served.   He served on several boards and donated years of unpaid service to myriad community service organizations. As we celebrate his life and legacy, we resolve to emulate his faithful example as a servant leader who fulfilled his Christian principles through advocacy for people who are unable to speak for themselves and direct service to people in need.

To some degree, each of us is a teacher.  We instruct by example.  Deacon Holley leaves countless lessons for our professional consideration and personal application.  To his employees, he eagerly shared lessons from his experiences.  Any young adult who had the requisite humility to listen could learn a tremendous amount from Deacon Holley on any range of subjects.  Personally, I recall his attendance at a young adult Sunday School class at Emmanuel Baptist Church.  Impressed by our commitment and attendance, Deacon Holley along with a couple of his fellow deacons came regularly.  He remained mostly silent and listened to our emerging discussion.  He departed with the customs of many elders to assume correctness of his positions and superiority of experience simply because he was older.  His respect towards attendees yielded our weekly request to hear his perspective.  Spanning the breadth and depth of compelling moral issues, ethical dilemmas, societal challenges and political problems at that time, Deacon Holley graciously shared his acquired wisdom borne of his education, work, background and spirituality. 

Deacon Holley took delight in his ability to teach as a father.  One Sunday during coffee hour in the Parlor as EBC, he, Brother Robert and I talked during a brief period of fellowship.  Deacon Holley shared a few unique gifts that he as a father offered his children.  Good, attentive and present fathers leave their children with the unique gifts of their distinct and unparalleled personality.  Moreover, Deacon Holley talked about his choices throughout his life and his subsequent efforts to transform each experience towards positive outcomes.  In that conversation, he taught us the power of faith, determination and optimism.  Further, Deacon Holley showed just how proud he was of his children and that he could learn from them.  As he beamed in recounting their accomplishments, he simultaneously acknowledged that he had to be a good steward of their dreams and goals.  Sometimes, that meant being a hard task master.  When I later became a father, I recalled that brief yet significant conversation.  Mostly, I remembered his chief premise, “Fathers are stewards of their children’s dreams and goals.”

Together, he and his beloved wife, Deacon Jacqueline A. Holley, taught us the promise, pleasure and power of love.  Their marriage bridged decades in time and traversed the challenges and rewards of establishing their respective careers, rearing a family, educating children, creating a better community, caring for their parents, loving the extended family and in the later years, facing health challenges.  The years of their marriage coincided with the childhood, maturity, marriages and parenting of a couple generations of congregants at Emmanuel.  Throughout life’s various plot twists and shifting circumstances, we could look to “Deacon Joe and Deacon Jackie” who personified the gifts of an enduring marital commitment.  We genuinely thank them for keeping oil in the lamp of love, faith and hope.  Moreover, we pray that love’s eternal and undying nature will comfort and sustain Deacon Jackie in the days ahead.

Finally, as we join his wife, children, grandchildren, extended family and circle of friends in celebrating late Deacon Joseph E. Holley, we continually express praise and gratitude to Almighty God for the unique expression of divine love, grace and faithfulness revealed through Deacon Holley’s invaluable legacy.

Grant unto our dearly departed brother and Thy son, Joseph, rest O Lord.  Graciously admit him to the communion of saints, the heavenly hosts and the goodly fellowship of the eternally redeemed.  Be Thou kind, O Lord, and receive Joseph into Thy direct presence.  Let Thy love and light perpetually shine upon him.  Grant unto Joseph rest O Lord and let Thy light eternally shine upon him.

Lessons from a Master Teacher: Dr. Maya Angelou

Lessons from a Master Teacher:

Expressions of Enduring Gratitude for the Life and Legacy of

 Dr. Maya Angelou – Part One

“A mighty tree has fallen.”  That sagacious and enduring African proverb honors the passing of an elder and griot whose physical absence resounds throughout the village. Just as the sound of a falling oak, sequoia or fir reverberates in the forest, the loss of a literary giant, Dr. Maya Angelou, deeply affects the hearts and minds of countless millions of citizens in the global village who learned from her poetry, novels and literary criticism.  Her personal pilgrimage from the brutality of rape at seven years of age through paralyzing silence to completing her earthly journey as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, further inspires nameless, average persons.  Spanning her humble origins in segregated Arkansas on 4 April 1928 and her formative years in St. Louis, Missouri to periods of residence on the continent of Africa and ending 28 May 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she taught on the faculty of the prestigious Wake Forest University, Maya Angelou’s impressive Pan-African life, personally powerful legacy and intriguing myriad experiences connect African-American, Caribbean and native continental segments of the African Diaspora. 

Conversant with her brothers and sisters of each major component of the Diaspora, she encouraged and empowered various cultural, linguistic and ethnic strands of people of African descent to appreciate their interrelatedness and interdependence within the global community.  As griot to the Diaspora, she taught her racially monolithic yet experientially and existentially diverse community to find self-acceptance and self-love in the nuances of being a Black person.  Cosmopolitan in the genuine sense, she transcended the stark limitations of her origins; she equally resisted the comfort and familiarity of bourgeois culture in America.  Thereby, she proactively forged an identity that enabled her to speak to all neighbors in the global village.  Her seminal poem, “On the Pulse of the Morning,” delivered for the first time on the occasion of President Clinton’s First Inauguration, enduringly demonstrates her inimitable ability to translate a Pan African perspective to the world.  She challenges the nation and world to see personhood, worth, dignity and respect in each person as you greet someone with a sincere “Good morning.”  In so doing, everyone affirms and accepts himself or herself.

In many ways, Dr. Angelou was just an average person who overcame formidable obstacles.  Her fame emerged as an outcome of her steadfast spirit.  The tragedies of her formative years are far too common for many people.  She lived down a brutal rape and seven-year period of substantial silence, shame and self-blame.  She harbored untold and unspeakable guilt for the “mob justice” and wanton retribution that necessitated the murder of her rapist.  Her silence became an ironic period of compassion for her victimizer.  Had she not said anything, he would have lived longer; quite possibly, he eventually would have met a similar fate as he was bound to repeat his dastardly deed.  Her voice saved other girls!  Equally, her silence became a cocoon which defined, developed and nurtured one of the most important American, African American and woman voices in the twentieth century.

Her life teaches the definite probability of healing that awaits victims of trauma who courageously confront their fearful and foreboding experiences.  Dr. Angelou refused consistently throughout her life to be a victim.  Her period of silence prevented the petrification of her victimization.  Her story contains many powerful motivations and encouraging and empowering examples for any average person.  She became a college professor though she did not earn a doctorate degree.  She maintained her quest for love and romance despite several challenging relationships.  Using writing as a cathartic, therapeutic and healing mechanism, she became an international bestselling author.  Notwithstanding Dr. Angelou’s humble origins, she transcended provincialism in her appeal to an international audience.  She fostered inner resources and abilities to overcome the psychological wreckage and fierce adversity of her formative years.  Her acquisition of celebrity did not spoil her authenticity or contaminate her personality.  Dr. Angelou rebuffed affectations thereby remaining an average, approachable and accessible person.  Her humility and genuineness enabled her to gain the respect of younger generations.  Literary critics, scholars of literature and historians undoubtedly will study her body of work for decades to come.  Their analyses will not compare with the transformative epiphanies which average people will experience when they read her work and learn from her unique and powerful human experience.  Chief among these lessons will be her powerful example relating to conquering fear in daily living. 

Within Dr. Angelou’s stimulating and inspiring collection of writings, three works particularly empower me: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Heart of a Woman and “On the Pulse of the Morning.”  Her first installment of a five-volume autobiography contains several vivid and realistic church scenes.  Reading them mystically transports me back to the milieu of the African-American Southern church, “The Black Church,” a setting in where I was reared and for which I hold lifelong endearing reflections and heartfelt devotion.  On the first Sunday of each month, regardless of where I happen to be, I travel through the corridors of my personal history to New Zion AME Church in Wisacky, South Carolina where I brilliantly see the celebration of The Lord’s Supper.  I hear the celebrant’s rhythmic recitation of the “Second Collect” as he recounts Christ’s indescribable and illimitable sacrificial gift of His life as a propitiation for the totality of humankind’s sin.  I join in the jubilant singing of the Senior Choir adorned with white robes and red stoles.  Rather than digressing to the naiveté of my formative years, I retreat to an enduring comfort and compassion of a ritual in my childhood church where theological arguments and life’s myriad inconsistencies could not contaminate my exuberance.  As I am conversant with the Southern Black Church culture and its prophetic, accommodationist, bourgeois and rural, “country,” iterations, Angelou’s writings equate with spiritual comfort food for my soul.  They empower me to persevere despite life’s myriad mysteries, adversities and experiences.

Moreover, the caged bird sings about freedom.  He realizes that life offers more to him than confinement.  Autobiographically, Angelou employs this powerful literary motif to narrate retrospectively her heartfelt desire to surmount myopia, provincialism and paralyzing limitations in her trauma and formative years.  She rebukes the predominant orthodoxy of an atavistic view of African American segregated communities.  Chances are “the good ol’ days” were not as pleasant as enduring romanticists claim.  Black men were subject to lynch mobs whenever they spontaneously formed.  Black children were denied full educational access.  Black teachers taught with very limited resources though Black communities paid their fair share of taxes.  Nonetheless, Angelou encourages readers to let their minds, hearts and souls sing freely and openly as they serve God through concrete service to humankind.  Thereby, they actualize the unique life which their Creator graciously and generously gives.

Lessons from a Master Teacher: Dr. Maya Angelou

Lessons from a Master Teacher:

Expressions of Enduring Gratitude for the Life and Legacy of

 Dr. Maya Angelou – Part Two

Angelou’s fourth autobiographical volume is my favorite of her books, The Heart of a Woman.  I first read this book as an undergraduate when I took an African American Women Literature class.  She chronicles her journey of defeating fear in daily living.  There are vivid scenes in which she confronts her husband at that time about his intractable infidelities and even more savage indifference to her humiliation and pain resulting from his willful indiscretions.  In the evenings upon his return home, his shirts and clothing reek of other women’s perfumes.  Literally, Angelou explores the deep, dark, mysterious and confusing heart of a woman as she juxtaposes love, respect, trust, duty and honor with his arrogant and unrepentant transgressions.  Arguably, in the most poignant scene in the book, Angelou and her mother are on an elevator discussing life.  Her mother senses the tremendous fear that imprisons Angelou.  Her mother exhorts her to overcome her trepidation about making a proactive decision to embrace a better life. 

As I read this passage, I mystically joined Angelou and her mother in the elevator.  I felt the near debilitating and paralyzing fear she experienced.  I felt moisture in my arm pits and dampness soaking my shirt collar.  I, too, wished the elevator ride would last interminably as it delays the need for a decision.  Actually, I would write my final paper about this scene.  Moreover, following college and graduate school, I experienced directly the incapacitating feeling of making fear larger than life itself.  During those brief, arduous and tortuous years, I drew upon Angelou’s strength and example as I recalled her story.  I imagine innumerable readers and admirers of her work acquired similar inspiration and wisdom to resolve life’s most demeaning and dangerous emotion, fear.  Imagine daily living without feeling any fear!  Think of the immeasurable joy that fear steals from you.  Whereas Angelou cannot assure you of a life totally free from fear, she definitely and powerfully defeats fear in daily living.  Her formidable experiences offer hope and insight in annihilating daily Goliaths of fears, life’s most insidious and irrational enemy.

“On the Pulse of the Morning” is a poem about genuine inclusivity, diversity and pluralism as the global village transforms each citizen of the world into a neighbor.  This prophetic and stimulating poem concludes with an exhortation to say “Good morning” to anyone whom you encounter in daily affairs.  Angelou reminds us that saying “Hello” recognizes and dignifies each member of the human family.  Quite possibly, this simple act of manners minimizes prevalent xenophobia that threatens our human family. 

Angelou through the eloquence of her poetry confronts the bloody violence and murderous evil of the twentieth century, the deadliest time in human history given two World Wars, conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Africa and Central and South America.  Notwithstanding previously unimaginable technological, scientific, economic, demographical and geopolitical advances in the last century, it is truly sobering to consider the tens of millions loss lives sacrificed by human hubris, greed, bigotry and imperialism.  The inability to see other people as God’s children and our brothers and sisters eventuates in their demonization and annihilation.  Some of the greatest crimes against humankind originate with heresy and blasphemy that God loves selectively and thus approves eradication of certain branches of the human family.  However simplistic, just saying “Good morning” to each brother and sister whom you encounter serves to erode jingoism, elitism, classism and many other forms of xenophobia.  As we are The Closest of Strangers in the work and words of the journalist and author, Jim Sleeper, a hearty and sincere “Good morning” potentially transforms us into neighbors.  The judgment of history, I predict, will commend Angelou for establishing this central standard of civility which necessarily yields truth, respect and justice in the permanent setting of the global village. 

Maya Angelou insisted upon being called “Dr. Angelou” within her professorial setting and other public contexts particularly by members of the press corps.  Embedded within an obituary published in a national daily newspaper, a grossly unfair critique chided her for this insistence.  Perchance, cultural dissonance explains the reporter’s perspective which could not appreciate the necessity of Angelou’s demand.  “Dr. Angelou” personified a healthy, successful, venerated and increasingly whole person who triumphed over trauma and truly humble origins.  The experiential knowledge of her most remarkable story feasibly surpasses any theoretical information she may have obtained in a traditional doctoral program, the usual prerogative of students from middle strata or higher backgrounds.  Angelou’s original work, background and extensive experiences uniquely and equally qualified her with any other member of Wake Forest University’s faculty.  In her insistence that she be addressed formally, Angelou actually rebuffs the arrogance of false humility.  Rather, she demonstrates genuineness as she deserved her classification and designation which she painstakingly earned.  Should readers and admirers of her work glean her example of true unpretentiousness, they may find a similar inner fortitude to actualize their dreams and goals.

A master teacher whose life lessons and body of work enduringly offers hope to average people, Angelou’s profundity emerges from her significant simplicity.  The grandiloquent retrospectives, published immediately following her death, regrettably overlook her humanness.  In the words of Harry Stack Sullivan, she was “simply human.”  Though a traumatized, violated, fearful and mute little girl of humble beginnings eventually became “Dr. Maya Angelou,” the tragic and triumphant lessons of her life remains accessible and inspiring to each of the seven billion plus members of the global village.

The Days Are Surely Coming - Jeremiah 33:2-11

The Days Are Surely Coming

Jeremiah 33:2-11

Lesson Setting

Jeremiah remains in prison as he offers confirmation of God’s promises to return Israel and Judah to their homeland after the extensive punishment of the Babylonian captivity.  His lengthy prison sentence parallels the seventy years of banishment that people will receive as a just consequence to their generations of sin and rebellion.  As Jeremiah lingers in prison, he struggles to internalize God’s promises and understand His mysterious ways.  With the authority of Jeremiah’s increasing experiential knowledge of God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness, the prophet offer further assurances to the nation that God will fulfill His incredible and perhaps incredulous pledge to return them to the land of their forbears and restore them with a new life.

Lesson Outline

I        Jeremiah 33:1-3 – The Incredible Power of Prayer

II      Jeremiah 33:4-9 – Confirmation of Restoration

III    Jeremiah 33:10-16 – Indeed, A New Day will Dawn

IV     Jeremiah 33:17-26 – Practical Promises of Restoration

Unifying Principle

So many times when they have done wrong things, people reach a point at which they stop and wonder which way to turn.  How can people seek renewal and accept help to turn their lives around?  Jeremiah says God is willing to forgive and bring recovery, healing and restoration.

Introduction

In the concluding verses of this chapter, Jeremiah’s fellow brothers and sisters in Israel and Judah denounce and dismiss his prophecies relating the Lord’s promises of return, renewal and restoration following the exile.  Consistent with their protracted lamentations, bitter and utter weeping, they refuse to hear and believe their lives will improve.  As they stand in the midst of ruin and rubble, they painstakingly listen to Jeremiah couple his message of total destruction with wholesale reconstruction.  Whereas they hate hearing the first message, they accept it as it unfolds before them.  Yet, it simply does not make sense to listen to the second part of his prophecies.  How can a prophet deliver such a positive message promising such an incredible future as they decay in captivity and exile?  Essentially, it appears that Almighty God has forsaken them.

The nations of Israel and Judah proceed to ask the hard and difficult questions about the character and trustworthiness of God.  Can they rely upon Him any longer?  Was there any worth to the covenant they inherited from their forbears?  How could God betray them in such a despicable and demeaning way?  After all, He gave their Gentile enemies and nemeses complete liberty to destroy them?  His punishment seems unfathomable and limitless.  What happened to the enduring claims of God’s unfailing love, grace, mercy and lovingkindness?  Contrary to the prevalent popular notions in many church circles that forcefully discourage disciples from questioning God, this pivotal chapter in Jeremiah offers the converse position.  In an important memory verse, Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord encourages the questions of His people.  He tells them to call to Him in order that He might tell them “great and unsearchable things.” 

In response to this divine directive, the people of Israel and Judah ask their provocative and straightforward questions to Jeremiah.  Their cynicism, angst and doubt afford him the opportunity to reiterate the spiritual reality that God’s promises always follow any godly sanctioned punishment.  For these captives and exiles, forgiveness and restoration shall assuredly follow the seventy years of their displacement.  As a loving Heavenly Father whose truth and faithfulness extend to all generations of believers, God combines punishment, healing and forgiveness.  He does not isolate any of these attributes of His character.  As the One who abides by the covenant He made with their forbears, He apportions mercy and grace to cover any sin and offense.  This balance of just punishment for any rebellion against His holy character and faithful forgiveness to heal the underlying causes of transgression preserves the covenantal relationship between Almighty God and His chosen people.

Jeremiah then steadfastly proclaims the Word of the Lord thereby admonishing and encouraging Israel and Judah to prepare offerings and songs of thanksgiving for healing and hope which await them upon their return to their homeland.  In this chapter, he supplies them with lyrics and a grand vision of unimaginable worship services they will have.  Although their bewilderment has peaked to the point of cynicism, they are not helpless albeit they are powerless over their captors.  Israel and Judah will find refuge in the Lord’s willingness to forgive, grant recovery and totally renew them.

If you have ever felt abandoned by God, then you can relate directly to the feelings and predicament of Israel and Judah as they languish in exile.  Perhaps, you have experienced a season of incredible spiritual drought whereby your finances, material acquisitions, ambitions and dreams turn to rotten fruit.  Conceivably, you struggle with a health crisis after fervently petitioning God for healing.  Relationally, change and decay surround you as divorce looms in your future and your family life decomposes to meaninglessness.  Vocationally, downsizing or other venues lead to job loss and exacerbate your financial challenges.  The accumulation of these dire circumstances for contemporary disciples equate with the dilemma that Israel and Judah face as they are led forcibly into a lengthy period of exile. 

The thirty-third chapter of Jeremiah offers very practical recommendations for anyone experiencing feelings of divine abandonment.  First, the opening verses remind us of the incredible power of prayer.  Second, Jeremiah reaffirms God’s commitment to redeem our pain and suffering utilizing it to transform our character and restore our lives.  Third, through worship, rejoicing and encouragement of the Spirit of God, we receive inner strength and practical fortitude to walk toward the dawn of a new day.  Lastly, we rely genuinely upon God’s enduring promises which emerge from His unquestionable faithfulness.

Exposition

Point I – Jeremiah 33:1-3 – The Incredible Power of Prayer

In the starkest irony, Jeremiah begins a lengthy and seemingly inexplicable prison sentence in obedience to adhering to God’s directives.  He obeys God by pronouncing the Lord’s punishment upon Israel and Judah.  He straightforwardly declares the coming of the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent lengthy period of exile.  The prophet’s proclamations of destruction, a natural and reasonable consequence to the nations’ longstanding sin and rebellion, immediately enflame the wrath and disdain of King Zedekiah.  He imprisons Jeremiah for a longtime.  Conceivably, the king suspects Jeremiah might reverse his declarations after lingering aimlessly within a prison cell.  Imagine Jeremiah’s crisis of faith as he bewilderingly considers the reality that his obedience places him in prison.  Understandably, he may lose heart and faint.  Possibly at a point of deep despair, Jeremiah hears the Word of the Lord again.  The Spirit of God encourages the prophet to pray.

The opening verses of this chapter remind us of the incredible power of prayer.  This foundational spiritual discipline is the primary means of improving our conscious contact with Almighty God.  In its most practical sense, prayer is a conversation with our Heavenly Father.  Communication, trust and respect are the key elements of any vibrant and meaningful relationship.  Prayer is our means of communicating with God.  Coupled with meditation, prayer enables us to share frankly and forthrightly our concerns and heart’s deepest desires with God. 

Let’s examine closely this encouragement to pray in order to learn from Jeremiah’s example and glean ways in which his predicament can encourage and empower us to resolve our daily challenges.  Notice that Jeremiah does to hear the words of a nameless and insignificant god.  Instead, He “who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it,” speaks and tells Jeremiah to pray.  “The Maker of heaven and earth” invites Jeremiah to detail his complaint and to make requests of Him.  It stands to reason that we should have a very high opinion of Almighty God if we are to pray to Him.  If we do not believe His possesses the power, presence, knowledge and grace to resolve our dilemmas, enrich our lives, heal our land and fulfill His promises, why would we bother to pray to Him? 

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  This verse, Jeremiah 33:3, is an ideal memory verse for any disciples as its simplicity in words contains profoundly significant promises.  Anyone experiencing a formidable and penetrating faith crisis can find incredible assurance in this simple verse.  Almighty God invites Jeremiah to call upon Him with Jeremiah’s myriad questions about his unjust imprisonment and Israel’s and Judah’s imminent destruction and punishment.  Reasonably, Jeremiah asks the question, “Why O God?”  How could You visit such punishment upon Your people whom You chose to carry Your Name to the Gentiles?  How could You betray us by letting the Gentiles destroy everything we have?  Can You not accomplish Your will in another way?  Where is Your grace and mercy at this time?  Further, this powerful verse proves, contrary to popular belief, that God invites our questions.  They do not anger Him.  Instead, He welcomes genuine, honest and sincere questions by disciples who struggle to understand Him.  Our questions of faith enable God to clarify His will and more clearly reveal His character.  A wife who loses her husband unexpectedly to a fatal heart attack should call upon the Lord.  Children who feel as if their mother has been snatched away unfairly by the dastardly deeds of a drunken driver should ask God to explain that irony.  A successful professional who strives for excellence with punctuality of arrival at work and productivity of assignments who is terminated for no reason needs to ask God why He allowed it to happen.  A pastor who is removed from the church where he serves faithfully due to the dislike a few disgruntled persons and the silence of countless of supporters must ask God to explain how such a misfortune could befall him.  I could recount endless examples of justifiable questions that many disciples have as they mature in faith despite life’s daily complexities and inconsistencies.  Rather than burying their questions underneath meaningless church clichés and emotionally coercive traditions, these disciples can follow Jeremiah’s examples by straightforwardly asking their questions of Almighty God through prayer.

In the second part of this memorable verse, God assures Jeremiah of an answer.  The assurance of an answer does not necessitate that it be immediate.  Oftentimes, fierce and heightened emotions must dissipate in order to understand any embedded blessings in daily burdens.  Extreme emotions such as anger, depressions, despair and even exuberance impede a person’s ability to examine any occurrence with rational balance.  Particularly, it is hard for disciples to understand the Lord’s mysterious and magnificent as they encounter adversities.  For Jeremiah, he must question the Lord’s justness in permitting Jeremiah’s lengthy imprisonment as a consequence of obedience rather than rebellion.  Yet, the Lord promises to provide an answer in due time.  This means the Lord will answer in accordance with His will as He simultaneously orchestrates the minute details of any dilemma.  Probably believing that his life is ebbing away in a prison cell, Jeremiah wonders about the purpose of his personal captivity.  In kairos time (the tense of time equating with the perfect divine present), God reveals to Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, that his imprisonment equates with the forthcoming exile of Israel and Judah.  As they will linger in a foreign land for seventy years inclusive of the birth of three generations of their children until their hearts authentically turn toward the Lord, Jeremiah will stay in jail to proclaim the Word of the Lord in action as well as in speech.  Essentially, a divine answer to our prayers always emerges as revelation to further the will of God.

The last component of this powerful verse encourages us to pray and meditate as God will reveal “great and unsearchable things” we do not know.  Interestingly, the darkness of our daily circumstances position us to more clearly see God’s light.  Perhaps, as Jeremiah remains in jail, he better comprehends the mind of Almighty God who liberally shares His unfathomable wisdom.  One author posits, “Pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress.”  Trials and tests create settings in which we learn the character of God.  An estranged husband may find previously latent and undiscovered love for his wife near the end of a divorce proceeding and offer reconciliation.  Thereby, he better understands God’s unfailing love and incredible forgiveness.  In the midst of agony, God compassionately shares His wisdom with us to encourage and empower us as we mature spiritually by trusting in His faithfulness.  With distance from a painful bereavement, we awake with surprising feelings of thanksgiving as we rejoice that a loved one no longer suffers though we miss them.  A mother who loses a son to a drunk driver joins MADD and redeems her son’s life.  A father who loses a daughter to domestic violence starts a support group for other families of victims of violent crimes.  Parents of a premature baby who does not live find fortitude to affirm their Christian faith and comfort the worshipping community during their grief.  These are a few examples of the amazing and unfathomable consequences to extreme experiences of human pain that disciples encounter as they approach Almighty God with very difficult questions of faith.

Summarily, questioning is a significant and necessary component of maturing in faith.  God welcomes our hard questions about His character, will and wisdom.  When we ask them, we afford the Lord an opportunity to reveal previously disclosed aspects of His character to us.  AS He graciously and bountifully shares “great and unsearchable things,” we develop a greater appreciation for His unfailing love, unquestionable faithfulness and unending grace.

Point II – Jeremiah 33:4-9 – Confirmation of Restoration

In the next few verse, the Lord states His unequivocal displeasure against Israel and Judah.  Because of their wickedness, their grand and ornate houses will be torn down in the struggle with Babylon.  The remnants of such fine architecture and expensive materials will become protective devices in battle.  What a waste of these treasures!  Nonetheless, the collective evil of the people causes the Lord to turn His face against them.  Beyond its startlingly literary values, these words depict an awful image for the nation.  The grace and consideration of their Protector and Provider has been removed.  They are subject completely to the fury and will of their enemies.  They must face the consequences of their cumulative sin and rebellion.

Consistent with the multiplicity of God’s character, He simultaneously offers confirmation of restoration as He announces judgment upon Israel and Judah.  Although dead bodies will fill beautiful houses, the Lord will bring health and healing to His chosen people.  After the requisite period of captivity and exile, the people will return to enjoy peace and security.  Note the justness in the Lord’s character as He insists they must answer for their rebellion.  Yet, His unfailing love is far greater and more extensive than their sin.  He will restore them and rebuild them as they were prior to the Babylonian siege.  In fact, the Lord will cleanse their sin and forgive their rebellion.  Practically speaking, He will transform their hearts to enable them to choose righteousness instead of rebellion.  Henceforth, they will desire to live in right relationship with Almighty God by adhering to the moral and ethical dictates of the covenant He makes with them.  They will forsake all other god for Him alone.  They will submit willingly to His will.  They will obey commands as they learn that obedience yields a greater revelation of His love and provision. 

Then, the inhabitants of the rebuilt city will live to honor, worship and glorify Almighty God.  All nations of the earth will hear of the great and mighty deeds God does for His people.  Songs of praises and rejoicing will be heard throughout this restored land.  Neighboring towns will remark, “Those people really love the Lord, their God whom they adore for His faithful provision and protection.  This promise of restoration finishes with a remarkable image.  The exiles who return will be in awe when they observe the prosperity and peace with which they are blessed by the Lord Almighty.  He will exchange the horrors of their worst nightmares for the bliss of their wildest dreams of peace and provision.

Point III – Jeremiah 33:10-16 – Indeed, A New Day will Dawn

Indeed, a new day will dawn for Israel and Judah.  The period of the exile will equip them to walk toward this dawn in their hearts first and foremost.  In this section, the prophet reminds the nation of the great years that will unfold as they trust in the Lord’s faithfulness.  Despite the destruction and depression surrounding them, they can expect weddings, banquets and unimaginable worship experiences.  They will not believe what God has in store for them.  A brand new day will dawn bringing forth an era that will be unparalleled in the annals of Israel’s and Judah’s history.

Through the prophet, the Lord supplies the lyrics for the songs of joy and praise the future generation will sing as they approach the house of the Lord with thanks offerings.  The songs emphasize the necessity of thanksgiving as it relates to understanding God’s character.  People of the covenant offer gratitude for the Lord’s perpetual provision and protection.  Second, the song declares God’s goodness which is intrinsic to His character.  God is good as He faithfully adheres to the covenant notwithstanding Israel’s and Judah’s rebellion over centuries.  He upholds His end of the agreement and unwaveringly demonstrates His unfailing love and indescribable mercy.  Accordingly, He will rebuild the lost fortunes of the people as yet another measure of His goodness and kindness toward His chosen people.

Literarily, Jeremiah reiterates the couplet of destruction in the present time and reconstruction in the generations to come.  The desolation of the Babylonian captivity will surely culminate in colossal loss for Israel and Judah.  However, the Lord’s promise to rebuild their cities and land and restore their heritage and culture will extend their expectations.  Majestically, the new day which dawns for them will open a new earthly era and the windows of eternity.  Their security will be as everlasting as the God who makes a new covenant with them.  He will send “a righteous Branch” from David’s line whose reign and kingdom shall never end. He will protect them forevermore.  This Messiah, who will be known as “The Lord Our Righteous Savior,” will not allow their subjugation and humiliation to occur again.  He will not permit any other enemies of triumph over them.  He will guide them toward peace and security.  The dawn which brings His birth will also be the beginning of an eternal existence of prosperity and peace for Israel and Judah as they follow the Savior.

Point IV – Jeremiah 33:17-26 – Practical Promises of Restoration

Jeremiah concludes this chapter by enumerating several practical promises and perhaps warnings relating to restoration.  The birth of the forthcoming Messiah means that David will always have a successor on the throne who will rule with truth, justice and righteousness.  His reign will not end.  His presence offers peace and security to the nation as they rebuild their lives and inherit the innumerable and myriad blessings of the covenant.  Additionally, the priests will stand before the throne of Almighty God forever to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices on behalf of the people.  Thus, they have earthly and celestial security as their Messiah physically protects them and their Levite priesthood intercedes to acquire their perpetual blessings.

Jeremiah couples the foregoing grand promises with a very sober warning to Israel and Judah.  If the next generation follows the regrettable pattern of their forebears and break the covenant through sin and rebellion, then the Lord will withdraw the promises.  David will no longer have an heir on throne.  The work of the priests will be null and void.  It will equate with powerless piety and meaningless religiosity.  Israel and Judah must accept these consequences to their choices as they return to rebuild their lives.  Nevertheless, Jeremiah reiterates the Lord’s heartfelt desire to bless His people by making David’s descendants and the Levites as countless as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore in order to bless them bountifully.

Not surprisingly, the people of Israel and Judah understandably state their apprehension and cynicism in response to these grand promises of healing and restoration.  Announcing doom and gloom, while simultaneously promising return and restoration, likens a stream gushing salt and fresh water at the same time.   They question forthrightly; has not God rejected and abandoned us given His permission and acquiescence of our destruction?  What can anyone say that will comfort us at this critical juncture in our history?  More straightforwardly, the people reiterate their contention that the Lord has rejected them and thus others despise them if their own god will abandon them.  In adamant reply, the Lord in turn re-emphasizes His ultimate will and intention to return Israel and Judah to their homeland and rebuild their lives.  The Lord appeals to the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Had He not made the covenant, assuredly He would reject them considering their sin and rebellion.  Because He did, He willingly elects to fulfill it by choosing one of David’s sons to rule over the children of the patriarchs.

The Lesson Applied

Let’s Talk About It

·        Have you ever felt God abandoned or rejected you?

·        How would you respond to Jeremiah’s combined message of destruction and reconstruction?

·        Are the nations of Israel and Judah justified in feeling God has abandoned them?

·        Have you had to rebuild your life after a tragedy, natural disaster or major personal loss?

·        What would you recommend to a fellow brother or sister in the Lord who feels as if God has abandoned him or her?