copentecost

The question by the press and some on the right on whether the President’s troubled son should have attended the dinner at the White House is really majoring on the minor. Of course, his son is welcome to attend a party hosted by his dad.

 I have three children, and if I am in a position of power and happen to host a party, my boys are welcome to attend the party, if they choose to regardless of any legal woe they may have.

You don’t discriminate or disown your children because they didn’t turn out the way you expected them to. My problem is that President Biden is selective on which family members are allowed in the family circle.

The president disowns his grandchild from the son he allowed to the party at the White House. That is egregious and reflective of the president’s character.

Many Americans thought that when President Biden was elected president, we would see a kindhearted, candid, and a leader, who would bring the country together, but I didn’t. I watched him in his career, and I was convinced that he would bring us apart than any other President in the history of the country and I am right.

He has made his presidency all about Race, demographics, and equality of outcomes instead of equality of opportunity. This is very disheartening, because the men and women that I interact with everyday are from all races, and demographics. They bring their problems to me trusting that I can help guide and lead them to a better place than they were when they first came to me.

I happen to work with all kinds of people every day. I can tell you with almost perfect certainty the kind of a person someone is when I see them for few minutes. We just have to pray for the President, but I strongly believe that we are in deep trouble, if we don’t change course.

Today, the Anglican Catholic Church celebrated the feast of Christ the King, and the Gospel reading was from the 18^th chapter of the gospel according to John beginning at the 33^rd verse. This pericope records the discourse that occurred between Pilate and King Jesus. The Jewish religious leaders and the High Priest deliver Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified. Pilate asks Jesus if he is indeed the king of the Jews. Jesus asks Pilate: how did you come up with this? Was it your idea or did others tell you this about me? Pilate says to Jesus, am I a Jew? Your folks handed you over to me, what do you have to say? Jesus says to Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world, if it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews, but my kingdom is not of this world. Pilate said, so then you are a king? Jesus affirms Pilate’s confession, and then goes on to say that it was for that reason that he was born, to bear witness to the truth, and concludes by saying that everyone who is of the truth hears his voice. Then Pilate asks Jesus, what is truth?

I have spent a better part of my adult life in different institutions studying the word of God. With what is going on around the world today, especially within the Church, it is hard to believe that this was the same faith that was handed over to us by Jesus’ early disciples. There is this systemic anxiety within the church to maintain status quo and to offer lips and eye services to her members. The church continues to fail to teach and practice the unadulterated truth of the kingdom of God. This is a reflection of the world that we live in today.

We live in a country that has developed a culture of contempt for morality and adulation of evil. A culture characterized by anti-norms, pro feministic and socialistic ideologies that try to subvert biblical views on equality of men and women as God’s image bearers. A culture that has misinterpreted God’s decided inclination toward the poor, the lost, and the worst of them all, and has made it all about racial injustice, and enabling a caste of minority, and the disenfranchised in direct opposition to Martin Luther’s dream of equal plain field for both races. Martin Luther Jr., never intended for the black folks to be viewed as inferior or less privileged and needing welfare services. He wanted equal opportunity for all. The Democrats over the years have utilized civil rights rhetoric to pander to the black folks, and casting conservatives as unsympathetic to the plight of the African American community. Now that a significant stride has been made on civil rights and inequality, the Democrats have ran out of ideas. They now resort to branding conservatives as racists. What is truth? Truth can only be found through enlightenment and in the person of Jesus Christ!

Shalom!

I have been very slow in blogging owing to many other conflicting obligations. Special thanks to many of you, who have been contacting me about different topics. This blog is about a question that was posed to me by one of my clients. I pray the 23^rd Psalm five or more times daily owing to my line of work. One day, as I was praying this Psalm in unison with a client, we got to the part that says “thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies,” the client in questions said to me: “you know, that is the part that I have never understood, what is it with preparing a table…?”  So let’s try unpack this Psalm.

The 23^rd Psalm is a very popular one. It could be said by heart by almost every devout Christian, especially those of the Roman Catholic and Anglican persuasion. It describes Yahweh as the shepherd, a technical term bound with the Ancient Near Eastern culture and Israel. Yahweh is the Shepherd and Israel, His sheep. In this blog, I will try to explore the following phrases: He leads me beside the still waters; He restores my soul (looking at the Hebrew word translated as “restore”); and He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. However, I need to know that your are interested in this subject by going to my blog page: http://www.copentecost.com and leaving a comment.

Few months ago I was ordered to Farrell, PA, to provide staff assistance to one of my down trace battalions. Those of you who have knowledge of how Uncle Sam does business, know that you will be scheduled to fly on the cheapest and available flight, if the mission is not time sensitive. So my flight itinerary had me going from T.F. Green airport, Providence, Rhode Island to Philadelphia, PA; from there to LaGuardia airport, New York, and from LaGuardia to Farrell, PA. My LaGuardia to Farrell, PA flight was canceled and I had to wait at the airport for six hours. A direct flight from Providence to Farrell, PA would have been less than two hours. I left home at 0800 hrs, on the day in question but didn’t get to Farrell until about 0000 hrs, the following day.

So what’s the point? What does my crazy schedule have to do with law and grace or you? I remember talking to my friend as I was driving to my hotel from the airport and her response was: that’s part of the training! A month or so after this experience, I listened to a sermon by The Rev. Dr. Gammon, about Fiorello LaGuardia, a former New York Mayor, whom the airport is named after, and decided to research the history behind this man. This is what I found: Somewhere in the middle of the Great Depression, LaGuardia was the mayor of New York City. This man strived to live with the people. Sometimes, he would ride with firefighters, patrol with the police or go on field trips with orphans.
History has it that on one freezing cold winter night in January 1935, LaGuardia the people’s Mayor showed up at a night court that served the poorest section of the city, dismissed the judge on duty for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within few minutes, an unkempt old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. The woman pleaded with the Mayor- turned judge, explaining that her daughter’s husband had left, her daughter was sick, and her two children were starving. However, the grocery storeowner from whom the loaf of bread was stolen, insisted on pressing charges. “It’s a real bad neighborhood, your Honor,” the fellow said to the Mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”
LaGuardia sighed. Turning to the woman, he said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions. Ten dollars or ten days in jail.” But as he pronounced the sentence, the Mayor was reaching into his pocket. He took out a bill and tossed it into his famous hat, saying “here is the ten dollars fine which I now remit; and further more I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.” The following day, it was reported in the City’s newspaper that $47.50 was turned over to the woman who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her grandchildren from the contributions. The owner of the grocery store himself was among those that made the contribution (I bet you a loaf bread didn’t cost 50 cents in 1935).
This woman deserved to be punished by law for stealing, regardless of her explanations as to why the crime was committed but the Mayor met the demand of the law but also showed mercy. Note that he did not discard or neglect the law. The woman was undeserving but the Mayor was gracious. We live in a culture were words are utilized without much consideration for the meaning behind those words. One of the shocker’s for me when I came to this country almost two decades ago was the way my classmates used words like awesome, terrific and the likes to describe things aesthetic in nature.

Well, if something is awesome, and terrific my mind goes to awe inspiring, full of awe, and terrifying, which are all characteristics of Yahweh in the OT and also is the NT. The Hebrew uses the word “chanun” (gracious) as attribute of Yahweh as in hearing the cry of the vexed debtor, and in so many other ways. This word for the most part is paired with another Hebrew word “rachum” (compassionate), Exodus 33:19; 34:6; Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 116:5, and host of other passages. It describes how underserving humankind was- deserving to be destroyed, indebted to sin and evil but God showed us grace. We were lost, but grace found us! The law makes no exception.

Looking at what is going on in our country today, it’s hard to see this characteristic in action. The level of hate directed against those, who disagree with our views is out of control. It is so shameful to say that this is even worst among the faithful. They delude themselves by insinuating that they are protecting the disenfranchised but they  fail to reflect the God whom they claim to fight or speak for. What a travesty!
When you get up in the morning and love those whom you feel are not worth loving, you are showing grace. When you go above and beyond your duty requirements at work for the benefit of the people to whom you provide care without complaining or doing it to be noticed or rewarded by your boss, you are being gracious. When you pray for your enemies instead of wishing them death, you are reflecting God’s attribute.

Remember, we were all lost and death deserving but God’s grace found us!
Shalom!  Jacobs+

Jacobs