Trying Times: A Time Of Peace
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (8/8/2013)
“The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot...And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness" (Proverbs 10:7; Nehemiah 9:25, King James Version [Moral virtues and contrary vices; The Levites' Confession]).
Greetings In The Holy Name Of Christ Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, how many of you confess your sins while you are in your blessings, from God----while you rejoice over the wealth that you did not work to get but received nonetheless possibly through inheritance or God giving you the power to get wealth and while you rejoice over your bounteous harvest that you did not plant, nevertheless you received from those who struggled in their faith before you. I remember a woman asked me why I worked so hard because all that I worked hard for, others, also would enjoy. I thought about what she said but it did not make me work any less toward the vision I saw before me----doing all that I could do each day, pulling out the weeds, planting the seeds, watering the plants, preparing them and helping them to make it through the winter months, praying that they would stay, those plants, animals, and household goods that made it through the stormy rains of springtime and the dreaded rage of heat in the summer months, for the nourishment of our bodies and the beautification of the fields, hoping for the next year's spring time to reveal the saving grace of God---even for the plants, the animals, and the household---to sustain us through not one winter but all the winters to come---the winters that our children would suffer through in the years to come. I felt the power of grace yet I looked where a plant used to be but no longer stood bowing in the heat of day to God and spreading out its leaves widely out in the shade of the day and at night to worship God---where was it, did it not make it through the harsh winter, did the winter in its harshness destroy the roots of the sprig trying to make it---was it stolen by the forces of darkness by day or by night---it was gone---and I remembered all the quiet moments I spent with that little one trying to help it make it through the winter and the years ahead but it was gone.
Most importantly, do you remember when Israel received their promised land---oh, what joyous days, for them to receive from their kin, the Canaanites, who were not chosen by God to be the royal priesthood---Jews---with a share in the inheritance of Christ Jesus. “So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness (Nehemiah 9:25, KJV [The Levites' confession]). Most people would think their joy would continue on beyond the deaths of their leaders and the leadership of the days they lived but their flesh was weak and as soon as their leaders died---passed on or left them for any length of time---they slipped back into disobedience, turned against their prophets, killed many throughout history. Do you remember how many prophets Queen Jezebel---a Canaanite of Zidon or Sidon (Ham) killed after her husband Ahab, the King of Israel in Samaria (Shem) was killed in war; and, what about the beheading of John the Baptist, what about Christ Jesus, and what about the disciples and apostles, and evangelists? [”Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations” (Nehemiah 9:26, KJV)].
Yet, God delivered them into the hands of those who oppressed and killed them, taking the remnants after over 400 years of slavery---bondage in Egypt, after 40 years in the wilderness of the valley of
2
Mount Sinai eating manna rained down to them each day from God, after more than half-a-century captivity in bondage in Babylon, and the wars and rumors of wars of their future generations. My sisters and brothers, it is hard for me not to think of African-Americans in the land of the United States of America, during the post-slavery years---in the abundance of God, overcoming the oppression that kept them bound, from the 18th century to the 19th century, only to become victims of local Jim Crow and Jane Crow, Black-Coded laws that took as much of the wealth God gave to African-Americans as the laws could in the corruption of the laws, breaking the newly-built system with injustice and the wheels of the machine of corruption just kept turning with too many run away trains of injustice carrying another free man back into the bondage that once held him in slavery time. I know that this vicious cycle---cyclical as the seasons turn---is still in its wake as it was prevalent during the time of the fathers of old and during the time of Christ Jesus and God is still seated on the throne, with Christ Jesus seated at his right hand. How easy for you is it to deny the will of God and how easy for you is it to deny the salvation plan of God through Christ Jesus?
Moreover, I remember my own family's history---the family we slaves became with one another in post-slavery as we married and purchased land in a land that purchased us from slave traders to work their lands---till their soils, plant their crops, tend to their crops, with little of nothing for ourselves---denied our history of our distant lands from distant shores---somewhere out there under God's blue sky in God's world, denied our languages, and denied the truth of our families. We, African-Americans were in the family of Christ Jesus---where the blood-line ceased to matter, if only you believed, then God's love covered you from all wrong and delivered you out of bondage time and time again---claimed you into the family of Christ Jesus. My family left the land of inheritance in the vision of my great-grandfather to move to a large metropolitan area of 26 cities, at that time. My father wore his Jewish cap---knowing that was the truth of his family, not suffering in the torment of the family we were bought from, stolen from, or traded from, in Africa because he only remembered hearing of the land of Ethiopia, the ships docking in the State of Virginia, and a full-blooded Cherokee grandmother that he had to take care of, loudly screaming his name, Jeremiah, through the fields each day for him to come home, at the end of the day. Being a soldier in World War One, gave him the opportunity to see the spread of slavery throughout this land, America---sojourning a while in Detroit, Michigan but he still returned to where he knew---Leesburg, Georgia---Albany, Georgia where some of his family stayed and then Mitchell County---Greenough, Georgia where he met my mother, a country schoolteacher..
Hence, the spirit was upon my parents in Miami, Florida, USA and my father and mother lived and ministered for Christ Jesus in the inner cities. Life was not as oppressive there and whereas the money construction work gave him that he needed to save up to bring his family from Georgia to Florida, my father's own landscaping business made a way for him to care for his family and household in addition to made a way for him to travel throughout the America (USA) preaching---delivering the gospel news to set the captives free, which was more than what my mother could work on her own farm to help him when he returned to the farm in Georgia each time after his preachings, teachings, and spiritual journeys. We grew strong in faith but after the Vietnam War began and took away my oldest brother---life changed, daddy grew older and the women in the family took the head, not faring as well as the boys grew up---socialized---out in the world and bumped heads with the law. Our story became the story of Christ Jesus, once again, this time knowing, we were always the story of Christ Jesus just in the peace of God's love, of a father's faith and of a mother's faith that kept back the forces of darkness---for as much as we were innocent lambs being led to the slaughter out in the world we persevered because of the strong faith seed planted since our birth to sustain us in our future sufferings but it was the broken-heartedness that caused the death of many of my siblings---that the love of our protected youth was not the same love of our marriages---not the same, in the community-at-large,
3
something happened
More importantly, the America of yester year was no longer the America of today but God made a way out of no way for the African-Americans to survive in the metropolitan cities we came to---in spite of the money going to the new people who came from distant lands and foreign shores, in spite of the family honor revenge fights that pitted one household against another household or one neighborhood against another neighborhood, in spite of high school game rivalry fights that pitted one school district against another school district, in spite of riots in the streets from police brutality---killing unarmed black men, women, and children that pitted the white communities against the black communities or the minorities communities---the new immigrants, in spite of the war on drugs, in spite of the crime on the streets caused by the war on drugs, in spite of AIDS disease deaths running rampant in the inner cities, and the influx of illegal immigrants, in spite of the new competition---speaking different languages required to get jobs just so the labor force could deal with all the new people from distant lands, in spite of us all going into the different work systems of corporate America---government and private, competing with white America leaving the concept of working the land, staying with the work of the land behind---my father's landscaping business closed when he no longer could work it and so, too, ended his big contracts on Miami Beach, Florida, USA but my mother coming from a family that owned at least 3,000 acres of farm land bought as many, of the houses of one of my father's clients from Miami Beach who retired---a lawyer who was a white slum lord, as she could get, which, in turn served as a witness to others to buy up real estate when the opportunity presented itself. My family, now in the remnants of who remains here on earth, still live a strong-faith-based lifestyle but we do live in the world---with all the worldly temptations. I cannot say that we are prone to repeat our mistakes because we are aware of the sufferings---our great family sufferings and as much as the children want to relive the lives of their parents they do know not to cross the lines to bring the darkness that loomed over us in the world back to our family again---to stay in the light of Christ Jesus, for we are already remnants, for my father died at the age of 100 years-old and my mother died at 75 years-old. We thank God for the longevity that helped us to make it thus far, leaning on the Lord.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. May the Lord be with you all. Amen.
