OUT OF DARKNESS
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (July 24, 2015)
"God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee...Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Acts 13:33, 35, King James Version [Jesus the Son of God fulfilled the law]).
Greetings In the Name Of Jesus,
My brothers and sisters, how dark is your night? I tell you no matter how long darkness hovers over you, Christ Jesus saved you. God's mercy delivered you---in an escape. Did man cause the darkness to loom above you hovering to take you? This same situation prevailed many times for Israel, even with the babies darkness came. Darkness came when Moses escaped the killings of the babies by the pharoah of Egypt panicking that Israel was growing in numbers and could possibly become so many people they could easily overthrow Egypt. Do you panick and falsely accuse others, harshly judge, and punish unjustly simply because you imagine or fantasize in the darkness of your soul falsely?
Most importantly, the possibility of the Jewish people, Israel easily overthrowing Egypt because the rate of their childbirth increased is as relevant an evil thought today as it was an evil thought during the time of bondage in Israel. God's revenge on Egypt should have overcame this evil from revisiting the world when God killed the first-born children of Egypt protecting Israel when the darkness of death passed by their houses, it was the blood of the lamb on the doorposts which took the place of the first-born o save them but man clearly forgot God punished for this sin. Many African-Americans thought the ugly head of evil raised up once again in the old campaign against birth: abortion and birth control methods strongly established in their communities through education in clinics, health centers, and schools in order to stop the rate of childbirth, at least slow it down, to control teenage pregnancy and unwed mothers, the people in the communities-at-large through activists groups especially the Catholic Church fought back to sustain the long-suffering African-American families [For Mary the mother of Christ Jesus---the mother of God proclaimed Theotokos [God bearer-Mother of God] in 431 A.D. in the Council of Ephesus--- was a 15-years-old virgin and betrothed to marry---in-waiting cleansing for a year--- not yet married to Joseph when she became pregnant with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, St. Matthew 1:18-23, KJV]. How can it be that the African-Americans, descendants of slaves who worked the fields and labored at various other job tasks to sustain America with the least amount of numbers comparativey with Asian-Americans and Spanish-Americans (Hispanics, Latinos) in the population of America could be a threat in need of abortion and birth control? This darkness hovers with long-term campaign signs still displayed in some neighboring health centers to remind African-Americans in particular of a seemingly urgency to pay attention to the number of children that they birth into the world [Most people understand any attacks on children are hard for any family to bear therefore it is not hard to believe that many people consider this act---genocide].
Moreover, this same situation---darkness prevailed over Israel when Herod, the nobleman who Cesar chose to rule over Israel for Rome killed young boys under two-years-old of Israel when the Roman soldiers under the orders of Herod killed the Jewish boy children as they searched for the baby Jesus. God's angel, Gabriel was present and guided Joseph to escape. Herod feared the prophesy that the baby Christ Jesus was King of Kings and Lord of Lords of Israel not Rome. The darkness of the jealousy in Herod's soul was prevalent in the souls of the Levite high priests, too, who plotted to kill Jesus once his public ministry grew in size to feed 5,000 people and spread the good news throughout the land. However, Zaccharius, a Levi, the father of John the Baptist held his newly born son before the birth of Christ and prayed,
The Benedictus
"Blessed [means Happy] be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited
and redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in
the House of his servant David as he spoke by the mouth of his holy
prophets from old that we should be saved from our enemies and from
the hand of all who hate us to perform the mercy promised to our
Fathers and remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to
our father Abraham, to grant us that we being delivered from the hand
of our enemies might serve Him without fear in holiness and
righteousness before Him all the days of our life. You, child, John the
Baptist, will be called the Prophet of the Most High, for you will go
before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to
His people in the forgiveness of their sins through the tender mercy of
Our God when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to
those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet
into the way of peace."(Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible
[read in morning prayer and liturgy of the hour rooted in the Jewish (Israel)
faith in which Christ Jesus established the Catholic faith ].
Furthermore, Zaccharius struck dumb so he couldn't speak, in a darkness of his own for unbelief [of the changes to come in doctrine and a new covenant through Christ Jesus in the church]. The angel of God, Gabriel worked with his resistance to the will of God---to not only name his baby boy John but the time of circumcision [no longer the eighth day but right away permitting new borns to immediately enter into the new covenant and baptism of water--- cleansing for babies born under the new covenant in the blood of the lamb which fulfilled the old covenant---the church during the third century--in the year 250 gave parents permission to circumcise [liturgical right to become a part of the new covenant and given a name]. Zaccharius speaks to the strongly rooted practice of Levi to the traditions of practicing the law of God--- the old covenant in the way they did using the doctrine of the old covenant not hearing God's word since Genesis of the promise of Christ Jesus and His salvation plan for man (doctrine of Christ Jesus to save man) but God's will prevailed. Interestingly enough, God struck a man dumb not a woman.
Culturally speaking, in tradition men usually always stop women from speaking and want them to keep their mouths closed as the norm of behavior when women interact with men [for example, men practice woman is subject to man who wields power and authority over woman] but this time God's superiority with power and authority over man closed the mouth of a man---Zaccharius from the tribe of Levi ['God was not playing' as parents sometimes say when chastising their children]. There is no wonder why Zaccharius' baby boy John the Baptist grew up to proclaim the will of God---was the voice crying out in the darkness eating locusts and honey brought Christ Jesus to others baptised his cousin Christ Jesus and many souls. In closing, children need their parents to help them out of darkness. God made it possible through Christ Jesus for the little children to come to Jesus in the new covenant of the blood of the lamb immediately [suffer the little children to come unto me]. Do you know who you are and to whom you belong?
The darkness of evil demands that we protect our children immediately. Many times the fight for a child to live begins in the womb [For the twins Esau and Jacob fought in the womb for who would become the chosen line and the war of Satan against the woman and her seed Christ Jesus began in heaven]. My mother terribly ill required a blood transplant while she was pregnant with me but I survived while she suffered the illness and the blood transplant in the days when the hospitals in America did not permit African-Americans to donate blood. God made a way for my mother to receive blood but some who knew about my mother's fight through illness while pregnant felt it was not African-American blood. My feelings did not fret over whether it was African-American blood or not?
Apparently, in those days the donation of blood was an issue because black and white interactions were an issue, at all times concerning every and any interaction. At seven months in my mother's womb, my father moved our family from southwestern Georgia to southern Florida and two months later I was born at a Catholic hospital in Coconut Grove, Florida. I thank God for his mercy. However, I do not believe my birth at the Catholic hospital assured my baptism as a Catholic for my mother said I was the first African-American baby born at the hospital in South Florida. I do not know if my mother suffered discrimination or any hatred while in the hospital's care but obviously she was pleased for she returned to birth my brother there as well.
Christianity is Jewish---rooted in Israel for Christ Jesus, Mary, Elizabeth, Zaccharius, John the Baptist, the 12 disciples/apostles, Paul, 3,000 on the Day of Penecost were all Jews so the Catholic faith is rooted in the Jewish faith---for the saying the genius of the Jewish people is their reverence for memory sustains us with truth. I know who I am. The church is Israel, from the beginning---the church was founded on Israel---can the tree survive without the root?---we need to water the tree and take care of the tree for the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. With that said, the protestants cease to be when they go back in history for protestants do not have a separate history in the beginning as protestants---they are united as Gentile Christians adopted in the church by the branch Christ Jesus. Protestants came about later in history as a result of rebellion and resistance to doctrine and rebellion and resistance to people (Isaiah 42:6-7, KJV [Jesus was given to the Gentiles to be their light]).
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
