"Sophia, Sophia, Sophia"

Wisdom is a Woman and her name is Sophia!

One of my favorite books in the whole wide world is Alice Walker's The Color Purple.  In the book there is an amazingly large character in life, size, personality, tenacity and strength.  The character's name is Sophia, played by the incomparable Oprah Winfrey in Steven Spielburg's film adaptation by the same title.  We are first introduced to this "generous recipe of a woman," as the love interest of Harpo.  Admittedly I'm making some assumptions here about your familiarity with this book, so if you are not familiar with the book or the movie, here's a tip - stop what you're doing and go get it!  Don't walk, but run, run as fast as you can and go get it!  Okay, where was I?  Oh yeah, "Sophia, Sophia, Sophia!"  No doubt you are asking yourself, where is she going with this?  Well, be patient and you'll see soon enough.  Sometimes, the journey to a given destination is the best part, so hold on to your tail feathers. It may not have anything to do with it - and then again, maybe it does.

As you know, we have been dealing with Marcus Borg's book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time.  We just finished chapter 5, which is entitled, "Jesus, the Wisdom of God; Sophia becomes flesh."  Ahhh, if you know anything about me, and maybe most of you don't, but a few of you do, you know that I was scratching like a dog with a bad case of fleas to get to this chapter.  Along with chapter 5, I asked the class to read Proverbs 1:20-9.  It would be irresponsible of me to simply go over the chapter without at least including Proverbs.  For without it traveling along with us on this journey to meet Jesus again for the first time, we would not be able to "eat of [her] bread and drink of the wine [she] has mixed" for our journey (Proverbs 9:5).  We might get to our final destination, but it won't be as fulfilling, nor as fun if we leave it behind.  I also suggest you read the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach.  Okay, are you ready?  Get set...  Let's go.

In both Hebrew and Greek, "wisdom" is a feminine noun.  In Hebrew it is Hokmah.  In Greek, it is Sophia and because in English, Sophia is a female name, whenever "wisdom" is personified as a woman or having female characteristics in the text - even if the text is in Hebrew - scholars commonly use the name Sophia.  Thereby remaining ever mindful of its feminine personification.  And so, when we read in Proverbs, "wisdom" saying to us; "The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.  Ages ago I was set up at the first, before the beginning of the earth.  When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.  Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth - when he had not yet made earth an fields, or the world's first bits of soil.  When he established the heavens, I was there... I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race," we must hear it in the feminine form (Proverbs 9:22-27a, 30a,31).

Along with that, we hear her echoed voice in the book of John, where a similar declaration is made; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in him is life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:1-5).  Now, before you men go getting all wound up and excited, traditionally, a common mistake is made here.  Jesus, is consciously and unconsciously, read into the text where the word "Word" is.  "Word," in Greek is logos, which is a masculine noun.  It is a leap, and a good try, but it doesn't signify Jesus, nor does it translate into the masculine.  Why?  Because in this context, logos is referencing the Hebrew connotation of "wisdom," which is and remains feminine - Sophia.  So no, Jesus was not in the beginning with God, the logos was.  And what is logos?  Scholars call it the "functional equivalent" of Sophia.  We must then read that passage thus, "In the beginning was Sophia, and Sophia was God.  She was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through her, and without her not one thing came into being...."  Whew!  Now that was a lot! 

   

Both of the referenced passages point to attributes of God - all powerful, all knowing, "the fashioner of all things," "the mother of all good things." And again, emphasizing the "functional equivalency" of words, not only was Sophia with God, but indeed, Sophia is the female image of God.  Whoa Lawd!  Hold on, hold on, don't go getting your panties in a wad.  I'm just saying!  Step out of your traditional comfort zone of conventional wisdom and into the new alternative wisdom introduced to us by Jesus the Nazarene.  Okay, okay, I'm gonna wrap this up, because it really is too deep and too much to try to cover in one post, but suffice it to say, in the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew, Mark and Luke, a correlation is drawn between Jesus and Sophia.  Jesus speaks of both himself and John the Baptizer as children of Sophia, "For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say,'He has a demon'; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  Nevertheless, [Sophia] is vindicated by all her children" (Luke 7:33-35).  Why did I insert Sophia in that text?  Remember, whenever "wisdom" is used in the female form, i.e. traits characteristically associated with a woman, Sophia is used.

I'll end this post with the gospel of John where we reach that climatic moment when... drum roll please - "And [Sophia] became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen [her] glory..." (John 1:14a).  Yes,  "Jesus is the incarnation of divine [wisdom], Sophia becomes flesh."  Umph, umph, umph, "Miss Celie!  I's feels like sanging!"   

"Sophia, Sophia, Sophia!  Ooooo wee!  Dat sho' is a purty name!"

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"What Would Jesus Do?"

W.W.J.D?

"Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  He said to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer:' 'but you are making it a den of robbers'" (NRSV Matthew 21:12).

Over the course of the last couple of weeks our bible study class has expanded into two different groups.  There is the Sunday morning, 9:30am group - that has been with me since the beginning, and now a Wednesday, 6:30pm group.  My 9:30am group is considered my advanced class.  We'll see how long it takes for the Wednesday night crew to show up on Sunday morning.  I understand for many, Sunday morning at 9:30am might be a little rough, but stay tuned, let's "see what colors Shug Avery g'on put on the wall this time."

As you know we are exploring the life and times of Jesus the Nazarene.  The man, Christians have built their entire faith upon.  It has been an interesting journey to say the least.  Initially, many in the second group found the class a bit overwhelming and, of course, threatening.  Many felt their faith was being called into question.  Some became disillusioned, and still others are waiting for the seven demons to come out of me.  It's like they're scared to be in the room with me, but they don't want to miss the drama!  And then there are my inquisitive, critical thinkers - whose life and faith walk has landed them in a space and place where suddenly a light bulb has gone off and they're beginning to see clearer.  I now understand more than ever what it is to teach and preach and to be there at the "a ha!" moment.  That's Good News!  With that, I come to this post.  "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?"

I'm sure most of you think this cute little phrase just showed up in the mid 1990s, but nooo, remember, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).  The same is true for this.  In 1896, Charles Sheldon penned a book entitled, In His Steps; What Would Jesus Do?  The book was based primarily upon Jesus being a "moral" example to follow, as opposed to the pie in the sky Saviour.  It really is interesting and quite frankly, rather comical to know that many Christians are walking around with this bracelet, or wearing t-shirts with the acronym on it without knowing that it is based upon "Christian Socialism."  That is, the ethos (spirit, ideology)  of it is rooted in a left of center Christianity and a politically socialist approach.  It is what scholars and progressive Christians define as a "Social Gospel" - applying our moral resources to issues of justice and human rights on a daily basis.  How then do we, progressive Christians, answer the question, "What Would Jesus Do?"  We have to first get a decent understanding of the WHO he was, and FROM whence he came.

The scriptures tell us, he was Jewish, the son of a carpenter and a virgin mother, Mary - ;) ;).  He may or may not have been married, hung out with a rag-tag gang of social misfits, and his ministry of compassion and inclusion lasted for about a year.   Not only was he said to be of God, but God indeed.  From the outset of his ministry, he presented himself in a way that has been characterized as the imitatio dei (imitation of God), one that reflected the imago dei (image of God) by living and being an example for others to follow.  At every turn he challenged the social  orders and political structures under which he lived.  He challenged his contemporary religious traditions, practices, and beliefs - those traditions that were based upon the purity system.  A system Marcus Borg points out as based upon social boundaries that separated persons between "pure and impure, righteous and sinner, whole and not whole, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile."  Jesus, the imitatio dei, on the other hand, introduced a conflicting system, an alternative system - God's system - that is based upon compassion - where there are no social boundaries.  Jesus' association and relationship with the outcast of the community, the impure (women, the poor, the physically maimed, those afflicted with illnesses and disease, the homeless, etc.) was a radical departure from the purity system.  Essentially, he was replacing the purity system of separation with God's system of compassion.

Our present day purity system is made up of the same types of powers and principalities.  We see and hear from the people who have established today's social boundaries based upon a tradition passed down to them by others who benefited from the same system.  We, too, are placed in social categories with varying degrees of purity (acceptable, righteous, "normal") that separate and divide us.  We are separated by race, gender, religion, economics and sexuality.  And each of those are further broken down into even more varying degrees of purity.  We, African American people, well hell, most of us for that matter, received our information about Jesus from our oppressors - those who enslaved our ancestors or from those of the dominant group.  Certainly, we know, and if we don't, we ought to know, that what we received was an indoctrination and not an education.  It was one that would not lead to a theology of liberation and compassion, but one that would lead to a theology of bondage and obtuse subjects.  It would work against it's very nature and thus facilitate its own demise.  Therefore, like the purity system faced by Jesus, we, too are faced with our own purity system and like Jesus, we, too, must take a stand. 

As it was and as it is still the case today, that system is threatened by the MAN and his message.  It also explains why this Jesus - this imitatio dei - this Jesus of compassion - this Jesus of equality - this Jesus of inclusion - the Jesus that called the religious leaders of his day "unmarked graves" for their focus on and preoccupation with money over and against justice - is not the Jesus being preached about or talked about in most mini and mega-churches today. 

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO about the church's response to the growing rate of illiteracy of our children?  About women being treated as second class citizens, raped, abused, and denied access to pulpits?  About the elderly?  About the poor?  About homelessness?  About people living with HIV/AIDS?  About same-and-both-gender loving people?  About our silence when our transgender brothers and sisters are beaten and killed like dogs in the street?  About ego driven declarations of war?  When confronted with social issues of his day, and the temple/church's response to them, it was recorded, that he "entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  He said to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer:' 'but you are making it a den of robbers'" (Matthew 21:12).  Um hmph... You guessed it.  I gotta get with this thang according to the black woman's cotton patch version and answer the question; WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? this way;

"Tear the roof off, we're gonna tear the roof off the mother sucker

Tear the roof off the sucker

Tear the roof off, we're gonna tear the roof off the mother sucker

Tear the roof off the sucker...
We're gonna turn this mother out
We're gonna turn this mother out"

                                       (Parliament)

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST! 

"What Manner of Man is This?"

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?  How is it that ye have no faith?  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, 'What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him'" (KJV Mark 4:37-41)?

I was a precocious child to say the least.  Yes, it's true.  I know that might be hard for some of you to believe, but I have to be honest, I was a bit ahead of my time.  So it should be no surprise to you that as a child and blessed with preadolescence naivete', when I would hear stories like this about Jesus, I was absolutely fascinated by them.  I, too, like the men in the vessel accompanying Jesus, would marvel at what I had determined had undoubtedly occurred was an amazing magic trick.  I was so moved that I would offer to sweep the floor, take out the trash and do the dishes for a couple nickles so I could go to the corner store and buy a magic kit that would show me how to duplicate the same trick.  It was magic pure and simple!  Once I realized they didn't have a magic kit powerful enough to control the weather, I would pout and kick rocks all the way back home.  Then I would see something on TV where somebody was able to move objects with their mind!  I thought "What?  I could have done that without doing all that work for a couple of nickles?"  That did it.  I was off, waiting for the next storm to show up so I could run outside and fix my mind on the wind and make it settle down before it tore up somebody's house!  As soon as I saw the clouds forming, and tumbleweeds running down the street trying to get away from it, I would rush outside barefooted - cause Jesus was barefooted most of the time - and I would look that storm in its face and fix my mind on it!  If that didn't work, I would squint my eyes at it so it would know I was serious about this thang and meant business.  But, you see, um, in Texas, uhhhh yeah, Texas has dust storms and um, well... Uh, I couldn't concentrate because of the dust beating against my skin and getting into my eyes.  Or, Mama yelling at me from the window, "DORINDA! Get your little narrow ass back in this house!"  So... I figured, you know, I didn't have enough time!

Okay, okay, not to be outdone, I decided I was gonna do the "Walk on water" trick.  It was hot.  I couldn't swim and since no one was available to watch me, Mama wouldn't let me get in the water, so, I reasoned, "I'm a little girl and Jesus had to have weighed more than I do, so if the water could hold him, I know it can hold me!"  There I went.  And....  There I went - under water.  Thankfully God takes care of fools and babies and there was always someone close by who heard or saw my shrieks and shrills of panic or Mama running toward me screaming, "Lawd hammercy!  Help me Jesus!  Jesus!  Help me!"  By the time they got me out of the water, and Mama started whooping me, I stopped trying to be Jesus and started calling for him myself - "Jesus!  Jesus!  Jeeessssuuuusss!  Help me Jesus!"  Fortunately and unfortunately that was my last attempt at trying to recreate the miraculous events and circumstances that were attributed to that Jewish Mediterranean peasant called Jesus.  Fortunate because I stopped scaring the life out of Mama.  Unfortunate because I began to think all of it was a lie.

As Christians, many, most, if not all of us are indoctrinated into our faith with these fanciful, magical and unexplainable occurrences associated with Jesus the Christ to the point that we fail to acquaint ourselves with Jesus the Nazarene.  All too often we get caught up in the magnificent or the Magnificat and dwell on the beautiful and the glorious wonder of "The Greatest Story Ever Told" without walking along side this man as he daringly confronted the winds of religious arrogance and intolerance.  We shy away from the man as he stands in solidarity with the women, the sick, the poor, the homeless and "disinherited" of the earth.  We don't know that man!  We pass by like sleepwalking witnesses of his message of inclusion, love, honor, respect and responsibility to and for all humanity.  We run on to the end without standing by his side as he got caught up in the storms of lies, conspiracy, deceit, rejection and persecution.  No, we have no idea of the man whose death is falsely placed at the feet of the Jews - we just hate the Jews!  And why?  Because rather than introduce us to a person, the source of our faith as a revolutionary, a liberating "spirit person" - endowed with the same internal energy and availed access to the same external forces that we too share in - it was socially,  sexually, economically, culturally, politically and theologically expedient for us to be infected with hatred, disassociated, unaffected and thus in-effective in the lives of others suffering.

That and more is the crux behind this bible study series, "Who Is Jesus?" and, "What manner of man is this?"   I hope during this time together, walking along the dusty and perilous roads of change, we will be convicted to walk hand in hand, side by side, fully awake and conscious of our individual and collective responsibility to "lift as we climb."  It's our modern day miracle of presence, compassion, love and acceptance that will cause others to stand in awe and be so marveled by our works that they say one to another, "What manner of wo/man is this?"

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Made In My Image"

In 1999, the National Catholic Reporter held a competition which sought to update the image of Christ for the new Millennium.  The competition drew nearly 1700 entries from around the world.  Judge, Sister Wendy Beckett, an art expert, author, and television personality, selected Janet McKenzie’s “Jesus of the People.”  In the words of Sister Wendy, “This is a haunting image of a peasant Jesus – dark, thick-lipped, looking out on us with ineffable dignity, with sadness but with confidence.  Over his white robe he draws the darkness of our lack of love, holding it to himself, prepared to transform all sorrows if we will let him.” 

Ms. McKenzie’s position as winner has been life-altering as well as humbling. Her goal was to create a work of art in keeping with her beliefs as a person, an artist, and inclusive of groups previously uncelebrated in his image especially African Americans and women. She hoped “Jesus of the People” might remind us that we all are created in God’s likeness. The worldwide welcoming celebration of this interpretation of Jesus and the gratitude expressed to her – as well as the onslaught of negative responses – affirm her belief that this work, this particular vision of Jesus, was meant to exist now.   

McKenzie describes her work thus; “Jesus of the People simply came through me, I feel as though I am only a vehicle for his existence.  Jesus stands holding his robes, one hand near his heart and looks at us – and to us.  He is flanked by three symbols.  The yin-yang symbol represents perfect harmony, the halo conveys Jesus’ holiness, and the feather symbolizes transcendent knowledge.  The feather also refers to the Native American and the Great Spirit.  The feminine aspect is served by the fact that although Jesus was designed as a man with a masculine presence, the model was a woman.  The essence of the work is simply that Jesus is all of us.”  - Janet McKenzie.   

The story broke more than 10 years ago and yet, I have not seen it anywhere else other than in the hallway of my home.  It is a thunderous reminder that we are not who we were!  It also reminds me of a 1941 song written by Billie Holiday and Arther Herzog, Jr.., "God Bless the Child."  We are not our parents or our parent's parents.  We are the children of the new millennium.  We have our own way of knowing, our own way of learning, our own way of being, our own way of believing and worshiping God - if we choose to.  Gone is the uncomfortable, and at times confining "hand-me-down" religion  that has for far too long held a "free" people captive by the invisible chains of religious dogma.  Gone is the cliche',  "The  bible said it and I believe it."  Gone is the idea that one group of people holds the patent to the imago dei.  And finally, gone is the white, blond haired, blue eyed Jesus!

"i found god in myself,

and i loved her,

i loved her fiercely."

                    Ntozake Shange

 © Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST! 

"Who Do You Say That I Am?"

"Someone's knocking at the door.
Somebody's ringing the bell.
Someone's knocking at the door.
Somebody's ringing the bell.
Do me a favor.  Open the door
And let 'em in.  Let 'em in."

"Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them 'Who do the crowds say that I am?'  They answered, 'John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.'  He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'  Peter answered, 'The Messiah of God'" (NRSV Luke 9:18-20).

As we enter into this next series exploring the question, "Who is Jesus?," I asked my class to share their earliest understanding of Jesus and how they came to know him.  Before I let you in on the particulars, I have to tell you that the class is primarily made up of African American women, and one man (God Bless his soul).  They range in age from their early 30s to late 50s, and I'm being a little cautious here. ;-)   They come from all walks of life and backgrounds, economic, social, educational levels and denominations.  Each of them have a mind of their own with the confidence that comes from living as an African Americans in a society that doesn't make it easy to get through an average day without wanting to reach out and touch somebody who has confused them with their great, great grandparents or worse, an enslaved ancestor. 

So, the answer to the question, "Who is Jesus?" varied.  "He IS my Lord and Saviour.  He came and died on the cross for my sins so that I could have everlasting life."  Praise God!  "He watches over me and protects me.  He supplies me with my every need."  Umph, Umph, Umph....  "He is the Son of God and I must believe in him and only him in order to be saved."  Halle-lu-yer!  "He was my secret friend that I always talked to and played with.  I don't know how I came to know him as Jesus, he just was."  Wow!  "He was a beautiful white man, with long luxurious blond hair, piercing blue eyes.  He wore a wonderfully brilliant white robe and was always in the middle of a bunch of sheep and kids, standing in a garden with no shoes on" - wonder who that was?  The next question I asked was, "Did you have the option to believe in him?"  With only one exception, (Jesus was my friend), the answer was an emphatic "No!"  The stories ran the gamut from getting terrifying looks from parents, to physical and verbal reprimands and admonishments, and even threats.  We learned early in our development, that if we didn't believe in Jesus, that is, that he was Lord and Saviour and that he died on the cross for our sins so that we could have everlasting life, that we were going to Hell!  Whoa Lawd!  And although we didn't know what or where Hell was either, it was made clear to us that it was not somewhere we wanted to go - EVER!

So, it seems that most of us have come to know or believe in Jesus out of fear and trepidation.  But it seems from the aforementioned scriptural passage, that this man called Jesus, wants to know what the disciples' personal experience is of him.  "Who do you say that I am?"  He appears to want to know what they think of him.  I hear him saying, "I don't want to hear what the gossip is.  I don't want to hear what others are saying about me, I want to know "Who do you say that I am?"  For me, the question is essentially, "Who am I to YOU?"  Next, how does a skinny, little, ugly, nappy-headed, black girl from "Podunk," Texas with a family history of picking and chopping cotton in desert like heat from sun up to sun down, white men and women, young and old, referring to her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother as "girl or gal," come to know, love and have faith, not only in this Jewish Mediterranean peasant man who looks like the very people responsible for enslaving people who look like her, but who is also supposed to be Emmanuel - God with us?  This man, representing a faith that justified the perpetuation of slavery for hundreds of years was forced down the throats of our ancestors, and our parents through beatings, rape, murder, lynchings, spiritual and theological indoctrination.  But "US IS FREE NOW!"  We've heard all the stories, the half-truths, the flat out lies, and yes, even the fantasies.  We've heard who the crowds say that he is, so we know how we got here.  But in order to answer the secondary question, we've got to get to know this man on a personal level.  Can we?  Shall we?  What's that I hear?   

"Someone's knocking at the door.
Somebody's ringing the bell.
Someone's knocking at the door.
Somebody's ringing the bell.
Do me a favor.  Open the door
And let 'em in.  Let 'em in."
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Who Is Jesus?"

I'm baaaaack.  Up to this point, our bible study class has negotiated a couple of amazing topics that have been as challenging as they have been liberating.  We started out with SEXUALITY AND THE BIBLE, then jumped right into RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BIBLE.  This next series will consist of an exploration of the canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to uncover the answer to the historical question, WHO IS JESUS?  Along with the reading of each of the aforementioned gospels, I've added two additional books; "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time," by Marcus Borg; and "Who Is Jesus?," by John Dominic Crossan.

Have no doubt, some of my previous suppositions will find their way into this bible study series - I wouldn't be Rev. Dorinda G. Henry if they didn't.  But first, a word of caution; Although I am a Christian, I am also a woman of the world.  I have an appreciation, reverence and respect for all World Religions and enjoy the tasty treats each of them bring to the table of theological discourse.  I have engaged in various forms of prayer, meditation and ceremonial rituals that are not germane to our Western understanding of Christianity.  As we journey throughout this next adventure, you will find that the man they called "Jesus" did also.

So, get your books, do your reading, sit back and relax.  And while it might get a little bumpy - like Harriet Tubman, the "conductor" of the underground railroad, be encouraged, because I've never lost a passenger.  See ya next week.

Peace,

Rev. Dorinda G. Henry

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Moments of Reflection"

We have taken a break from the usual bible study class.  We resume next week, July 11, 2010.  Same place, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia; Same time, 9:30am.  In the meantime, however, I am enjoying a much welcomed and much needed break to reflect upon more personal matters.  June is a hard month for me.  Five years ago, at the age of 57, my father passed away three days after the Christmas holiday.  He was a revolutionary, literally and figuratively.  He was an artist whose quest for knowing and being true to the reality that there is no definite color, always finds rest in my soul.  The irony, is that for some reason, I have been called upon to preach every Father's Day service since his transition.  You'd think I would be used to it by now, but it never gets any easier.  I believe in some way, he has a hand in this, as I lift him up and share a funny story about him before I preach.  I don't think I'll ever run out of stories to share about him and that always makes me smile.  

June is also the month that I lost Mama.  Mama is my biological grandmother.  She legally adopted me at the age of 5.  As I think about, it seems a bit peculiar to me that life's happenstance, particularities and events would pull them so close together in memory and, as you'll find out in a moment, in life.  You see, my father was terrified of Mama - and Mama, not being too fond of him, certainly didn't do anything to ease his fears.  She certainly never lost any sleep over him.  After all, he had shown himself to be less than honorable when it came to me and my mother.  The truth of the matter is that neither he, nor my mother, deserve any praise concerning my early development.  I am grateful, however, that they were the two people through which I entered into this earthly realm.  They were and are very talented people, individually and collectively.  None of their talents have been lost on me.  Yet, that I am still standing today, with some semblance of sanity, really is a tribute to Mama.

But as life goes on, so too do the stories of the living and the dead.  On June 27, 2010, a week to the day after Father's Day, and the day before the one year anniversary of Mama's transition, the third brother of my father, proposed to my mother's younger sister and Mama's third daughter!  I CANNOT begin to tell you how we got here, but here we are!  I find it quite surprising, humorous and yet, rather exciting.  It appears that in the spirit world, there has been some reconciliation between my father and Mama.  I like to think they have even conspired with the heavenly host to bring this union into being.  Some would say the souls of our two families have been and are meant to travel together, for once again, we have joined, both in life, as in death, as one.

Amen - Ase', Ase', Ase'O.

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!