"For All We Know..."

My Dearest Beloved: 

Once again, life has dealt me a devastating blow.  On August 8, 2011, I lost my mother, Patricia Lawrence Henry, "Pat."  What follows is a short tribute to the woman through which I chose to enter into this earthly realm.  I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as I wade through these dark and troubling waters.

...AND I REMEMBER

               Patricia Lawrence Henry

                                 "Pat"

             10/29/1947 - 08/08/2011

Living ain’t easy.  Dying ain’t either.  Failure to do either is not an option.  West African tradition teaches us that before we enter into this earthly realm, our soul makes a contract with our Father/Mother/God to do a certain thing or things while we are here on earth.  Another component of this tradition is that we are afforded the opportunity to choose our earthly mother and father, and I chose you.  For while in a spiritual time, space and place, I saw you and knew all that you were in a pure, unlimited and in an all understanding way – and I saw in you traits that I wished to have in order to carry out my soul’s contract.  For obvious reasons, I wanted your looks.  I wanted your smarts and intelligence, your laughter, your “mother wit,” your creative writing skills, and a flare for the dramatic in style and being.  I wanted your strength and courage.  I desired to love fiercely and to fight with reckless and determined abandonment.  For if I had not chosen you for my mother, I would not be the woman I am today.  In your leaving, and through all of our experiences, good, bad, or ugly; right, wrong or indifferent, if I had it to do all over; I would choose to be your daughter again.

Goodnight Pat, I love you.  I have loved you all of my life.  Look for me, because I'll be looking for you - on the other side of midnight.  Peace.

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"The Best Little Whorehouse in Jericho"

Joshua; Chapter 2

As we enter into the next stage of our bible study and into the storytelling of the history of the Israelite people, we begin with a curious, yet, close encounter with a prostitute by the name of Rahab.  I know the title of this post is going to get me into trouble, but hey, what else is new?  I don't know how I, Rev. Dorinda "Make it plain" Henry, could tell this story any other way.  Do you?  I didn't think so.  So let's begin...

When we get into the book of Joshua, we like to run on to the fall of Jericho.  Preachers, teachers, and lay leaders like to run on past this cute and yet, arguably, unnecessary narrative of the "prostitute," Rahab.  I find it interesting that this narrative was even included - until I realized Rahab is the second woman named in the genealogy of Jesus.  She is also the second woman in this small group of women, who found herself in the royal ancestral line through particularly particular circumstances.  Like her predecessor, Tamar, (Whom we'll get to in just a moment), she is identified as being a prostitute, or harlot if you're reading the King James Version.  Rahab lived in a house on the "wall" of Jericho.  The scripture tells us after getting instruction from Joshua to go and spy out the land, "especially Jericho," the first order of business for the spies must have been for them to get a piece of @$$, so they went, "and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab."  After spending the night with Rahab and after she risks her life to hide the men from the King of Jericho, and helped them escape, they make an oath to her that they will spare her life and the lives of her "father, mother, brothers, sisters and all who belong to them" if she ties a crimson cord in the same window they escaped from (Joshua 2:1-21).  I know when you read these blogs you struggle to believe that I am a real card carrying, bonafide Preacher, but I assure you that I am.  I write these blogs this way, because I need the masses, regular ole folk, to stop being intimidated by the bible and bible thumpers.  For it is a moral imperative to know for certainty, that without prostitutes, misfits and miscreants, the world would have never heard of the most famous Mediterranean Jewish peasant man named Jesus.

Now where was I?  Oh yeah, this "whore," is not the first in the royal lineage of Jesus.  There was another woman said to have "played the whore."  Enter stage left - Tamar.  If you remember, Tamar, was the Canaanite woman Judah gave to his firstborn son, Er.  The scripture tells us that Er "was wicked in the sight of the Lord and the Lord put him to death" (Genesis 38: 1-8).  According to the Levirate Law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10), Judah commanded his second son, Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother."  Now, if you have been following this blog and reading along with us, then you know Onan, knowing that the offspring from these encounters with Tamar would not be his, he spilled his seed upon the ground.  Consequently, for his disobedience, he too, was put to death by the Lord (Genesis38:8-10).  Although Judah had a third son, Shelah, he was not of age and therefore, Judah instructed Tamar to return to her father's house until the young boy grew up.  

Well, in due course, Judah's unnamed wife dies and after a period of morning, he and a friend goes to Timnah.  When Tamar hears of it, she takes off her "widow's garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah (vv. 12-14c).  To make a long story short, Tamar sees that Shelah, Judah's youngest son has grown up and yet, she has not been given to him for marriage.  Can you hear the Black Woman's Cotton Patch Version's commentary?  It sounds a little sumptn like this; "Ah, okay, okay, are you for real?  Huh?  Are you for real?  Watch this... Ima take off these mourning rags, put my freak 'em dress on, and meet ya @$$ right where you are!"  And it works.  Judah sees her, mistakes her for a prostitute and negotiates with her a payment to "go in to her."  He offers a kid (a baby goat), but knowing her own worth - she countered; "Your signet, and your cord and the staff that is in your hand."  Whaaaat?  All of the identifying accoutrements of a man with significant authority!  And he gave the items up to her!  Ummm umph!  I won't say it, but you know what I'm thinking...  That's alright, take ya time... ;)  Oh and did I mention she became pregnant, and for his failure to restore her (his daughter-in-law's) honor, she, like Rahab, is saved from being burned alive (vv. 15-26).

Both of these women, Tamar and Rahab are but two of the women mentioned by name in the genealogy of Jesus.  They are women, of questionable reputation.  Women who have been painted with a broad brush of insignificance, labeled as being among the underbelly of society, and yet, had it not been for their actions, their sense of self-worth, their act of holding men accountable to the law, or for their example of faith, where would our Jesus be without them?  For me, however, they are tenacious women, women with moxy, women who dared to challenge the Patriarchal constructs of conventional wisdom and mores of the day to secure their own safety and the safety of others.  They are women who should be lifted up and revered alongside the men of the bible.  Their courage and acts of faith are no less than that of the men.  We are simply more likely to forgive and overlook what the men do and applaud them when they finally do what is expected of them.  On the contrary, we make examples of the women in an effort to exert power and control of women in present day.  To that I say, ladies, take a lesson from these women - know the power of the .....   Did I say that?  Noooo... I did not.  ;)

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"The Big One"

Well, here it is.  "This is it!"  We have reached the end of Deuteronomy.  I feel a little like Fred Sanford - out of breath, stumbling and staggering about, holding my heart for full affect and hopefully some attention.  Because what we have done as a group, is a great accomplishment.  We should pause to take a look back at the first 5 books of the bible - the Pentateuch, also known as the Torah with pride.  We ought to retrace our steps, our commitment and due diligence in completing this very crucial, at times incredibly boring, repetitive, and undeniably disjointed telling of Israel's humble beginnings.

Approaching the final chapters, which include the "Song of Moses" and the "Blessing of Moses," it is hard not to realize that something quirky has happened along the way.  We have gone from reading about a people that were brought out of Egypt with the mighty hand of the Lord, a people Moses gives the rules and ordinances to live by when they enter into the Promised Land - along with admonishments of what will happen if they fail to remain faithful to the One true God - YHWH, and finally, to the "prophetic" encouragement that even if the people did disobey his instructions, the law, and worship other Gods, all they would need to do is "repent."  Although God would first punish and disperse them from the land into "strange and unfamiliar lands," S/HE would show them mercy and compassion and bring them back again.  Moving forward into the rest of the Deuteronomic History, it would seem as if this is a perfect example of the adage, "Hindsight is 20/20."  For we'll see in the upcoming books that Israel did all that Moses warned them about and God's response to it was exactly as Moses said it would be.  How neat and perfect is that?  Surely you too know that it is a little too neat and a little too perfect.

We have read these books and we have heard the stories from our preachers, parents, teachers and the like.  We, Christians have been led to believe the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament is all prophecy.  That it is a foretelling of the coming Messiah, Jesus.  But it isn't.  As I stated in previous posts, Deuteronomy, in its final form, was the work of scribes, and Jerusalemite priests under the direction and instruction of King Josiah during the Babylonian Exile, in 586 BCE (Before the Common Era).  Thus, the latter chapters of Deuteronomy, like the first 4 chapters are added separately and are independent.  I know it's a bit confusing, but let me put it this way; The story is written after the fact.  The editors, King Josiah and his minions redacted earlier texts to fit the circumstances under which the exiled Jews were living in an effort to establish a nation that worshiped the one true God - YHWH.  Trust me, it will all make sense later when we begin our reading Joshua, and on into 1 and 2 Kings.

Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, I was struck by how many times we read of Moses' impending death.  If I didn't know better, it seemed like every time we entered a new chapter, we were going to be reading of one of the most anticipated, yet mysterious deaths in the bible.  It was so frequent, that I couldn't help but reflect back on my younger days watching one of my favorite characters, and junk men, Fred Sanford, played by the late comedic genius, Redd Foxx.  At every turn when time and chance proved unfavorable to Fred, he would act as if he was having a heart attack.  He did it so often that it was one of the funniest and most familiar scenes of the hit TV show, Sanford and Son.  And if you know like I know, it never happened.  In this instance, however, he is our Moses - stumbling, staggering about, holding his heart, warning any and all in Israel that would listen, "Uh, oh...  This is it...  It's the big one!"  The Black Woman's Cotton Patch Version of the bible would record Moses' frequent scares this way;  "If you don't do it the way I say do it, I'm gonna die and the Lord is gonna get you!"  Well, in chapter 34, Moses, supposedly, still a strong man, "Goes up to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah," to gaze once more upon a land he would not enter, and promptly died (Deuteronomy 34:1-7).  I suppose the reality of that was finally too much for what Moses' heart could take.  So he grabbed his chest, looked toward the sky, and stumbled his @$$ right off that mountain.  I'm jes sayn...  :)
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Cast The First Stone"

"Sticks and stones

may break my bones,

but words will never 

hurt me."

I remember childhood days of sneaking around corners and running home after school trying to avoid a bully or two or three.  Looking back on those days when the bullies would boldly stand in the street calling me names and yelling other mean and cruel things at me, I can smile and remember fondly my defiant dance of champions as I recited the aforementioned phrase.  I knew they may have been big, bad and bold, but they were not big, bad and bold enough to come into my yard and say or do anything to me.  Everyone involved knew if that boundary was crossed, we'd all meet our fate.  Either I would be beaten to a bloody pulp or they and those watching and instigating, would soon learn that I was more afraid of facing my mother after being beaten up than I was of them.  And there was absolutely no way in hell, I was gonna go back in the house after I allowed someone to beat me up in my own front yard.  The word in my house was; "If you stand out there and let them hit on you and beat you up, Ima whoop ya ass again when they're done."  Now listen, if you know anything about me and by now you should, then you know THAT was not going to happen.  Needless to say, in the homes of many, if not most black people, Mama's "word," was THE "word."  So those taunting me with threats also knew they dare not cross that line or their reputation and status as the big bad wolf may also end with their ass in a pot of boiling hot water.

Today, however, cute little nursery rhymes aren't doing the trick.  "Sticks and stones," have been replaced by "sexting," "cyberbullying," knives and guns.  And with the increase of child and teenage suicide, the adage, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," is causing me to rethink whether or not the "words" are more hurtful and damaging than the sticks and stones.  Why am I talking about this on this Christian blog?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  As you know we are in the final chapters of Deuteronomy and yes, we have walked right smack dab into cause and reasons for the punishment of "stoning" as an act of capital punishment.  And of course, more often than not, it is women who are condemned to death by "stoning."  I invite you to read Deuteronomy chapters 17:2-7; 19:15-20; 21:18-21, "The Incorrigible Son;" And 22:13-29.  These chapters are critical to the understanding of the plight of women in ancient Near Eastern Culture and sadly, within certain cultures, it continues to this day.  It is also critical for us Christians to get our collective minds around the sacred text when it comes to women being accused of adultery and thus, subject to being "stoned" to death.  There are two passages in particular that comes to mind.  Briefly...  I know, I know - briefly is not what I do well.  But c'mon, hang out wit me for a moment.  I'm going somewhere here. 

In the book of John, a Mediterranean Jewish peasant named Jesus is confronted by a crowd of men, lead by scribes (transcribers and expounders of the Mosaic Law) and Pharisees (spiritual leaders that held a strict adherence to the belief of the oral/aural communication and written word of the laws given to Moses by God).  They have brought out a woman, accused of adultery, to be "stoned" to death according to the law of Moses.  Funny thing, the man is....  Umph...  Where is he?  He is conspicuously missing.  Why is that?  Because somewhere I read, "both of them shall die."  Anyhue...  In a haphazard attempt to catch him [Jesus] violating some ancient Mosaic Law, they inquire of him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.  Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do you say..."  Excuse me while I reach for my King James Version...  Jesus' reply - one of the most preached about passages by old and new preachers alike - "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (KJV John 8:3-11).  If we were in church, someone would have blurted out "Yes suh!  Preach Preacher!"  Because of course no one throws a rock at the woman and they - the men of the town - leave that place disappointed that there will be no pummeling a woman with rocks that day.  Side note:  You do know women were not allowed to throw any rocks right?  No?  Well now you do.

The other text that comes to mind is Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well, better known as the "Woman of Samaria."  In this passage, the text records Jesus' encounter with a Samarian woman as she draws water from a well, Jacobs well.  They get involved in one of the longest and most misinterpreted conversations recorded between Jesus and anyone for that matter.  One of the most profound wonders of this conversation is that he engages her (a woman) as his intellectual equal.  But after some time, he says to her, "Go, call your husband and come back."  Her reply, "Sir I have no husband."  Jesus says to her and I paraphrase, You're right to have said that, "for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband" (John 4:1-18).  Okay, here we go...  Without fail, every time I have heard this passage preached, the preacher has talked so badly about the woman that it is absolutely re-damn-dic-u-lous!  Through narrowly focused, patriarchal and misogynistic lenses, they read the text, "You have had five husbands and the one you have now is not your husband" to mean a charge of multiple acts of adultery.  As such, they barely stop short of calling her a whore and a harlot.   But if we believe that cursory interpretation and understanding of the text, this woman has sexually involved herself with five other married men, and is now on her sixth.  And if that is the case, then ladies and gentlemen, we have our first serial adulteress who lived to tell the story.  But we are grown folk, who are Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, and we know better.  We now have a better understanding of the consequences women faced when charged with "adultery," and therefore, we also know that when preachers approach this text in this lazy and haphazard sort of way, know that it is selectively misleading and a gross misinterpretation.  The passage is more about the people (Exiled Jews), practicing the 5 to 6 religious beliefs, practices and traditions of neighboring peoples in the region.  So now that you know better, do better and don't sit still for that crap again! 

Ending where I began, my bible study class is preparing for another movie night.  I felt it important to get a clearer picture of what it means to be condemned to death by "stoning."  I also want to drive home the plight of women across the world who live within cultures where the practice continues to this very day.  We hear your cries, we stand as witnesses to your life and God forbid, your death by this archaic and misogynistic application of this method of punishment.  We will, until we no longer have breath in our bodies, shout aloud and carry your voice with us.  For we now know that sticks and stones will not only break our bones, but they will also kill us, and kill us in a most horrific way.

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Mother God"

ASHERAH

"You shall not plant any tree as a sacred pole beside the altar that you make for the LORD your God; nor shall you set up a stone pillar - things that the LORD your God hates" (Deuteronomy 16:21,22).

I really wish you all could see me right now.  I am smiling as mischievously as I did when I was a young girl and Mama or one of my aunts made the mistake of bending over in front of me.  It is also not lost on me that this particular post is coming immediately after my Father's Day post.  It's the kind of "stuff," my father would have gotten a great laugh out of.  He would have thought it to be utterly hilarious and fitting that I present the following information and yes, that his daughter, is one of the folks trying to introduce it into mainstream - you know, where regular ole "common" folk, the people, the masses, would be able to access it.  So as I, we delve further into the book of Deuteronomy, we encounter the aforementioned scriptural text.  It is a scriptural text that many of you might not have ever paid any particular attention to, but one that actually introduces us to a particularly particular character and name that does and does not exist in the Bible.  A name synonymous with the "sacred pole," and an "almond tree" designed with divine specifications.  It is a character with a name that brings home the three main selling points in real estate - location, location, location.

Yes, location IS everything!  And where the "sacred pole" and the stylized "almond tree" was "located" in the Tabernacle - within the "Holy of Holies" - is everything too.  For you see, there you will find or shall I say, there you would have found ASHERAH - God's (YHWH's) beloved wife, consort, and co-creator.  I say "would have found" her if a full scale rewriting of the sacred text had not taken place under the direction of King Josiah during the Babylonian Exile.  But of course, we won't get into that until 2 Kings.  But for now, know this, a full fledged campaign went into destroying Her image and all manner of reverence and worship of Her.  It was all a part of what would set Israel apart from other peoples and their Gods - Monotheism (The doctrine or belief in one God).  In contrast, Polytheism (The doctrine and/or belief in more than one God or Gods) was the usual religious practice of neighboring peoples in Canaan.  And, quiet as it's kept, Israel was no exception.  They, too, worshiped, burnt incense and made offerings of raisin cakes to ASHERAH, also known as the "Queen of Heaven" (Jeremiah 44:15-19).  And while we may have been given her name in Deuteronomy, I don't believe this to be the first time we've encountered her.

Back in the book of Numbers, another peculiar event takes place in the history of Israel and it goes a little sumptn like this:  When setting out from the Mount of Hor, "The people, spoke against God and Moses, 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.'  Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died..."  I don't need to tell you the people got themselves right together after that and cried out to Moses, confessing their sin against him and God and asked him to pray for them, asking God to take away the serpents.  Being a gracious and compassionate God, the LORD instructed Moses to "Make a poisonous (Fiery) serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.  So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live" (Numbers 21:4-9).  At this point, there are two things that I feel I should not have to tell you...  First, yes, it is no real stretch to connect the dots to the caduceus of Hermes (the image of two snakes intertwined around a staff ) that eventually became associated with the practice of medicine.  The second thing I should not have to tell you is that throughout ancient Near Eastern culture, ASHERAH was known as the "Goddess of Healing," fertility, and immortality.

Surely you know this is only the beginning of our "getting to know" our Mother God, ASHERAH.  While King Josiah and his scriveners, along with a whole host of very creative and very determined men, tried as they might, to eradicate the presence, knowledge and importance of our Mother God, She is there and available to us.  And in this age of Truth, Understanding, Revelation and Liberation, all we have to do is to desire to know Her, seek Her and dare to speak of Her.  For if we do, She will surely be found - out.

"Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation..." 

     (James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Galt MacDermot) 

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"My Father, Myself"

HAYWARD RAY HALL, Sr.  "Bulldog"

I was numb.

He was dangerous. 

He was bad.  He was fierce, one of the biggest and baddest linebackers "Podunk" had ever seen.  If you ever found yourself on the opposing team in a football game and had the nerve, the audacity, the unmitigated gall to think that you could or should try to traverse the football field anywhere near him; you were… well, hopefully you're okay today.  He was popular.  No, he would have never been voted "best looking," or even "most likely to succeed," but he, Elvin “Coach” Carlton and the rest of the crew, all but ran Black Hollywood High.  They were the boys that all the teachers kept a watchful eye on.  They were the boys for which all the girls jockeyed to get their attention.  They were the boys the other boys wanted to be.  They were cool, loud, obnoxious, class clowns and yes, the stars of the football team that gave "Podunk" its first State Championship. 

There he was.

There death was. 

In an instant, I found myself standing face to face with death.  I remembered the heaviness of my body as some sinister force began tugging at it, seemingly threatening to yank my entire skeletal system right out of my body.  My legs, once strong enough to run the 400 and 800 meter relays, 100 meter hurdles and compete in the high jump – in one track meet – were suddenly too weak to carry me five steps from the spot that held me.  Colored in the hue of death, his lifeless body, once so strong and impervious, was under siege.  “What have they done to you” I asked?  I had to get to him.  Weakened, I prayed for fortified steel.  Without it, I would have pulled my father and all that was attached to him down on top of me.  I leaned over and pulled him to me.  I tried as hard as I could to smell him, but there was no scent – none.  I tried to hear him – there was no sound – nothing but the incessant beeping of rude machines busy robbing him of his dignity.  His face was distorted.  His body was odd and unfamiliar.  My father – the muthafucka of all muthafuckas – was no more.

My father was not a religious man.  He believed in a higher power, whatever that power may be, but church, the bible, Christians – they didn’t have a chance with my father.  I loved and respected him for that.  Like most of everything in his life, my father lived by his own rules and on his own terms.  No one could tell him what to do or how to believe. 

So, I called them. 

I called them all – God, Allah, Budda, Krishna, Oladumare, the Universe, the Ancestors, Saints, Orishas and even Jesus.  I summoned them all to bear witness of my father, to make an account of his life, his service, his commitment to his people, his art, his passion, his pain, his hopes, fears and joy.  'Remember him and re-member him into your midst, and into your care.  Re-join him with his ancestral clan and set him in a high place of honor.  Grant him space and chance to continue to walk with me, to watch over and protect me.   In the name of all that is good, all that is right, all that is just, all that is peace and even Jesus – Amen – Ase’, Ase’, Ase’o.'

Goodnight daddy, I love you.  I'll see you on the other side of midnight. 
(The above is an excerpt from my novel, title and publication pending)

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Dear Diary"

Deuteronomy

"Soon I will be done
With the troubles of the world
Troubles of the world
Troubles of the world
Soon I will be done
Troubles of the world
I'm going home to live with God..."

 

Dear Journal: 

This is my last [Will and] Testament.  My name is Moshe, aka Moses.  I am also known affectionately as, Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses, our Teacher/Rabbi).  I don't know why I said, "affectionately," because from the beginning of my walk with the LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, you so-called "chosen" people have vigorously come against me.  Starting as far back as my birth, my life has consisted of having to fight for one thing after another - and often times, for an ungrateful, rebellious and stiff-necked group of people.  But, before I get into that, let me just say that I am coming to the end and I feel the need to get a few things off my chest before I turn this thing over to my adjutant, Joshua.

The first thing I need to do is remind you, O Israel, that when you were an enslaved people, under the yoke of Egypt's Pharaoh, I am the one that brought you out of that bondage.  Yeah, that's right, I, at the LORD's behest, returned to Egypt, brought plagues down on Egypt - right down to the death of all of their firstborn males, until Pharaoh let you go!  Then, after the LORD blew his nose or something and parted the Red Sea, it was I that walked you through on dry land, and not one of you even got wet.  Were you impressed by that?  No!  Every time I turned around, I had to deal with your moaning and groaning and constant complaining about one thing or another.  First it was the golden calf incident, the scouts I sent into the land, and your appetite!  Geez Louise!  Your cry for food prompted the LORD to provide manna for you to eat.  No, you had never seen it before, and neither had I, but it did the trick.  Then you complained about not having any meat!  So the LORD sent out a wind to the Red Sea, causing quail to come into the camp.  To your delight, you went about your way and collected the quail all day.  While the meat, which you demanded, was still in your greedy little mouths, the LORD's anger was kindled against you and brought a plague against you by way of the very thing you wanted so much.  Many of you fell to that plague.  We buried those who died from it in that same place (NRSV Numbers 11:31-34). 

Throughout the forty years that we wandered in the wilderness, you also complained about my leadership, so I anointed my brother, Aaron, Priest of priest to help with management.  I even elevated my sister, Miriam, but in due time, both she and Aaron rose up against me because I married an Ethiopian woman!  Are you serious?  Have you seen the Ethiopian women?  You'll soon find it difficult to stay away from them too.  Anyhue, needless to say, my friend, the LORD - whom I, and I alone, spoke to "face to face," and "mouth to mouth" - for my sake, punished them both.  Surely you know because Miriam was a woman, her punishment was much more severe than Aaron's (vv. 12:1-10).  Nevertheless, we waited until she was better and her leprosy had gone away before we set out to our next camp site. 

Every freaking step of the way, you were a faithless and disobedient nation.  I grew weary of you and that weariness cost me greatly.  Because of your lack of faith and disobedience, the LORD determined that no one from this generation would enter into the Promised Land.  No one, no not even I, would be granted passage into the land promised to our ancestors.  Why?  Well, it happened back at the rock, when you complained yet again about being thirsty.  The LORD instructed me to stand before the congregation and speak to the rock and it rock would yield its life-giving water.  But, I heard your grumblings, and I was "sick and tired of being sick and tired," so I raised my hands and spoke harshly to you as I struck the rock twice.  Most assuredly, the rock yielded refreshing, and rejuvenating water for you and all your livestock.  Yet the LORD was angry with me because I did not trust and obey by doing what I was instructed to do.  As such, and even after all I had done, I, too, was forbidden to enter into the Promised Land (vv. 20:5-12).  I am left only to prepare you to take possession of a good land, "a land flowing with milk and honey," and to leave you with the Law, the ways of governance and all of the LORD's commandments.

"So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.  You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you" (Deuteronomy 4:1,2).  My time with you is not long and soon, I, too, will go the way of the ancestors...  Goodbye, good luck and good riddance!

"No more weepin' and wailin'
No more weepin' and wailin'
No more weepin' and wailin'
I'm going home to live my Lord

Soon I will be done
With the troubles of the world
Troubles of the world
Troubles of the world
Soon I will be done
Troubles of the world
I'm going home to live with my Lord..."
                                    (Mahalia Jackson) 

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!