Jeremiah 1:17
"But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don't pull your punches
or I'll pull you out of the lineup.
18-19"Stand at Up while I prepare you for your work.
I'm making you as impregnable as a city,
Immovable as a steel post,
solid as a concrete block wall.
You're a one-man defense system
against this culture,
Against Judah's kings and princes,
against the priests and local leaders.
They'll fight you, but they won't
even scratch you.
I'll back you up every inch of the way."
God's Decree.
Not A New Jack City,
I was thinking on My High School Graduation, 2011 will mark my 20th. Year reunion it will also mark the year I started Working for CDF as a Summer intern and While I was Challenging myself to work for the community and the Young Persons in My Home Town of Bennettsville there was a Competing Image of the Hollywood Film NEW Jack City. A film that on many Levels Glorified Violence, Murder, Crime, Drugs and had a CREAM mentality (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) was in opposition to everything CDF was showing and Pulling out of me.
It is at this tension I place this text. I hear God in this text Saying Stand Up. We have to many persons in our communities that are afraid to stand up, to be countercultural.
Jeremiah story is similar to that of many us, Jeremiah meaning “YHWH exalts” The word Say that Jeremiah was Called before he was born and given a Call to minister as a young Boy. You talk about a theology of Cradle Recovery. Yet even in his youth he was challenged to Stand Up, to rise up , to grid up his lurns.
Let me Move
There is a scene in the movie New Jack City where the Drug Dealing cartels/gang, the Cash Money Brothers (CMB) is taking over the Carter an inter city Housing Project and turning an entire apartment complex ("The Carter") into a crack house. and Nino Brown the leader of this Street game slashed organized Crime Family or Young Black Thugs says (Yeah, we takin' over the Carter. We gon' bum rush the whole thing. Now if the tenants cooperate, oh, it'll be lovely. They'll be loyal customers, if not, forget it, it'll be like in Beirut, they'll be live-in hostages.) And it just happens! There is no one there to prevent them from doing this sure there is one man crying out in the wilderness but no one to engage the system. There are no forces of Community to rescue the children who live in poverty in the Housing Project. There are no city elected officials to stop the Takeover of the homes of some of the most marginalized victims of the Drug war and the Collateral Damage victims of Americas war on Racial Equality. It Just Happened, and sadly that may not be the fantasy and movie magic, way too many places around this country and globally things are just allowed to happen to children.
I have a real problem when The Cash Money mind set takes over and the City refuses to be a community and things move according to who has the money. I don’t mind saying I have a problem with a person who can sit at a table and bring home 4 Million dollar bonuses on 20 million dollar salaries off of the foreclosures of homes of folks that won't ever make a million dollars, Oh yawl looking at me but 18,000 dollars time fifty is still less than a million.
My son is a real part of that concern for me being born in 2002 when I am faced with a statistic based on 2001 that talks about the likely hood of a Black Boy having 1 in 3 chance of going to prison in his lifetime, I have very little cognitive distance.
I am Right there I see his face in that Passionate Picture that CDF uses in the report with the lines drawn between the little Boy and the Prisoner, You have to understand my son whom I often refer to as my Clone, he is Large, Extremely smart and very active, has not met a tree or Roof that he has not at least mentally pondered climbing, My son has a teacher Mrs. Brody, Last Year when My Son was moving into 5k the principle whom I had made myself close to because I have Omri said Oh don’t Worry I have a teacher for Omri, I said Great Because I would Not want him to have his sisters teacher she was great just not for him, She is preface I have often wished he could keep her until College, A little small hard chocolate woman with a strong personality, I know she keeps Omri in Check because I pay attention to her when I am in her presence, She runs up to me the other day and Says Your Son almost made me lose my mind, my religion and Job. This is not unusual so I listen as she is animated jumping around telling her story. We were preparing for his Map Test(Measures of Academic Progress by NAWA), And we had been hyping the kids all day and week with the importance of doing well on the test and Omri has just been saying all day how well he wanted to do on the test.
Well we come in from lunch and I grab Omri my best student and get him started on the test. He comes to the first Question the Question say take the P off of Pat and replace it with a (Ca) sound and select the picture. The little pictures make sound when you mash them.
She said several times he looked at Cat right in the middle and refused to mash the button she said he was just sitting there Ten to fourteen minutes at that point she was pulling her hair out, asking herself did I not explain this test to my students, Lord have I done something wrong, I mean this is one if my Best Students and he is frozen, Am I a good teacher, Am I a good person.
She gives up and some would say even breaks the rules of this Testing system as ask Omri are you all right? Yes he replies! What's wrong He looks and Says I looking for the K, I know that the (ca) sound is made by K, C, and qu but since this is such an important test I want to use K its taller.
And at This point she Gave my son the same Commend that God gave Jeremiah and I and Giving you. She said "use what is there!" He goes on at the point to Finnish the test with a 100 + score her first since giving the test.
Use what is there! Jeremiah no matter how young you feel. I will speak for you. In the language of a God who creates through words that means, if you stand I will speak/Create through your mouth;
I will Create programs, I will develop ministries, I will make community organizations through your month.
If you will stand and open it, I will Use you to build a world based in my principles of social justice. A fortified City of God like realities.
I got to work this illustration since it was so long, But I am Glad that Mrs. Brody spoke! My Son could have been labeled learning disabled and folks could have put him is title 1 or something she could have given up on him and checked his file and sow that he was on reduced lunch and has speech.
But no with a God inspired insight she spoke to him, and in speaking to him she found out that he was not lost, But just existing on another level.
How many Jeremiahs are out there waiting for someone to speak to them? How many of you are waiting to be a Mrs. Brody and Speak when the Standers say don’t speak, to lead when the world say don’t lead.
You are being called to be Counter cultural, It is not easy. But the God voice in you cannot be silenced.
You who have been called from birth cannot act like others;
You who God is using while you are young before you have had to face all the lions and wild animals David,
You who God is calling before you have been Charged with Killing an Egyptian and running from Pharaonic Justice.
You who have not wondered in the wilderness of community service to the point of being bitter.
Oh You might get bitter, I want you to understand in this text that is says You're a one-man defense system against this culture, This New Jack Culture. That there are things in service that can make you bitter.
But This Text also says verse 18 and I like the Old GW Lutheran translation of the Text Today I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up to the whole land. You will be able to stand up to Judah's kings, its officials, its priests, and [all] the common people.
Understand that the CEO's might not love you, the government official might not want to help you, the polices officers might not want to breach the Carters or your community. And Yes Some of the Priest might be more concerned with keeping the floors clean then developing afterschool care.
But Now after years of working in this New Jacked up System I have found that as the text says Some times the Common people, the people who need the most help can fight you the most. But the promise in this text is that:
They'll fight you, but they won't
even scratch you.
I'll back you up every inch of the way."
God's Decree.
We already know what God is calling us to do and to create and how God its engagement its inter action. We already know the programs and the missions and the communities God needs us to speak to we just have to be real and speak to them Just what God is Speaking because when Gods speak is let loose on the word it creates things perfect, when God Speech is delivered the only real response is that's Good.
Now I will Leave Yawl alone after this but, Somebody in the audience is wondering will Can God Do it, Does he do it with Me
My children often Preach for me even when they are not present. Omri my 6 year old clone and Sia my 4 year old Baby Daughter were in the Car and started having a very passionate discussion about Jesus.
My Daughter says "Jesus is in the Sun" My Son says no "he is the son, of God". She replies "well God is in the Sun that’s what makes it so hot". Omri reply's "No! Sia listen God Holds the Sun in One hand, the Moon in the other hand, and the Earth where we live in his other hand". No as the resent theologian I begin to jump in but my Wife has taught me better. To which My Daughter reply's well what about me and Omri looked at her and said God has you in God's other Hand. You Know I got it don’t be afraid of the haters because whatever God birth though you mouth while standing: What every You Do for the lord He has A Hand in it even if it take and extra Hand Gods got it. My Children taught me that
God has Promised Jeremiah that he was goanna make Him a City Not A New Jack City Where Cash Rule Everything Around Me
But A God Fortified A city where the Village concept is one that God has Created and is creating as God speaks though your mouth as you rise up and follow God with no fear. Get Up Put your Working Clothes on and Say Just What God has told You to say
