This week I went to the funeral of the late Kingsley Michael “ Ibo” Cooper. The late and great and highly acclaimed and Internationally famous Musician and founder of iconic “ 96 degrees in the shade …real hot”Third World band.
A picture of his grieving children made the headlines in the Daily Gleaner, Jamaica’s most famous newspaper! But what captured the imagination and focus of the preacher, who in turn held the congregation captive with a very thought provoking – even if many who wore white as requested by the family might not have been Christians – sermon, was the fact that Ibo gave up all of that ‘glory’ to help “ someone along the way”. Gave up all the traveling and trappings of international stardom, to teach and mentor, and reason with, and engage, and rescue, and still create, and co-create, at Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts. So, very appropriately, he sang this song at the very beginning, right after committing the sermon, in prayer, to the glory of God. And the congregation showed their appreciation by singing along with him.
If I can help somebody, as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody, with a word or song, If I can show somebody, how they’re travelling wrong, Then my living shall not be in vain.
[Chorus] My living shall not be in vain, Then my living shall not be in vain If I can help somebody, as I pass along, Then my living shall not be in vain.
If I can do my duty, as a good man ought, If I can bring back beauty, to a world up wrought, If I can spread love’s message, as the Master taught, Then my living shall not be in vain.
Chorus.
It was in that context no doubt that the Holy Spirit led “ Astor” Rev. Astor Carlyle who was at least one of Ibo’s pastors, along with members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church who co-officiated, to ground his message in this text:
“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”
Luke 12:48 NRSV
The challenge for all who claim Christ, who have been born again, all who” depend on Jesus Christ“, like Ibo did, especially as death invaded his family, and then when at death’s door himself, is to understand what have we received. This, as if you have not received something from God, you really can’t claim to be born again. And if you have received the gift of eternal life, which begins right here on earth, then you have a duty and a responsibility and the power, as “ Astor” challenged “ to make a permanent mark” by helping someone along the way, in this life.
What this anointed Pastor said in effect is that Christians cannot “ hug up “ salvation for themselves. And for kith and kin! No. This broken and war torn world in Gaza and Israel, this Jamaica land we love but at war with itself where Etana’s iconic song #WRONGADDRESS “Lady where you come from, people die there every day” is our sad reality, needs children of the Most High God, to “ show somebody how they are traveling wrong”. So that your living shall not be in vain!
Therefore, as wars and rumors of wars continue in these “end times “, what really matters is not so much how gifted you are as a child of God, or how secure is your future in heaven, as important as that is, but how much you have helped someone along the way, by sharing the Christ in you with them. Thus fulfilling the demands of Christ Himself who said famously :
“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’”
Matthew 25:34-36 NRSV
A whole lot of people are out there, in Israel and in Gaza in the Middle East, and in “ Tel Aviv and Gaza “ right here in Jamaica” who need to know the Lord. And in the Parliament, in the media, professionals and musicians and even tourists who need to know the Lord. Which is why I wrote to my church this message this week:
I think it would be a great mistake to bemoan the position taken by many of these young people — the seekers of context, not the defenders of terrorism, of course — rather than seek to understand it.
In politics, you convert people by convincing them, not condemning them.
Is there antisemitism coming from some in the debate over this conflict? Yes, and that must be called out. But you can be opposed to Israeli government policies without being antisemitic, so we should take care not to conflate all opposition to Israeli government policies with hatred of Jewish people. Lumping together any kind of support for Palestinians in this moment as inherently hostile to Israel’s Jewish citizens and to Jewish people around the world is also problematic — and intellectually dishonest.
And we should similarly take care not to equate the views of all Palestinians with the views or actions of Hamas – Charles Blow. New York Times.
Below, pictures of two Americans released by Hamas today after intervention by Qatar. And the Leaders of the Anglican Church and the Greek Orthodox church after the bombing of the oldest Christain church in Gaza.
As a member of the Judaeo-Christian church with indissoluble links to the children of Abraham, and also part of the worldwide Christian church which includes believing Gentiles ( all non Jews including Palestinians ) and believing Jews, joined together by our shared belief in the Atonement for Sin wrought by Christ and him Crucified on Calvary, I mourn the tragic loss of life in Israel and in Palestine, and continued suffering for both Israelis and Palestinians, and pray for peace.
Last night, as I continued to pray for, and ponder on, the events taking place in Palestine and in Israel, I was moved to post the message above on Facebook. This morning as I prepared to write the weekend blog, it came to me, that we are not witnessing just anther war between Israel and the children of the Biblical Canaanites, but world history unfolding. Why? Because early in the life of the world, God contemplated destroying all of created life , which He made very good, because it had been corrupted by mankind and made very evil.
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”
Genesis 6:11-13 NIV
And before this:
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
Genesis 6:5-8 NIV
And so we learn from world history according to Word of God and not from CNN or BBC, that the righteousness of Noah was in essence, part one of the unfolding act of the salvation of the world. And if we read the Word carefully, the calling out of the children of Abraham from the world is part two of God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
“Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.”
Joshua 24:1-4 NIV
““ ‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.””
Joshua 24:11-15 NIV
And we all know the sorry story that the children of Israel, despite promising to serve the God of Jacob, began worshiping the gods of their ancestors and the gods of the Amorites in whose land they were living:
“So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.””
1 Samuel 8:4-9 NIV
And so the challenge for us here in Jamaica is to understand better what happens to a people who are part of the “ called out people of God”, anointed to declare the glory of God to the world, and to live in righteousness and holiness before him all the days of their lives. But who reject the third and final part of God’s plan for the salvation of the world. The life and death, the resurrection and ascension with the pouring out of the gift of the Holy Spirit, of Jesus Christ our Savior. And therefore can find no Rest in Palestine! But instead behave just like any other nation, and seek to subjugate the people of Gaza and the West Bank to all kinds of strictures and control, for security reasons perhaps, in their national interest according to the Americans, but in doing so, fail to become a “ light to the nations”. Which was what God called to be!
This is the tragedy of Biblical proportions literally, of what Israel has become. Just like any other nation seeking revenge, and perhaps according to ways of the world justifiably so. But not according to the teachings of Jesus Christ to love those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you. Does this mean that Israel should not defend itself against the terrorist group which is Hamas; and which has vowed to “ wipe Israel from the face of the earth”? No! Of course not. But what it does mean is that “ you can’t do what the other girls do and still be a lady”. Israel was meant to be the “ adult” in the room, and not part of the “ maddening crowd “.
Israel was created to bring God’s peace to the world and not “ chuck badness “ at anyone who provokes them to wrath.
The gospel that St. Paul a “ faultless Jew” preached was and continued to be:
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,”
2 Timothy 2:8 NIV
The lesson we need to learn from all of this is that the first priority of the called out people of God in this and very age, is to be “ holy as God is holy”. To present Christ the only righteous One to the Nations. And so the Church has no business addressing its own needs first. Maintaining church buildings. Maintaining ecclesiastical structures and defending denominational practices. But rather like Christ, though he was God, humbled himself and became obedient, even to death on a cross. For the ultimate salvation of the world!
As church, like Israel we have become distracted and are behaving just like how the world behaves. Just look around you and see how often our members, lay and priests, are in the news. Just like sinners! Consider how some members treat each other and how some priests behave. Consider who we behave at election time. Just like the world. How in God’s name can people of God align themselves unconditionally with Donald Trump is one of the great mysteries of our time?
And just like in the Middle East, this is a time for repentance across the world. A time to ponder deeply on the words of the hymn writer:
And now, O Father, mindful of the love
That bought us, once for all on Calvary’s Tree,
And having with us him that pleads above,
We here present, we here spread forth to thee
That only Offering perfect in thine eyes
The one true, pure , immortal Sacrifice.
Look, Father, look on his anointed face,
And only look on us as found in him;
Look not on our misusings of thy grace;
Our prayer so languid and our faith Sodom;
For lo, between our sins and their reward
We set the Passion of our Lord.
As indeed, what shall it profit Israel to seek and gain revenge over Hamas, and by causing great suffering in the process, not only misrepresent the God of Jacob and the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, but who knows, lose their soul.
Which is why I wrote this message to my church this week!
Comment: Like many others, I am familiar with the wonderful prayer that is the first line of verse one of this hymn above. But this is the first time that I am reading and praying this hymn. Why? God be with you ‘til we meet again was my song in the night early this morning. And so in obedience I searched and found the hymn and shared it with you. I didn’t sleep very well last night. And usually I sleep very well, praise God! This as death is in the air, near to me in the case of my schoolmate and friend for life Kingsley Michael Cooper; a.k.a Ibo or just “ BO”. And far from me in Israel and in Gaza. Near to me in murder and murder most foul in Trelawny and in Wareika Hills ( Murder Mission is the Gleaner headlines. Far from me as the war inflicted on Ukraine by Russia continues, abated.
And as I ponder on what’s happening, appropriately lyrics of a song from the era in which we grew up as students at Jamaica College in the ‘60s – yeah getting there, big man now – comes to mind. “ Ball of Confusion” by the legendary Temptations ( Bo and Third World did a collab with Stevie Wonder, but they could quite easily have provided back up for one of the all time great singing groups ever)
Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the preacher
And it seems nobody’s interested in learning but the teacher
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation
Ball of confusion
Oh yeah, that’s what the world is today
Woo, hey, hey
Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills
Hippies moving to the hills, people all over the world are shouting, end the war
And the band played on.
End the war indeed! The war in Vietnam then, and the war in Gaza and Israel now. Which brings to mind how music and musicians and bloggers also, are curators of history and that the French philosophers were correct in their observation which I leant en Francais at Jamaica College that “ Plus ca change plus ce la meme chose”. The more things change the more they remain the same! Across what we consider as time boundaries!
This as the world has been in confusion ever since Adam and Eve made the fateful error of paying more attention to Google, and CNN, and YouTube and Bob Marley and the voices of sundry politicians, than to the Word of the living God. For as far fetched as this description of what happened in the Garden of Eden may seem, listening to what Satan had to say on the issue of eating the apple, rather than being obedient t God, let loose, until this very day, the idolatry which is at the heart of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and every war that mankind has engaged in. And why “lady where you come from people die there every day”. Not only on account of living in a #WRONGADDRESS but on account of living in Sin. This as one of the great lessons we learn from the Song which the father of John the Baptist sang at the birth of his son and when his tongue was loosed, is this:
THE BENEDICTUS
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people:
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us: in those house of his servant David……..
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us:
That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies : might serve him without fear:
In holiness and righteousness before him: all the days of our life….
And we know from Holy Scriptures that Jesus died to rescue us from Sin, Evil and not just the the fear but the “ sting “ of death itself – which is judgement.
My bredrin Ibo never had to die. Nor any human being created by God and judged to be very good. But God knew that we would Sin and made provision for The Fall, in Jesus Christ and him crucified “ before the beginning of time”. And so “ in the fullness of time” the Bible reveals, “ God sent his Son”!
In this “ ball of confusion”, Ibo not only made music “ with a sense of purpose”, and taught because “ he was committed”, but trusted God, even when his son Arif died tragically, because even though a conscious Rastaman he knew Father God in Jesus Christ. And so after that fateful and deeply disturbing event in his life – he was worried about how Joy was taking it- we spoke for the last time, and for a long time as usual about deep things of life. As not for him was any consideration of the frivolous and the trite and the popular. He was deeply concerned about the lack of knowledge of the youth and yet not pessimistic as he met many potential bright lights at Edna and elsewhere. Nor any morbid consideration about what must have been a concern to him at that time – about his health. But not a word from him about that. Not even prayers requested. But profoundly that “ Lu even though my son is dead, I am still trusting in the Father”.
I will sleep better tonight because as I wrote to my church yesterday, and told my schoolmates on the Fervet Chat on WhatsApp, “ it is well with his soul”, because he accepted “ wedding clothes “ when he trusted in God in Christ.
This video presented itself to me this morning. Not a high quality production which we are accustomed to, like that from a Ce Ce Winans, or Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. But it showed us a people, largely of African descent , dancing and singing and just “ praising the Lord”. In the same way our forebears used to sing and dance. In the same way King David would sing and dance:
“David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.”
2 Samuel 6:14-16 NRSV
God is so good to me, how can I let him down, they sang as feet moved and bodies swayed, and glory was given to the Lord. A kind of worship style which is not seen in many churches. Not spontaneous! And if truth be told, some may “ despise in their hearts”, this kind of behavior.
How does a focus on this kind of spontaneous, uninhibited, completely wrapped in Jesus, style of worship help us in an age of “ Crab Corner”, and “ Beachy Stout” murder trial, the “ shocking murder “ of a Vice Principal at a major teaching institution, and the “ heroic” deeds of the four boys who rescued their friend from a near death beating by another schoolboy?
My experience last night is part of the answer. Did you know that in the USA, where like Jamaica, “ lady where you come from mass killings happen every day” ( to misquote Etana’s #WRONGADDRESS) there was once a Great Awakening. A time of mass conversions, when thousands and thousands of people, responding to a new type preaching which “ offered them the ideal of a personal relationship to God through authentic spiritual conversion to Christ”. And two names in particular are associated with this amazing period in both American and British history, which in turn triggered profound social change, Rev. Johnathan Edwards and the great evangelist George Whitefield. And later on the two brothers John and Charles Wesley would became part of the movement.
Two of the great sermons that Johnathan Edwards preached, one that helped to jumpstart his amazing ministry, “ Justification by Faith alone”, and the other considered an American literary classic,
“ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, are still well remembered to this day.
George Whitefield, already a famous evangelist in England where he would preach to up to thirty thousand hungry souls, at a time, and with much weeping by preacher and mostly poor and despised by upper English society, and the power of God was at work to convert many souls, eventually joined Edwards in the “ colonies”.
It is important to note that like Edwards who eventually fell out of favor with his church, Whitfield too was rejected by the established church in England who attempted to label him, quite unsuccessfully with derisory terms: “ Enthusiast”. And worse those who opposed him would resort to throwing stones and dead cats and one man even attempted to “ pee on him “ dangling from a tree above.
But all of this did not deter Whitfield who continued to preach outdoors, outside the walls of the church of England of which he was a baptized and ordained member. And with profound effects on both the UK and America at that time:
“ However much he battled, over the course of the next decades, his influence on Great Britain would be dramatic. His outdoor preaching and other efforts opened the door for for the work of the Wesleys and the Methodist movement in general, which led to many social reforms, including the eventual abolition of the slave trade. His preaching also helped lead the people of Great Britain along the path towards greater democratization. But all of this cannot be compared to the influence he had on the thirteen colonies across the Atlantic.
During his lifetime Whitefield’s many visits to the colonies would forever alter the landscape of the New World. His preaching the process of uniting the thirteen colonies into something greater than the sum of their disparate parts, preparing them to become the United States of America. “. From Eric Metaxas’ 7 More Men: And The Secrets Of Their Greatness. #BetterthanNetflix
The key message here is that what God has done for America, he can do it again. And what God has done for Jamaica he can do it again. A Great Awakening can come to this country again. To the USA again. Crab Corner, and Murder most foul, and road fatalities and Political shenanigans and “ violence in the schools” dont have to dominate the news forever. Mass Killings and Trump like and Trump inspired behavior and moral relativism and the consequences thereof don’t have to greet us on CNN daily. And what God did for and in the UK and the USA, started with hungry souls being fed with solid Christian teachings, foundation teaching of the need to be “ born again”, and of the “ judgement for sinners” and of the full manifestation of the love of God on Calvary for all mankind. Thus heralding a “ global “ understanding that “ all men are born equal”: one of the highlights of the American Constitution which had its genesis in the Great Awakening.
So back to the video. God is good, God is so good to me, how can I let him down. Is a song coming straight from Calvary. Justification by faith in a God who is so good to me and the whole world and continues to be, by the crucified, risen and ascended Christ. And soon coming again to “ judge the living and the dead”. Sinners in the hands of a God of wrath, if there is no repentance before we die! People are already hungry for God. This is what the Creator God has installed in us – a desire for him. A desire which we fill with all kinds of idolatry in our mistaken understanding of what ought to bring Joy into our lives. What is needed, outside the church if necessary and hopefully within the walls of the church, is a call for holiness. To be holy as God is holy in Christ Jesus. Which is the power of the Gospel message! That in Christ we might become a “ new creation” and be like Christ. And be sinners who escape the wrath of an angry God at the time of judgment. And then sing and dance without an inhibition like David did. Why? I posted this message of facebook this week:
THE WISDOM OF OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sin is something I am born with and cannot touch— only God touches sin through redemption. It is through the Cross of Christ that God redeemed the entire human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a person responsible for having the heredity of sin, and does not condemn anyone because of it. Condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let Him do so. From that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. “This is the condemnation [and the critical moment], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…” (John 3:19).
So Jamaica can change. But first we need to understand that the goodness of God can only be fully understood on Calvary and not first by “ seeking justice for all”, or by first binding up the wounded and caring for the dying. That will come. And so too a solution for what happened at Crab Corner and continues to happen in this murderous country. But first “ seek ye first the kingdom of God.” Where Christ is Sovereign over our lives! And all other things will cme thereafter.
Which is the essence of one of my inspired messages to my church this week:
danielgodsurelywilldeliver 