Category Archives: Personal Reflections

Congresswoman Omar and her likeminded colleagues have the tendency to brand anyone who calls them out for their farfetched and twisted ideologies. Omar hates this country and it is very glaring in her comments. This is a country that took her in and gave her the unprecedented privilege of being a law maker- a thing that she could never have achieved in her native land, Somalia. Instead of being grateful for America’s generosity toward her, and use the platform she has to join the fight against injustice that plagues her country of birth, she uses every opportunity she has to disparage this country. This is a country that gave her freedom and all the successes she is enjoying today.

After a well-received state of the union address by the President, Omar brands the President’s call to fix the outdated immigration laws as “Fascist idea.” The President called her out for the hate she spews on this country, the Congresswoman calls him a “Fascist.” Omar believes that the 911 was perpetrated by Americans on fellow Americans: “some people did something,” were her words. How can you have the worst instincts about America, and still live in the same country? If Omar, strongly believes that this country is as bad as she believes, I am sure that Somalia will be pleased to have her back. She should leave, and do so immediately! America is not perfect, but there is no other country like it on the planet.

The President’s remark is about ideology and patriotism not about race. I am as black as you can get, yet I don’t see America the way Omar does. Does racism exist? The answer is yes. But so do other human vices. The focus should not be on race, but a collective fight for equal plain field for all; and America is the leading country in creating equal plain field for all. We have not arrived as of yet, but significant progress has been made. The last I checked, we just had a black President. I am tired and sick of this race rhetoric.

A better part of my professional career has been on listening, analyzing other people’s speeches, reading people, and their patterns. Omar hates America! She has no business being a law maker. If Omar is the best that Minnesota can give to the congress, then they should probably consider not having representation in the Congress.

The people who chanted “send her back” (the right chant should have been “leave if you don’t like the country,” because the President does not have the authority to send a US citizens back for exercising free speech), also have the same freedom of speech as Omar. Which country on earth can you find people removing the flag of the very country and replacing it with a Mexican flag? Yet, this country, according to Omar and her three twisted friends is evil. If I hated this country as Omar and her friends do, I would leave and go back to Nigeria (that is, if Uncle Sam lets me).

Over the past year, the world has witnessed a phenomenon unparalleled in the history of the United States in the way that many Americans have insulted and continues to insult President Trump and anyone associated with him. The venom vitriol that flow out of the left and liberal wings in this country is almost palpable. And as someone, who is very slow to criticize people regardless of their character flaws, knowing fully well how sinful I am, I have been disheartened by the constant attacks on this President and his family, including his ten year old son.

 
The part that really troubles me the most is when these attacks come from those who claim to profess Christianity. I have pondered a lot of likely possibilities that could lead to such disdain and vitriol toward the President but can only theorize that the reason why many Americans hate this President is that he reminds them of themselves. It’s like viewing oneself in a mirror. Many people can’t stand seeing themselves in a mirror without makeup because the makeup hides who they truly are.

 
Trump represents what many Americans truly are. America is an indispensable nation and will continue to be the best country on the planet, but not without flaws. The election of Trump has showcased how hypocritical many American Christians are. They preach acceptance, but it has to be on their own terms and not on God’s mandate. They preach and teach forgiveness but to them, some people are irredeemable. They talk about a loving God, who loves the sinner, but to these Christians, if the sinner has the last name Trump, this person is beyond God’s love.

 
Although, I am well convinced that a careful or impartial observer could not arrive at such conclusion, yet it is believed that a perverse ingenuity might abuse certain statements and tweets from the President for what in modern coinage are termed racism, bigotry, pedophile, homophobia, white supremacy, sexism, misogyny, anti- American, etc. That any such thoughts could possibly attach to Donald Trump, someone who is true American himself, adored by many in his other life; by some of those who now despise him, is beyond the pale.

 
Just look for a moment at what is happening in the country today with sexual harassments and assaults. Those in public offices are falling like flies because of revelations of their liaison with women, in most cases nonconsensual, yet they are quick to criticize the President for his own flaws. Americans are generally good people, but not without flaws.

 
The distinction between the wise and the foolish is that the wise see themselves in a mirror and self-corrects what flaws they find. In contrast, the foolish go through the same process, but instead of self-correcting, loathe the image they see in the mirror. The left and liberal wings of this country are not worried that the policies that Trump’s administration put in place will hurt the poor or the disenfranchised. They are afraid that his policies will succeed and help those, whom they claim to fight for; thereby revealing their hypocrisy and ineptitude.

 
This post is not an endorsement of every one of Trump’s actions or tweets. Some of his actions are far from congenial, but to highlight that we are all imperfect people with weaknesses. While individual weaknesses vary, (boy I have so many of them), we sure have them. Our response, then, should be that of forgiveness and acceptance. I am self-correcting my many flaws as I see myself in the mirror of imperfect people like myself, with God helping me each day.

 
Merry Christmas!
V/R
Blessing.

Welcome to Saint Michael’s Anglican Church! Today is Trinity Sunday!

WHAT IS TRINITY SUNDAY?
The first Sunday after Pentecost is the Festival of the Holy Trinity. On this day, the church rejoices in the impenetrable mystery that God is triune (three-in-one) — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How the Lord can be one God in three distinct persons is completely beyond the ability of any human to understand. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians accept this incomprehensible mystery as a fundamental article of faith.
WHAT IS THE ATHANASIAN CREED?
The Athanasian Creed is the Christian church’s wonderful and profound confession of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This creed takes its name from the influential North African (Egyptian) bishop and theologian, Athanasius (293-373 AD), who was once thought to be its author. Athanasius creed was a response to Arius’ claim that Jesus is not co equal with God the Father. He claims that Jesus was created and cannot be coequal with the Father. This sparked a controversy that a church council had to be called. It was at the council in Constance that the Lord bishop Athanasius presented this creed. Because of its length, it is not recited in church on a regular basis. However, many congregations including Saint Michael’s use it on Trinity Sunday. This creed, along with the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, is one of the three ecumenical creeds that have been universally accepted and confessed by the Christian church since ancient times. It is very interesting that this feast comes after the giving of the Spirit of God (The Pentecost), when God’s indwelling presence came to take abode in human kind, making them temples. No longer would people to go Jerusalem to experience God’s presence. The Spirit of God now lives in them.
WHY IS TRINITY CELEBRATED ON THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST?
How God can be one God in three Persons is a mystery. Although it is clearly taught in the Bible (for example, in Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14), it can never be understood or rationalized — it can only be accepted by faith. Since faith comes only through the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace, it is appropriate that this glorious mystery is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost, the great festival of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
We at Saint Michael’s Anglican Church order our worship life around a liturgical calendar that has its roots in the practice and ritual of the ancient church. We follow a liturgical calendar because it is a guide that helps us remember God’s marvelous plan of salvation accomplished for the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While nothing in the Bible commands us to do this, we find that annually retracing the story of our salvation serves to make us well grounded in our faith. It also helps to connect us to the church catholic, the community of believers in Christ of all times, ancient and modern.

As you worship with us today, may the peace of God keep your hearts and mind in the knowledge and the love of God, and of His dear Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Yours for the sake of Christ!

The Reverend Blessing U. Jacobs

Priest & Cup Bearer: A Tribute to my son Levi Nehemiah Jacobs on his Eight Birthday

Eight years ago I was thinking of a Biblical name for our second son. Having completed over year of Greek and Hebrew then (For those of you know what I am talking about; because you think you‘ve all got it all figured out after one semester of the languages only to find out that maybe not), I came up with names like Melek, Mikael; Melek-zedek etc. My spouse did not buy any of that, she asked “who names their child Zedek?” So during one of my morning devotions, I heard the Spirit of God say to me name him Levi. My devotion that morning had nothing to do with choosing a name for our son. At the end of my devotion that mooring, I informed my spouse (then) that we will name our son Levi and went ahead to explain how I came to that decision.

What Amazed me was that she knew the name she had chosen for our son’s middle name all the time that I was trying to find one. She said “I will name him Nehemiah.” I was not sure of her criteria for choosing the name, but it sounded good to me. Not only did it sound good to me, but I also know that many scholars believe that Nehemiah “the cup bearer” was also a priest from the Tribe of Levi. I thought it was a confirmation from God to name our son Levi. Our son Levi is indeed a priest.

Levi never mentions ten words without referencing God or something Christian related. Sometimes, when I am watching news and he happens to come into the living room, I change the channel if it has inappropriate content for kids. He would say to me, “you are Christian why are you watching bad show?” I will have to explain to him that it is not a bad show, but that I changed channel because it was not appropriate for his age. Levi cannot sleep without the Bible being read and prayer said. Each time I am dropping him and his brother off at the their mother‘s, if I forget to anoint them, he will remind me, and he has to be the first one to anointed.

Nehemiah: From Centralized Faith to Localized Faith

One could argue that Nehemiah was as important to the formation of Judaism in the same fashion that the Prophet Moses was to the creation of the nation of Israel. In the book that bears his name, we learn of how Nehemiah obtained the favor of King Artaxerxes, which enabled him to organize a movement that rebuilt the city of Jerusalem. Not only did Nehemiah obtain the king’s favor to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, he also rebuilt the people’s lives.

After Nehemiah secured the “shalom” of city of Jerusalem, he selected certain division of the Levites and charged them not to conduct worship in Jerusalem but to go to the towns and the villages throughout Israel to teach the Jewish faith there and provide priestly services. The temple became dispersed to the people rather than the people coming to the temple. This is a very remarkable achievement by Nehemiah because up until this time all Jewish worship took place in the temple in Jerusalem with the Levites solely assigned to minister that worship.

Nehemiah’s community organizing skills led to the initiation of the synagogue worship system which in about hundred years became the center of religious instruction, decision making, and maintaining of the ethics of the Israelites. About three hundred years later, the synagogue became as important as the temple as the Jews went to their local synagogues to receive instruction and to worship God no matter where they lived, and their only obligation to Jerusalem was to travel there three times a year to celebrate the feasts of First fruit, Passover, and Booths. This is how localized faith became a centralized institution and it all happened because Nehemiah led a delegation that not only rebuilt the city but also rebuilt the peoples lives. The synagogue became the model that was used by the Christians to form the local Christian Churches. The synagogue became the Church and the Rabi became pastor or priest. The book of the law (Torah) became the Bible. It was the synagogue that formed Judaism into a movement that would eventually give us Jesus. And this happened because Nehemiah was not blindfolded by the comfortable lifestyle and luxury associated with “Susa” (Washington DC maybe?) and did not allow affluence to hinder him from pondering on the plight of his people and the city of Jerusalem. I pray God’s shalom on my beloved son Levi on His eight birthday on November 27, 2013 Amen!

Fr. Jacobs