Man born of a woman is of a few days…
You’ve heard by now the news concerning the death of Bernie Mac. The Chicago native died over the weekend from complications of pneumonia. Mac was 50 years old.
Many are also mourning the death of soul crooner, Isaac Hayes. Best known for his Shaft theme song, Hayes died Sunday at his Memphis home. Hayes was 65.
While we are extending condolences, might I also extend prayers to the family of Mrs. Glenda Black, wife of national recognized pastor, Rev. Jerry Black of the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, GA.
We also lift up Pastor Harold Knight of the New Shiloh Baptist Church in Turners Station, MD in regard to the recent passing of his wife.
Finally, our prayers go out to the Saunders family and the United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic) as well. I understand that Bishop Monroe Saunders, Sr. recently made transition from time into eternity.
Our prayers and condolences are extended to all of the families. Might we all be encouraged by this song from Pastor Jerry Black - “God is taking us away”
August 11th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
It was a shock to loose either of these gentlemen, primarily because they were still so young! How did humans go from 969 years to less than 100 years of age!
The bible intimated that the human life-cycle, at the time, averaged just around three score and 10 years, albeit we know that afterward males in the circum-Mediterranean region averaged only 21 to 35 years of life. Even Jesus’ death, occurred within the mean. There are 3-rd world nations where where half of the population is on average below 20 years of age!
I won’t make a comparison between us and any other ethnic group; however, the implications speak for themselves. Too many of our people, as well as other 3-rd world people are dying all too young! Black males are expected to live on average to the ripe old age of 74 and black females an additional 10 years, well that is the what I recall reading several years ago.
It often does not appear that those stats are so accurate, based upon what I have read on the Obituary pages of most newspapers. Neither of these gentlemen was even close to 74 years of age.
And, our young males, too many of them are not reaching twenty years of age. I am still reminded of the comedian who said, I expect to die of natural causes, i.e., to be shot by the Los Angeles Police Department, he was a resident of LA (affectionaly referred to in the west as Lower Alabama!
What must we do, without waiting on the dominant culture, UNESCO or some other UN organization to come up with a solution that will reverse this trends not only in America, but in the Homeland and in other 3-rd world nations? We all know that Ebola, AIDS, poverty… are ravaging our sisters and brothers in Africa, and many kids (our kids by extension) are growing up essentially without parents!
What would Imhotep have done if he were with us, and what should erudite black spiritual human beings do today to help ourselves as well as others to extend the life cycle? We came from a great tradition of healers and medicine women and men, what are we waiting for to reverse these trend? And the answer is in the question - we are waiting on someone else, just as our sisters and brothers in Africa are doing!