{"id":16792,"date":"2018-05-23T09:39:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T13:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16792"},"modified":"2018-05-23T10:03:02","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T14:03:02","slug":"16792","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16792","title":{"rendered":"Art: Joy Unspeakable"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Joy Unspeakable<br \/>\nWednesday, May 23, 2018<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UUEy8nZvpdM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nLast week I shared reflections from our CONSPIRE 2018 presenter Barbara Holmes on art that ordinarily has not been considered \u201csacred\u201d by Western culture. Over the next few days I\u2019d like to share more of her insights on music from African American culture and the black church. While there has been a growing interest in Christian contemplation over the last several decades, much of it has been through a Euro-centric lens, focusing primarily on silence and solitude. Holmes draws attention to the many unsilent, embodied, and communal contemplative practices that can lead us into the gift of contemplation, union with God.<br \/>\nHolmes begins her book Joy Unspeakable with this evocative poem, tracing the thread of creative expression from the birth of the universe through the Christian Desert Mothers and Fathers (who were dark-skinned, though they\u2019re often portrayed as white), through slavery and the continued oppression of people of color. Again, I invite you to read the poem aloud, perhaps a couple times.<br \/>\n<em>Joy Unspeakable<\/em><br \/>\n<em>is not silent,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>it moans, hums, and bends<\/em><br \/>\n<em>to the rhythm of a dancing universe.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>It is a fractal of transcendent hope,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>a hologram of God\u2019s heart,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>a black hole of unknowing.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For our free African ancestors,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>joy unspeakable is drum talk<\/em><br \/>\n<em>that invites the spirits<\/em><br \/>\n<em>to dance with us,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>and tell tall tales by the fire.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For the desert Mothers and Fathers,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>joy unspeakable is respite<\/em><br \/>\n<em>from the maddening crowds,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And freedom from<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201cchurch\u201d as usual.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For enslaved Africans during the<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Middle Passage,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>joy unspeakable is the surprise<\/em><br \/>\n<em>of living one more day,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>and the freeing embrace of death<\/em><br \/>\n<em>chosen and imposed.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For Africans in bondage<\/em><br \/>\n<em>in the Americas,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>joy unspeakable is that moment of<\/em><br \/>\n<em>mystical encounter<\/em><br \/>\n<em>when God tiptoes into the hush arbor,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>testifies about Divine suffering,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>and whispers in our ears,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201cDon\u2019t forget,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I taught you how to fly<\/em><br \/>\n<em>on a wing and a prayer,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>when you\u2019re ready<\/em><br \/>\n<em>let\u2019s go!\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Joy Unspeakable is humming<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201chow I got over\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em>after swimming safely<\/em><br \/>\n<em>to the other shore of a swollen Ohio river<\/em><br \/>\n<em>when you know that you can\u2019t swim.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>It is the blessed assurance<\/em><br \/>\n<em>that Canada is far,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>but not that far.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For Africana members of the<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201cinvisible institution,\u201d the<\/em><br \/>\n<em>emerging black church,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>joy unspeakable is<\/em><br \/>\n<em>practicing freedom<\/em><br \/>\n<em>while chains still chafe,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>singing deliverance<\/em><br \/>\n<em>while Jim Crow stalks,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>trusting God\u2019s healing<\/em><br \/>\n<em>and home remedies,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>prayers, kerosene,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>and cow patty tea.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For the tap dancing, boogie woogie,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>rap\/rock\/blues griots<\/em><br \/>\n<em>who also hear God,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>joy unspeakable is<\/em><br \/>\n<em>that space\/time\/joy continuum thing<\/em><br \/>\n<em>that dares us to play and pray<\/em><br \/>\n<em>in the interstices of life,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>it is the belief that the phrase<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201cthe art of living\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em>means exactly what it says.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Joy Unspeakable<\/em><br \/>\n<em>is<\/em><br \/>\n<em>both FIRE AND CLOUD,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>the unlikely merger of<\/em><br \/>\n<em>trance and high tech lives<\/em><br \/>\n<em>ecstatic songs and a jazz repertoire<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Joy unspeakable is<\/em><br \/>\n<em>a symphony of incongruities<\/em><br \/>\n<em>of faces aglow and hearts<\/em><br \/>\n<em>on fire<\/em><br \/>\n<em>and the wonder of surviving together. [1]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling<\/p>\n<p>May 23, 2018<\/p>\n<p>APPROACH EACH NEW DAY with desire to find Me. Before you get out of bed, I have already been working to prepare the path that will get you through this day. There are hidden treasures strategically placed along the way. Some of the treasures are trials, designed to shake you free from earth-shackles. Others are blessings that reveal My Presence: sunshine, flowers, birds, friendships, answered prayer. I have not abandoned this sin-wracked world; I am still richly present in it. Search for deep treasure as you go through this day. You will find Me all along the way.<\/p>\n<p>PROVERBS 16:9 ; In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.<\/p>\n<p>COLOSSIANS 2:2\u20133;My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>ISAIAH 33:6:He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joy Unspeakable Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Last week I shared reflections from our CONSPIRE 2018 presenter Barbara Holmes on art that ordinarily has not been considered \u201csacred\u201d by Western culture. Over the next few days I\u2019d like to share more of her insights on music from African American culture and the black church. While there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16792"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16792"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16797,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16792\/revisions\/16797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}