"I will always be with you"

In today’s chapel service, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Robert Michael Franklin speak for a second time. When I found out that he would speaking this week for the Morehouse and Howard Commemorative Program, I remembered him coming to speak at my church last year when I had just decided to attend Howard University. His sermon was great then and it was even greater this morning.

The verse he chose to focus on was chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. He told us the story of Solomon and how much of a “construction he was: he was handsome, suave, had multiple wives to keep the peace among many countries, but then something had changed. It was when he locked himself away in order to write to the Lord, asking him why bad things, usually involving great pain, happened to good people. Dr Franklin then mentioned that while there were no good answers provided to these questions, a reply from the Lord that can be found everywhere throughout the Bible says “I will be with you”.

Early in the sermon, Dr. Franklin discussed 9/11 and what the four main responses were in the nation. First, there was healing, mentally and physically of everyone involved. Secondly was defense, sending thousands of women and men overseas to fight back. Next was reckoning and the occurrence of many people around the country asking the questions of “why us?”. Lastly was rebuilding of our nation and internationally, physically or otherwise. The point Franklin made, though, that was echoed through the entire sermon was that one must go through pain in order to fully understand how to rejoice; the fact that one must experience both emotions to get the most out of their religion is a great aspect in many religions, and more specifically, black faith (defined as “African faith shaped by Biblical forms”).

Dr. Franklin concluded his sermon with three things to consider involving Ecclesiastes: to be discerning of the times (what your purpose is at any time and that there is a time for every purpose), realized that disappointments are a part of life and to prepare for difficulties while times are good, and to remember that you do not know the times of another, therefore, you should always be generous and kind. His final thought was that “if you feel the warmth of other suns, stand up for injustice, for you are never alone”.

His last sentence made me think about the question we are required to answer for freshman seminar involving the human condition: I believe that if we remember his last three points made, as well as the others mentioned throughout the sermon, we will be able to help those around us and quite possibly obtain that communal responsibility that Dr. Gbadegesin mentioned in Tuesday’s lecture. As we progress in our first semester, I cannot wait to hear more speakers and lectures that will benefit us in answering the question “How have scholars across the various fields of study advanced and transformed academic knowledge related to enduring problems of the human condition?”.