Inauguration – The Calm After The Storm – Dan O'Deens

A CALM AFTER THE STORM – Reflections from Inauguration – January 20, 2021

I find comfort in knowing that God is still on the throne

But the Lord reigns forever executing judgment from his throne. Ps. 9:7

I found comfort in a President who addressed the nation with dignity and respect

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

I found comfort in the attempt to understand the problems we face and the beginning attempt to lift up the people who are in need and those who sacrifice on our behalf

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jn 15:13

I found comfort to turn the attention from the ‘office’ and ‘the man’ to the people who make this Nation great and the God who sustains it

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Matt 20:26

I found comfort to see our past leaders on both sides with very different ideas, stand together in unity and offer their support and experience to our new President

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Phil. 2:3

I found something that I have not felt in a long time deep within me, to recognize how privileged and proud I am to be an American

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Ps. 106:1

“Not by the example of power but by the power of our example.” – President Joseph Biden. Humility is a good posture. The demonstration of LOVE can unite a divided people. The Church, ‘God’s House’, not the White House will and should offer that example.

God demonstrated (he did not dictate) His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners he died for us. 5:8
Jesus, the King of kings, took on the very nature of a servant, humbled himself, even to the death on the cross. 2:7,8

Gleanings from Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb”

What an honor to be led by a 1. Woman. 2. Black Woman. 3. Young Woman

In the norms and notions of what just is isn’t always justice. This is the era of just redemption.

https://danodeens.com/justice-is-redemption-3/ Justice is Redemption.

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.

“For God so loved the world” Jn. 3:16. Made in His image. Gen. 1:27 There is no respect of persons with God. Rom. 2:11

We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.

Jesus laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for each other. 1 Jn. 3:16

There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend. Jn. 15:13

For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World” Jn 8:12 He also said, “YOU are the Light of the World” Jn 5:14. Now…Let your light shine before men. Will you be the light?

You cannot lead people into the light while you are standing in darkness. Let the Church rise and BE THE LIGHT. Let’s demonstrate God’s LOVE to a world in desperate need of His Love.

THE HILL WE CLIMB. – Amanda Gorman

When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions of what just is Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it Somehow we do it Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time Where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mothercan dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished far from pristine but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid If we’re to live up to our own time Then victory won’t lie in the blade But in all the bridges we’ve made That is the promised glade
The hill we climb If only we dare It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth in this faith we trust For while we have our eyes on the future history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption We feared at its inception We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hourbut within it we found the power to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free
We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain: If we merge mercy with might, and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left with Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west, we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states, we will rise from the sunbaked south We will rebuild, reconcile and recover and every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid