Mofongo-con-pernil: Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace

Well, it's been awhile since last blogging, but here goes...

We recently visited the big city (NYC) to check out Nyack College. My oldest daughter Naomi, Lord willing, will be off to college next year. Nyack was recommended by my good friend Daniel Orama who is Naomi's vocal instructor and the founder of The School of Singing. Naomi's desire is to study vocal performance. Nyack has an excellent program in vocal performance and like GCA (Grace Christian Academy) Nyack is Christ-centric with it's studies.

Speaking of Daniel, Daniel and his lovely wife Tami have been such a blessing to our family. I look forward to how God will work in the lives of the Smiths and the Oramas. With God's help maybe we can be as much of a blessing to the Oramas as they have been to us.

That being said, that's not actually what I planned on blogging about. However, it is most definitely a topic for a future blog.

While we were in NYC we stop in St. Peter's Church. I'm accustom to checking out the different churches when we happen upon them. In the narthex of St. Peter's was a grouping of five mixed-media panels by the British artist, Roy Ray. This body of work immediately caught my attention and held me captive their grip. Not only were they well executed but, moreover, they were a poignant and blaring message of humankind's lack of care for the sanctity of life. Each panel depicted a devastating historic event. Included were Hiroshima, Auschwitz, Dresden, Coventry and New York on 9/11.

The following verses came to mind:

Isaiah 2:1-5

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Matthew 22:37-39

And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

Romans 5:6-9

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

Humankind won't and can't change in and of themselves, not until there is peace made with God; and that peace can only come through Jesus Christ the Lord.

~ Mofongo