The Rev. Ahmaad J. Edmund, MDiv '24, delivered the following remarks at Morning Prayers in Harvard's Memorial Church on January 25, 2022.
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As I was making my way back to Boston after a long and restful break, I found myself on a two hour flight from Charlotte, North Carolina. During the flight, I noticed a young couple with their baby boy. The baby was probably 15 months old, had the bluest eyes, and an unbothered smile.
As young children tend to do, the baby became restless on the journey. The father, without delay, picked the baby boy up and began good old fashioned homemade entertainment. The father picks up the baby boy, holds him high and lowers him. He does it a couple of times, and finally puts the baby boy back down on the seat. The baby who couldn't talk, offered the suggestive body language that the entertainment must continue. Again, the father picks the baby boy up, turns him sideways, almost as if he were to let him go. However, he did not. I became worried, I was a little startled, but before I could even give any attention to my concern, to my dismay, I heard the voice of God. I was amazed by the behavior of the baby boy, the father, and the circumstance. While the father tilted the child back and upright, the baby boy never cried. He didn't seem to be dismayed. He giggled and he smiled. And even at the tilt, a little too risky, the baby boy held a bit tighter to his father.
The father amazed me because he never let go of the child. No matter how it inconvenienced his restful posture. But what are you saying, Ahmaad? I'm here to share with you that life has a way of tilting us. Life has a way of presenting us with unexpected challenges, twists and turns, ups and downs. We are like that baby boy, often called in the middle of it. However, isn't it good news to know that we have a heavenly father who never lets us go, despite the circumstances?
The apostle Paul wrote do not be anxious. So, I'm not going to be redundant and say that you shouldn't worry, but I will ask you why worry? But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with the heart of Thanksgiving, let your request be known to God.
Notice that the baby did not look at me, he did not look at the ceiling of the airplane, nor did he reach for a neighbor sitting across the aisle. However, the baby looked in the face of his father. And in the face of his father, no matter the circumstance, no matter how far he was tilted, his faith never wavered.
Let your request be known unto God. The giggle, the smile, that's where verse seven comes in, "And the peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard both your heart and your mind through Christ Jesus."
Let us pray. Dear God, we thank you for this day, we thank you for this time, the fellowship. Dear God, allow us to lean on the words recorded by the apostle Paul, not to be anxious about anything, pray about everything. Amen.