Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | "Dancing in this Darkness: A Call for Uncommon Courage" 11AM 07/05/26

49:39 Now hear the message translation of the same verses. it's all yours all your life no one will be able to hold out against you in the same way i say i was with moses i'll be with you i won't give up on you i won't leave you strength courage you are going to lead this people to inherit the land that i promised to give to their ancestors give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out the revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this book of the revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it.

50:43 Then you'll get where you're going. Then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength and courage. Don't be timid. Don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take. I hereby command you, be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of God's holy word. You may be seated in the presence of the Most High God. at this moment. I'd like to place a tag here on this scripture reading. I'd like for us to focus on this idea of dancing in this darkness, a call to uncommon courage. Dancing in this darkness.

51:54 If you'd be so kind as to turn and look at your neighbor, smile at your neighbor, even if they don't want to look at you, go over and look at them anyway. Give him a nice cheesy grin. And say to your neighbor, Neighbor, oh neighbor, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Amen. Dancing in this darkness. One could even make change in reference to that title. It could be Dancing in this American Darkness.

52:53 dancing in this American darkness, a call to uncommon courage, to borrow from Reverend Joanne Chidester. I begin this way, beloved. Frederick Douglass, arguably one of the greatest orators, thought leaders, and one of the most courageous human beings to ever set foot upon American soil. He was asked in 1852 to offer words to a room full of alleged liberal women and men of European descent in Rochester, New York in 1852. This man, Frederick Douglass, who was an escaped enslaved African who escaped the evil horrors of chattel slavery, he was considered contraband and had a price upon his head.

54:02 This man was asked to speak before a crowd looking to celebrate the stars and stripes. And they were hoping to be comforted by the myth of the so-called noble nation. But they asked Frederick Douglass. I'm not sure who was a part of the organizing committee. But they asked Frederick Douglass to speak about July 4th. Douglass refused to bite his tongue and was indifferent to the desires and fragile ego of the organizers. He wanted those gathered to hear the words of a man who made a choice to dance in the darkness of America's hypocrisy and pick up the mantle of freedom.

55:01 Think of this for a moment. Most human beings who had a price on their head, most human beings who were formerly enslaved would have offered some words to soothe the ego and expand their own bank account. It would have made more sense for him to stroke the ego of the alleged good folks who were in the room and expand his bank account. But that's not who Frederick Douglass was. Frederick Douglass stood ten toes down in 1852 and said, I'm going to speak truth in this moment. He stood ten toes down with the memory of the lash still tearing flesh from his body. He stood ten toes down, choosing courage over comfort.

55:59 He stood ten toes down, making the decision to speak truth to power. He wanted everybody in that room who considered themselves an American citizen. They had asked a person who was not a citizen in the country to give a presentation about citizenship. He wanted every reporter in the room from around the globe to hear these words. This celebration of independence for his people was nothing but a sham. Hear the words of Frederick Douglass. With no edits, Frederick Douglass said the following. Fellow citizens, pardon me. Allow me to ask why am I called upon to speak here today?

56:55 What have I or those I represent to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of freedom and of natural justice embodied in that declaration of independence extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us. He then goes on to say this. What to the American slave is your 4th of July? I answer a day that reveals to him more than all the days in the year the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham.

57:55 Your boasted liberty an unholy license. Your national greatness swelling vanity. Your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless. Your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impotence, your shouts of liberty and equality, nothing but hollow mockery. Your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgiving with all your religious parades and solemnity are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, and hypocrisy. a thin veil to the cover-up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than there are the people of these United States at this very hour.

58:50 Go where you may. Search where you will. roam through all the monarchies and despotism of the old world travel through south america search out every abuse and when you have found the last lay the facts by side by side of everyday practices of this nation and you will say with me that for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a lie. Douglas, held by a divine call to be strong and courageous, dared offer a call for America to face herself. If I may offer this transition, Douglas was cast in the darkness of America's mythic tale of so-called freedom, to live a life on the margin, but he refused to accept the position and cast others fashion for his people in a moment that should have broken him he decided to gird up his loins and dance in the darkness of America's Hoyer horror and be the prophet of freedom a candle in the dark the way for future generations beloved pressed upon me and oppressed upon my spirit is a message that I believe that God has called me to reveal before God's people this day. The time is now. The moment is here. We have been called. You have been called. I say to you this day across the world in unlikely spaces, women and men of ordinary extraordinary power people like us are answering the call they refuse to be victims of algorithms oligarchs cruelty and the ignorance excreted from spaces of alleged power these people who do not run institutions are not monarchs are not feudal lords they do not possess

1:01:00 positions of political power nor have they the letters ceo chairman next to their name they are simply god's people good people who refuse to let go of hope in these difficult times the midst of dark moments presented by the principalities of this era we witness the manifestation of scripture come to life and the call of god is speaking to us in the now Now, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. We are people, in the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu, who are prisoners of hope, held by the holy, saved by our Savior, designed by the divine. We have the power, beloved, if we recognize the call that God has given us.

1:02:04 We have the power to transform any situation, mend any brokenness, heal any crack, fix any foible, alleviate any hurt, soothe any bruise, close any gap, and bridge every rift. Know this, that the Lord is God, and it is he who has made us, and we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. We, all of us, have been given a call. There, this story of Joshua speaks to us on this moment, in this day. The scripture speaks of the close of an era. Moses is dead. The work of the Moses generation is over The work and witness of the movement of the Moses generation is now gone Moses and all of his colleagues and contemporaries have now gone on to be ancestors That generation did what they needed to do to get the next generation to the door They are now ancestors They've done their work It's now the Joshua generation in a position to possess a new promise.

1:03:23 Do not expect what the ancestors witnessed in your life right now. You're not going to see another burning bush. You're not going to see a staff turned into a serpent. You are not going to see plague after plague after plague. The work of yesterday is gone. But God will not repeat the same actions, but God is like a divine DJ always remixing stuff that God did yesterday to give something new today. Joshua is part of this work and is a part of this new generation. Here we find the scripture repeating and reframing over and over again. Be strong and courageous. It does not say it once. It does not say it twice.

1:04:15 It is repetitive in reminding Joshua, be strong and be courageous. But then it says something else. It says, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. There is repetition in this word. Be strong and be courageous. that I want to remind you that there are certain things that you must understand that when you translate from Hebrew into English, this word that we get courageous and strong, that the word strong and courageous when put together simply means encouragement and persistence. In other words, keep encouraging yourself and be persistent in what you do. I didn't say that every day will be a victory. But if you encourage yourself every single day and put one foot in front of the other, you will be farther than you were yesterday.

1:05:17 And I stopped by here to let somebody know that God is calling us to encourage ourselves, but also to encourage people in our community and your neighbor. Don't sit here and look like you got here on your own free will. on your own power and intellect. There was somebody who said, be strong and courageous. There was somebody who encouraged you when you could not encourage yourself. They clapped for you. They said, baby, that's all right. You just keep on keeping on. And I'm speaking to the people here who can give thanks to the people who are no longer with us right now, who encouraged us along the way. You would not be where you are. You would not stand where you stand.

1:06:10 Do I have a witness here today? You had somebody encouraging you. Be strong. Be courageous. It is repetition in this phrase. Why is there repetition here? Why does it repeat not just one time, Jessica, but why is it several times of repetition of saying the same thing? because Joshua is from a community that has been hurt and hindered by colonization. Let me help you out. You must understand that when you look at a map, the Israelites are trying to go to the promised land. The promised land is 90 miles from where they were.

1:07:05 But it took them 40 years to travel 90 miles. In other words, there were people who were consistently colonized, wanting to go back to where they used to be because they had a colonized mind. And Joshua is called to decolonize the mind. Joshua was charged to not only operate as a military and political leader, but as a spiritual leader. All his life and all throughout the lives of his people, he had heard whispers of miseducation that moved to the forefront of their imagination. The people whispered, we can't do this. The people whispered, can't we go back to Massa? The people whispered, I ain't never been freed.

1:07:59 It's better to be a slave. You see, when you've never been free, even when you got chains released from your wrist, you still don't know how to act because you don't know what real freedom is all about. He heard over and over again that people were saying we should go back to the way that things used to be. The frame of reference was a reference of enslavement, apartheid, and segregation. and the people were dealing with colonization and they had to have a decolonized mind but here is the thing that was a greater project not only did they need to decolonize their mind they needed to decolonize their imagination that when you got a colonized mind you can't even imagine what the promise is going to be like you can't even imagine what the world can be like because all you can do, all you do is see through the eyes of somebody else.

1:09:04 And that is part of our problem here in Chicago. And that is part of our challenge here right on 95th Street. There are people who have a colonized mind who can't even see what 95th Street can become. All you see is some boarded buildings. But let me tell you what I see. When I drive down 95th Street, I see a coffee shop that's going to go up. I see a barber shop and a community center. I see attorney's offices and dentists. I see pop-up restaurants, Caribbean and Creole food being served. I see gardens and bike shops, concerts and flower shops and bookshops. I see something unique because I'm allowing God to decolonize my imagination. But you see, so many of us don't believe in ourselves because we've been colonized by somebody else. That even when you look in your own community, you can't see what God already sees and what other people already see.

1:10:06 Let me help you out. I had a meeting with the 95th Street Corridor group, and they were sharing with me that they were trying to find out who were the owners of the abandoned buildings on 95th Street. What they found out is they had a hard time finding the owners. What they found out is many of the owners were people or better yet speculators and companies that are in New York and San Francisco and Milwaukee. They are holding on to the land because they recognize its value. Now, New York recognizes the value. San Francisco recognizes the value. Milwaukee recognizes the value. Guess what? We got to recognize our own value. If other people recognize our value, we've got to recognize our own value.

1:11:00 Joshua is called to decolonize the mind and decolonize the imagination. But here is the thing that I must share with you. Decolonization takes work and repetition. Let me share something with you. There is something known as muscle memory. You know what muscle memory is. If you rode a bike, learned how to ride a bike at 8, and you haven't ridden a bike in 60 years, and you get back on a bike, when you first get on it, you're going to go, whoa. But then all of a sudden, muscle memory will kick in, and you'll be riding once again. You see, the motor cortex speaks to the cerebellum because it's already stored the information in your brain. Even though you haven't done it for 60 years, it's already there.

1:11:56 And if you start with the repetition again, it will release the information so you can balance on the bike. You're still missing what I'm saying. You see, decolonization takes repetition and work. And I stopped by here to let you know, every time you show up at church, this is an act not of physical muscle memory, but spiritual memory. that when you show up to church, you should be reminded if you hadn't been here for years, it should all of a sudden hit your spirit when the preacher says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, our God will make thy path straight. Well, you should. Something should happen in your spirit when you hear someone say, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles.

1:12:50 They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. You see, something should happen when you hear, I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Prans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and plans for a future. You need to know that something should happen in your spirit when you hear somebody say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But let me help you out. There is scriptural muscle memory in your spirit, but also there is worship memory. You missed your shout right there. That when you show up and you ain't been here for a while, something moves in your spirit. When you think about the goodness of God and all that God has done in your life, that all of a sudden something moves in your spirit. Is there anyone in here?

1:13:43 When you think how good and amazing our God has been, something moved. scriptural memory and worship memory. Ah, Joshua is called to, he must decolonize the mind and the imagination of the people. But can I give you this, this thing at 730, it really shouted me. I was sharing, folks, that sometimes I'm in my study and there I am and I get excited about things that God reveals. Monica, poke her head in there and say, don't be too loud. You know, we're working on stuff around here. And sometimes things happen when I get so excited. So when you decolonize your mind and your spirit, as Joshua has done, but see the decolonization calls for something else. You see, Joshua, because he is called to be courageous and also to be strong, Joshua is called to upload Sankofa software in the spirit of the people. Okay, okay.

1:14:45 Let me help you out. Some of y'all just missed that completely. That was a major shout, and you missed your shout. Sankofa is the African concept and idea. It is usually framed by a picture of a bird that is looking backward. And that bird, it simply means this, that you must know your history in order to move forward. Because if you don't know where you've been, you can't know where you're going. And Sankofa software is paramount because you need to know that the scripture says, as I was with Moses. You missed your shout again. Let me say it again. As I was with Moses. Still missed your shout.

1:15:40 Let me help you out. So let me give the OM3 translation. as I was with your mama. I will be with you as I was with Big Mama. I will be with you as I was with Harriet. I'll be with you as I was with Frederick. I'll be with you as I was with Fannie Lou Hamer. I will be with you as I was with you. As I was with Ellis Barackhard России Je Garrido While exhausted Sorancia交elli

1:16:36 Ruth Abbott As I was with Harold Washington, I will be with you. As I was with Jesse Jackson, I will be with. Hebraic theology is rooted in Sankofa software. Okay, okay, let me help you out.

1:17:10 You can have hardware, but your phone won't work unless you got the software. The software is the operating system that speaks to the hardware. The hardware doesn't speak to the software. The software... The hardware is physical, but I can download the software from the cloud. You can't see when it's downloaded, but it gives the hardware power. You missed your shout.

1:18:08 If you want to know where my power comes from, it doesn't come from a bank account. It doesn't come from the clothes I wear. It doesn't come from the house I live in. It comes from a place you can't see. And every time, every time you come to worship, you're getting the latest operating system. Is there anybody in here? Did God answer you when you showed up? A song was sung that was downloaded into your spirit. A prayer that was offered. Something. So when Sankofa software is downloaded into Joshua and into the people, it creates wait y'all gotta hear this it shouted me when Sankofa software is downloaded into Joshua downloaded into the people it creates Ubuntu ethics okay okay some of y'all you know you went to a Eurocentric school so um so so so Sankofa that's what you you got to go behind you got to go back in order to know to go forward. But Ubuntu is of the African philosophy from the Bantu tradition.

1:19:56 That means collectively that we are connected collectively. I am because we are. That we are a village. In other words, what I do is connected to you. What you do is connected to me. Your humanity is tied to my humanity. When you are injured, I am injured. But when you find joy, Joshua's role is a role for the people. His success is tied to the success of the people. If the people succeed, then everybody celebrates. But if the people fail, then Joshua is failing.

1:20:53 If the people are hungry, then Joshua is hungry. You cannot be a successful leader if you define your success by how well you are doing. See, I'm going to get in trouble, I don't care. Um, some define success by ballrooms. Some define success by grifts and gifts. Look at the plane I got. Look how much money I have. Look at me.

1:21:44 But then, if you have an Ubuntu ethic, there are those when they do not have health care, they hurt. For those where seniors are unable to afford prescription drugs, they hurt. You see, Ubuntu Ethics says that I can't succeed unless you succeed. When you fail, I fail. But when you rise, I rise. It is not about either or. It is that we are connected together. And let me do something right now the Lord put in my spirit. You see, one of the things that we forget that you need to know is that when God is moving in the life of somebody else, God is trying to bless you. You missed it. Because if Jesus is in the neighborhood, eventually he's coming by your house. So you got to learn how to get excited for what's happening in the life of your neighbor.

1:22:43 and is there anyone here right now? Turn to your neighbor, take him by the hand and say, Lord, I thank God for what God is doing in your life. I thank the Lord for how God is moving in your life. I'm excited. because here's what you don't know see you don't know what your neighbors been through oh i know they look good but they've been through hell and high water just to get up and hear if you knew their story, you will shout for them. Is there anyone in here? Can you shout for your neighbor? Ubuntu. Ubuntu ethics are community ethics.

1:23:50 Ah, I hear the final command in verse 9. This is not about land. This is about taking hold of a promise. this is about recognizing that the reason I'm in the position I am now is because somebody laid the table for me I will not be arrogant and say look at my degrees and look what I did don't you know there were people who had to scrub floors to get where I am to be called boy every day to get where I am, who couldn't vote to get where I am. I will not disrespect. Boon to ethics that we are all connected every single one of us every single one of us are made in the image of God matter of fact turn to your neighbor and say you're made in the image of God every single one of us and hear this final verse I'm about out of here I'm about done may the Lord bless you and may the Lord keep you.

1:25:03 But the final verse 9 says this. I hear this command. I hereby command you, be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed. For the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.

1:25:35 You missed it. Sometimes people think that when God gives a command, that means that the next chapter in your life is going to be easy. All God is doing is giving a preview or foreshadowing of the end, but it's not telling you the chapters in between. So the end, I understand there's a promise. But between me moving toward the promise and the end of celebration, there's a lot of challenges and difficult ground to cover. And many of us want to collapse in terms of we want promise with no valley. We just want to get to the promise.

1:26:35 But there's some work you've got to do. Because see, here's the thing. If we were to go, if Joshua and the people were to go immediately to the promise, they would not have, listen to this. This is just breaking things down in terms of physicality. They would not have the physical stamina to stay in the promise. Because there has to be some work to strengthen your body so you can handle the change of altitude that will happen. There's an altitude change of where the promise is. And so these words to Joshua and to us, simply saying that I am commanding you be strong and courageous.

1:27:34 Learn how to dance in this darkness. Learn how to dance in these moments. Don't you dare give up your joy in these moments. I've already made a promise that there's something that is powerful that will happen if you are willing to do the work to get to where you need to go.

1:28:09 Learn how to dance in these moments. And I must say this. It was my daughter when she was about five is the one, I've shared this story before, who taught me this idea. Many of you remember that in 2008, interesting times here at Trinity United Church of Christ. Campaign that was going on. And as a result of that particular campaign and particular gentleman who was running for president, he's got a presidential center now, by the way. who was running for president, who was a part of this community, that the right wing came out and attacked this church, attacked our pastor emeritus, attacked this congregation. We received letters every single day. They didn't even share some of the stuff that we received that we had to turn over to the FBI. They said what they were going to do to me and to my family, what they would do to Reverend Wright and his family, We had to get 24-hour security.

1:29:09 What they were going to do here at this church, we had to get bomb-sniffing dogs. You know, we had to clear out everybody out of the sanctuary and come and check under every pew. Make sure that there was nothing nefarious going on. And as a result of this 24-hour security, always had security out in front of our house, making sure everything was okay. But it was very difficult to sleep during that time period. I remember one night, because I didn't sleep much, because I was always worried. Every sound I would hear, I was wondering, was somebody trying to break in or come into our home? One night, there was some noise in the house. And Monica hit me on the shoulder and said, you need to go check that out. So I said, all right, I grabbed my rod and my staff that comforts me. This rod and staff was made in Louisville, the Louisville Slugger. And I went around the house looking to find out where the noise was coming from.

1:30:16 I heard the noise again in my daughter's room. Went into my daughter's room, and it was pitch black. I don't know what time it was, but 1 a.m. and there was my daughter in the middle of her room, dancing. She was five years old, should have been in bed. She was practicing for her ballet recitalist, I believe. She's like, look, Daddy, I'm dancing. And I said, baby, you need to go to sleep. Church would be in a few hours. And she kept on dancing, little pigtails going back and forth like this. and I said baby drop a little bass in my voice that daddy sound you need to go to bed and I was about to say it again because she wouldn't stop dancing the spirit touched me and said stop watch your daughter your daughter is dancing in the dark the darkness is around her but the darkness is not in her you missed your shout i'm here to let you know that in america it may seem dark right now but michaela taught me she was dancing at 1 a.m you still missed your shower. See, 1 a.m. is not nighttime. 1 a.m. is morning time. And if you keep on dancing, eventually the sun will rise. I'm reminded of another time at Calvary when they hung our Savior high and they stretched him wide it looked as if it was night but something that happened on saturday night but then on sunday morning i don't know what time it was i don't know if it was 1 a.m

1:32:22 or 2 a.m or 3 a.m but in the words of marcus cosby the bible says Early on Sunday morning, Jesus got up with all power in his hand.