:54:03
I think brother Jeremiah would
want us to bow our heads.
:54:09
"We made it, Lord.
:54:12
From all across this nation,
we black men made it.
:54:16
And we thank You.
:54:18
None of us is perfect...
:54:20
...but we seek perfection.
:54:23
And we especially want our wives,
mothers and daughters...
:54:27
...to understand that we are trying...
:54:29
...trying hard.
:54:32
But we still need Your help.
:54:35
Sometimes we felt that
You had given up on us...
:54:38
...left us abandoned...
:54:40
...forsaken and betrayed.
:54:43
And we may have gone astray
from time to time...
:54:47
...but we're still good people.
:54:50
And we're still Your people.
We're still Your sons.
:54:54
So here we are,
one million black men strong...
:54:58
...like the Prodigal Son when
he comes home to his father.
:55:02
He wasn't looking for a handout,
Lord, but a job."
:55:06
"Make me as one of the hired
servants," That's what he said.
:55:10
That's all he asked.
:55:12
And that's our prayer
as we stand before You today.
:55:16
Not a handout, Lord...
:55:18
... but a job...
:55:19
... and a second chance.
:55:22
It says to us in the 14th chapter
of the book of Job...
:55:25
... these holy words:
:55:27
"For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down...
:55:30
... that it will sprout again...
:55:32
... and that its tender shoots
will not cease...
:55:35
... though its roots may
grow old in the earth...
:55:39
... and its stump may die
in the ground.
:55:42
Yet at the scent of water...
:55:45
... it will bud and bring forth
branches like a plant."
:55:50
Lord...
:55:52
... we don't ask for much.
:55:54
Maybe water is something
we no longer deserve.
:55:57
We ask instead from You...
:55:59
... just the scent.