Faith in Unlikely Places

Introduction

As many of you know, I have the privilege of serving at South Carolina State University. It is a rich school with years of proven success as the state’s only public historically black college and university. On Friday, before leaving work, I took a scroll around the empty campus. From time to time, I do this to reflect and imagine what it must have been like to be on campus during the height of the campus’ success.

Rather than experiencing optimistic reflection, I am sometime reminded of the hardships this campus has faced by the presence of so many dilapidated buildings. One building in particular stood out—the historical Dukes Gymnasium. As I looked at this building, I was reminded of one the first times I saw it.

It was my first week on campus as I started my new role. It was a hot autumn day and students were rushing to enter the gym to join the several students that were already there. I could hear the screeches of sneakers against the old hardwood floor and the chatter and cheers of students enjoying the festivities as the windows and doors remained open. I learned several months later that the open doors and windows were not simply a way of creating a buzz on campus. Rather, it was the students way of cooling down a massive gym that had no working air conditioning units.

As I stared at this building and thought through the simple desire of many students who wished to do nothing on that hot Friday afternoon but enjoy a simple intramural game of basketball, tears began to fill my eyes as I thought to myself, “Don’t they deserve air, too?”

The disappointment I experienced in that moment was due to the fact that other students at other institutions throughout the state would dare not experience the same challenges as those students I saw entering Dukes Gymnasium that day. The gap of funding between South Carolina State University and other public universities in the state of South Carolina are astronomical. And such a difference in support is often justified by political propaganda that subtly and sometimes blatantly conclude some students deserve better learning experiences than others. I have seen the same sort of conditions in rural areas throughout our state.

Jesus faced similar situations during His time, where certain individuals had similar needs. However, it was not culturally and religiously acceptable to aid certain individuals.

Two Unlikely Believers

During the times of Jesus, there were two unique individuals who were considered misfits and unworthy individuals. First, we have the Roman officer who had a paralyzed servant. Secondly, we had a Syrophoenician woman who had a demon-possessed woman.

Roman officer

Syrophoenician woman

Movements

Faith is the key that unlocks uncommon favor.

Sometimes, faith can be motivated by urgent and desperate circumstances.

Syrophoenician woman- Mark 7:25-26