Gratitude

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

Page 39 of 82 · 20 per page

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  Exodus 35 The Sabbath Emphasized 1 M OSES GATHERED all the congregation of the sons of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the things which the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 “For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD ; whoever does any kind of work on that day shall be put to death. 3 “You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” 4 And Moses said to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 5 ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD . Whoever has a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD ’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 and a rams’ skins dyed red, and skins of b porpoises, and acacia wood, 8 and [olive] oil for the lighting, and balsam for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9 and c onyx stones and other stones to be set for the ephod and the breastpiece. Tabernacle Workmen 10 ‘Let every skilled and talented man among you come, and make everything that the LORD has commanded: 11 the tabernacle (sacred dwelling of God), its tent and its covering, its hooks, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark [of the covenant] and its carrying poles, with the d mercy seat and the veil (partition curtain) of the screen [to hang between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies]; 13 the table and its carrying poles, and all its utensils, and the bread of the [divine] Presence (showbread); 14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense and its carrying poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, the screen (curtain) for the doorway at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its carrying poles, and all its utensils, the wash basin and its base (stand); 17 the court’s curtains, its support poles and their sockets, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; 19 the finely-woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests.’ ” Gifts Received 20 Then all the congregation of the Israelites left Moses’ presence. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the LORD ’s offering to be used for the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 1 Corinthians 1 Appeal to Unity 1 P aul, called as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother a Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Christ Jesus, who are selected and called as saints (God’s people), together with all those who in every place call on and honor the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 so that in everything you were [exceedingly] enriched in Him, in all speech [empowered by the spiritual gifts] and in all knowledge [with insight into the faith]. 6 In this way our testimony about Christ was confirmed and established in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift [which comes from the Holy Spirit], as you eagerly wait [with confident trust] for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ [when He returns]. 8 And He will also confirm you to the end [keeping you strong and free of any accusation, so that you will be] blameless and beyond reproach in the day [of the return] of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful [He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise—He can be depended on], and through Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 But I urge you, believers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in full agreement in what you say, and that there be no divisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your way of thinking and in your judgment [about matters of the faith]. 11 For I have been informed about you, my brothers and sisters, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are quarrels and factions among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” or “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” or “I am [a disciple] of Cephas (Peter),” or “I am [a disciple] of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided [into different parts]? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? [Certainly not!] 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, [Acts 18:8 ; Rom 16:23 ] 15 so that no one would say that you were baptized into my name. 16 Now I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  Colossians 2 a 2:1 Along with Colossae, Laodicea was located in the valley of the Lycus River and is one of the seven churches mentioned in Rev 1–3 . b 2:2 See note 1:4 . c 2:2 See note 1:26 . d 2:5 Lit rejoicing and seeing . e 2:7 Or by . f 2:8 Perhaps a reference to ancient philosophies based on the belief that only the material world is real. g 2:14 This term refers to a debtor’s handwritten note acknowledging the debt. h 2:14 I.e. the requirements found in the Mosaic Law which were violated. The debt is the punishment due for the violator’s sins. Gentiles were never directly liable to the Law, but as Paul explains in Rom 2:12–16 , God holds them responsible for violating the principles of the Law that they acknowledge of their own volition. i 2:15 Lit it or Him . j 2:20 See note v 8 . Colossians 3 a 3:4 A reference to His second coming. b 3:6 Two early mss do not contain this phrase. c 3:11 A derogatory term used to describe uneducated, uncultured people who were not fluent in the Greek language. d 3:11 The Scythians were savage equestrian herdsmen who were skilled archers and often worked as mercenaries and/or slave traders. The Scythian women were known to dress as warriors and fight alongside the men. e 3:18 The wife is to submit voluntarily to her husband (not to men in general); not as inferior to him, nor in violation of her Christian ethics, but honoring her husband’s responsibilities and authority as head of the household. f 3:18 I.e. not in conflict with Scripture. g 3:20 Lit in, as “in the Lord’s presence.” Colossians 4 a 4:7 Tychicus probably delivered this letter to Colossae, as well as Paul’s letter to Ephesus, while traveling on the same journey. b 4:9 Onesimus was Philemon’s runaway slave who was converted to Christianity under Paul’s ministry. c 4:15 Lit brethren . d 4:16 Paul is most likely referring to the letter he wrote to the Ephesians (see note Eph 1:1 ) during this same time period. The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians 1 Thanksgiving for These Believers 1 P aul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy, T o the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being from God]. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, continually mentioning you in our prayers; 3 recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith, and your service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  Deuteronomy 26 Offering First Fruits 1 “T HEN IT shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the a place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His Name (Presence). 3 “You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the LORD b my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 “Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 “And you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and c lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. 6 ‘And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 ‘Then we cried out to the LORD , the God of our fathers for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression; 8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror [suffered by the Egyptians] and with signs and with wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land d flowing with milk and honey. 10 ‘And now, look, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O LORD , have given me.’ And you shall place it before the LORD your God, and shall worship before the LORD your God; 11 and you and the Levite and the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household. 12 “When you have finished e paying all the tithe of your produce the third year, [which is] the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within the gates of your cities and be satisfied. 13 “You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion (the tithe) from my house and also have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, in accordance with all that You have commanded me. I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  27 “How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war have perished!” 2 Samuel 2 David Made King over Judah 1 S O IT happened after this that David inquired of the LORD , saying, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” And He said, “To Hebron.” 2 So David went up there [to Hebron] with his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel [in Judah]. 3 And David brought up his men who were with him, each one with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. T hen they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” [1 Sam 31:11–13 ] 5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed by the LORD because you showed this graciousness and loyalty to Saul your lord (king), and buried him. 6 “Now may the LORD show lovingkindness and truth and faithfulness to you. I too will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. 7 “So now, let your hands be strong and be valiant; for your lord Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.” Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel 8 Now [Saul’s cousin] Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to a Mahanaim. 9 He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, even over all Israel [except Judah]. 10 Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. Civil War 12 Now Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 Joab [David’s nephew] the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David also went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. They sat down, with one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now stand and b have a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them stand.” 15 So they stood up and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 Each one of them seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponents side; so they fell down together.

• From The Decameron (1353)

  A kindly thing it is to have compassion of the afflicted and albeit it well beseemeth every one, yet of those is it more particularly required who have erst had need of comfort and have found it in any, amongst whom, if ever any had need thereof or held it dear or took pleasure therein aforetimes, certes, I am one of these. For that, having from my first youth unto this present been beyond measure inflamed with a very high and noble passion (higher and nobler, perchance, than might appear, were I to relate it, to sort with my low estate) albeit by persons of discretion who had intelligence thereof I was commended therefor and accounted so much the more worth, natheless a passing sore travail it was to me to bear it, not, certes, by reason of the cruelty of the beloved lady, but because of the exceeding ardour begotten in my breast of an ill-ordered appetite, for which, for that it suffered me not to stand content at any reasonable bounds, caused me ofttimes feel more chagrin than I had occasion for. In this my affliction the pleasant discourse of a certain friend of mine and his admirable consolations afforded me such refreshment that I firmly believe of these it came that I died not. But, as it pleased Him who, being Himself infinite, hath for immutable law appointed unto all things mundane that they shall have an end, my love,--beyond every other fervent and which nor stress of reasoning nor counsel, no, nor yet manifest shame nor peril that might ensue thereof, had availed either to break or to bend,--of its own motion, in process of time, on such wise abated that of itself at this present it hath left me only that pleasance which it is used to afford unto whoso adventureth himself not too far in the navigation of its profounder oceans; by reason whereof, all chagrin being done away, I feel it grown delightsome, whereas it used to be grievous. Yet, albeit the pain hath ceased, not, therefore, is the memory fled of the benefits whilom received and the kindnesses bestowed on me by those to whom, of the goodwill they bore me, my troubles were grievous; nor, as I deem, will it ever pass away, save for death. And for that gratitude, to my thinking, is, among the other virtues, especially commendable and its contrary blameworthy, I have, that I may not appear ungrateful, bethought myself, now that I can call myself free, to endeavour, in that little which is possible to me, to afford some relief, in requital of that which I received aforetime,--if not to those who succoured me and who, belike, by reason of their good sense or of their fortune, have no occasion therefor,--to those, at least, who stand in need thereof.

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  2. It is the Gospel of universal salvation. It is emphatically the Gospel for the Gentiles. Hence the genealogy of Christ is traced back not only to Abraham (as in Matthew), but to Adam, the son of God and the father of all men (Luke 3:38). Christ is the second Adam from heaven, the representative Head of redeemed humanity—an idea further developed by Paul. The infant Saviour is greeted by Simeon as a "Light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel" (2:32). The Baptist, in applying the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the voice in the wilderness (Isa. 40), adds the words (from Isa. 52:10): "All flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:6). Luke alone records the mission of the Seventy Disciples who represent the Gentile nations, as the Twelve represent the twelve tribes of Israel. He alone mentions the mission of Elijah to the heathen widow in Sarepta, and the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian by Elisha (4:26, 27). He contrasts the gratitude of the leprous Samaritan with the ingratitude of the nine Jewish lepers (17:12–18). He selects discourses and parables, which exhibit God’s mercy to Samaritans and Gentiles1006 Yet there is no contradiction, for some of the strongest passages which exhibit Christ’s mercy to the Gentiles and humble the Jewish pride are found in Matthew, the Jewish Evangelist.1007 The assertion that the third Gospel is a glorification of the Gentile (Pauline) apostolate, and a covert attack on the Twelve, especially Peter, is a pure fiction of modern hypercriticism.

• From The Incendiaries (2018)

  With bodies liberated from gravity’s laws, they swung out of handsprings into lithe spins. More people turned to watch while an express train hurtled in, the gust of wind nudging thin fabric around bare arms and thighs. The wind blew through, until it looked as if the entire population might float up out of the tunnel, cracking through its stone and earth, into the day’s hot light. We can all go. No one gets left behind. The world’s graves fling open, the giddied, dirt- stained dead rushing toward the streets of gold, alive again, at last. The wind settled. In minutes, the local train arrived. I pushed in, then I kept waiting. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS With profound gratitude to Ellen Levine, agent extraordinaire, and to Martha Wydysh and Alexa Stark. To Laura Perciasepe, best of editors. To Glory Anne Plata and Jennifer Huang, splendid publicists, and to the rest of wonderful Riverhead, especially Janice Kurzius, Jennifer Eck, Melissa Solis, Mia Alberro, Lucia Bernard, Claire Vaccaro, Jaya Miceli, Helen Yentus, Katie Freeman, Jynne Dilling Martin, Carla Bruce- Eddings, Bob Belmont, Wendy Pearl, Brian Etling, and Brian Contine. To the National Endowment for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Steinbeck Fellowship, Omi International, the Norman Mailer Writers Colony, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Squaw Valley Writers Workshops, the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, Hedgebrook, the Anderson Center, and the Creative Capacity Fund, for vital support. To the Corporation of Yaddo, for the remarkable generosity of three fellowships. To Michael Cunningham, my mentor all these years. To Jenny Offill, Joshua Henkin, Ernesto Mestre, Catherine Texier, Stacey D’Erasmo, Sheila Kohler, André Aciman, Christine Schutt, Peter Ho Davies, Charles Baxter, Amy Bloom, John Crowley, Katharine Weber, and Jennifer Kennedy, my inimitable teachers. To Tony Tulathimutte, Laura van den Berg, Vauhini Vara, Andi Winnette, Anthony Ha, Vanessa Janowski, Raja Haddad, Cristina Moracho, M. A. Taft-McPhee, and M. Brett Smith, admired friends who read drafts of this book.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  20 “You [also] gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst. 21 “Indeed, for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell. 22 “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples, And You allotted the kingdoms to them as a boundary. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon And the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 “You made their children as numerous as the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land Which You told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 “So their sons (descendants) went in and took possession of the land; And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them as they pleased. 25 “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all good things, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, And j fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat, And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness. 26 “Yet they were disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who warned them To return to You; And they committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies. 27 “Therefore You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them. But when they cried out to You in the time of their suffering and distress, You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them k people to rescue them . Who rescued them from the hand of their enemies. 28 “But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil before You; Therefore You abandoned them into the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. Yet when they turned and cried out again to You, You heard them from heaven, And You rescued them many times in accordance with Your compassion, 29 And You admonished them and warned them to turn them back to Your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and arrogantly and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your ordinances, Which by keeping, a man will live. But they turned a stubborn shoulder, stiffened their neck, and would not listen. 30 “Yet You were patient with them for many years, And admonished them and warned them by Your Spirit through Your prophets; Still they would not l listen. Therefore You gave them into the hand (power) of the peoples of the lands. 31 “Yet in Your great compassion You did not utterly destroy them or abandon them, For You are a gracious and merciful God.

• From The Incendiaries (2018)

  To Michael Cunningham, my mentor all these years. To Jenny Offill, Joshua Henkin, Ernesto Mestre, Catherine Texier, Stacey D’Erasmo, Sheila Kohler, André Aciman, Christine Schutt, Peter Ho Davies, Charles Baxter, Amy Bloom, John Crowley, Katharine Weber, and Jennifer Kennedy, my inimitable teachers. To Tony Tulathimutte, Laura van den Berg, Vauhini Vara, Andi Winnette, Anthony Ha, Vanessa Janowski, Raja Haddad, Cristina Moracho, M. A. Taft-McPhee, and M. Brett Smith, admired friends who read drafts of this book. To my esteemed writing group, past and present, including Colin Winnette, Daniel Levin Becker, Esmé Weijun Wang, Rachel Khong, Alice Sola Kim, Anisse Gross, Karan Mahajan, Caille Millner, Katrina Dodson, Pola Oloixarac, Jennifer duBois, Annie Julia Wyman, Katherine Marino, Lydia David Fitzpatrick, Diane Cook, and Greg Larson. To my Brooklyn College cohort, especially Andy Hunter, Hugh Merwin, Robert Jones, and Scott Lindenbaum, who saw The Incendiaries at its start. To friends whose advice, help, and encouragement sustained me: Vanessa Hua, Bich Minh Nguyen, Kirstin Chen, Aimee Phan, Frances Hwang, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, Garnette Cadogan, Alexander Chee, Lauren Groff, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Celeste Ng, Rabih Alameddine, Josh Weil, Christine Hyung-Oak Lee, Nayomi Munaweera, Yalitza Ferreras, Cara Bayles, Matthew Salesses, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Alexi Zentner, Michael David Lukas, Ross White, Matthew Olzmann, James Scott, Susan Steinberg, Elliott Holt, Marie-Helene Bertino, Chloe Benjamin, Rebecca Makkai, Thomas Meaney, Cara Blue Adams, Mike Scalise, Dara Barnat, Gerald Maa, Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis, Sonya Larson, Shuchi Saraswat, Harriet Clark, Jennine Capó Crucet, Elena Passarello, Hasanthika Sirisena, Dave Lucas, Tomás Q. Morín, Michael Croley, Giuseppe Taurino, Nina McConigley, Xhenet Aliu, Ru Freeman, Sarah Gerkensmeyer, Chloe Honum, Amanda Goldblatt, Luis Jaramillo, David James Poissant, Julie Iromuanya, Anne Valente, Seth Tucker, Rebecca Makkai, Kyle Minor, Mary Kim-Arnold, Michelle Hoover, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Krys Lee, Vikram Chandra, CJ Hauser, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Christian Kiefer, Lydia Kiesling, Nicole Chung, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Crystal Kim, Lillian Li, Danielle Lazarin, Adrienne Celt, Aja Gabel, Rachel Lyon, Tracy O’Neill, Patricia Park, James Cañón, Brandon Hobson, Piyali Bhattacharya, Anna Keesey, Oscar Villalon, Julie Buntin, Colin Drohan, Garth Greenwell, and Lucy Tan. To Emily Ballaine, Stephen Sparks, Molly Parent, Brad Johnson, Vanessa Martini, Paul Yamazaki, and Dan Weiss, for recommendations and camaraderie. To Diane Williams, and to Noon, where short excerpts of The Incendiaries first appeared in slightly different form; to Madelaine Lucas, Rebekah Bergman, Zach Davidson, Hilary Leichter, Rita Bullwinkel, and Emily Tobin. To Stuart Dybek and Tara Masih, who selected an excerpt for The Best Small Fictions. To Thomas Ross, and to Tin House, where an excerpt appeared. To John Kwon, Christine Ji Min Kwon, Lynn Dawson, Carl Dawson, Karen Occhipinti, and Vince Occhipinti, always. To the examples set forth by Agnes Shin, Chang Ho Shin, Byung Rim Kwon, and Tae Ryong Kwon. To Clara Kwon and Young Kwon, for everything. To Michael, first reader, my love, who believed even when I couldn’t.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  7 “Wherever I have gone with all the Israelites, did I speak a word to any from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, asking, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ God’s Covenant with David 8 “So now, say this to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 9 “I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like that of the great men of the earth. 10 “I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in a place of their own and not be disturbed again. The a wicked will not afflict them again, as formerly, 11 even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also declares to you that He will make a house (royal dynasty) for you. 12 “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down [in death] with your fathers (ancestors), I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He [is the one who] shall build a house for My b Name and My Presence, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. When he commits iniquity (wrongdoing), I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of man. 15 “But My lovingkindness and mercy will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 “Your house (royal dynasty) and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.” ’ ” 17 Nathan spoke to David in accordance with all these words and all of this vision. David’s Prayer 18 Then King David went in and sat [in prayer] before the LORD , and said, “Who am I, O Lord c GOD , and what is my house (family), that You have brought me this far? 19 “Yet this was very insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD , for You have spoken also of Your servant’s house (royal dynasty) in the distant future. And this is the law and custom of man, O Lord GOD . 20 “What more can David say to You? For You know (acknowledge, choose) Your servant, O Lord GOD . 21 “Because of Your word (promise), and in accordance with Your own heart, You have done all these great and astounding things to let Your servant know (understand).

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  31 Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response [from the boy]. So he turned back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened (revived).” 32 When Elisha came into the house, the child was dead and lying on his bed. 33 So he went in, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD . 34 Then he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself out on him and held him, the boy’s skin became warm. [1 Kin 17:21 ] 35 Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up [again] and stretched himself out on him; and the boy sneezed seven times and he opened his eyes. 36 Then Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came and fell at his feet, bowing herself to the ground [in respect and gratitude]. Then she picked up her son and left. The Poisonous Stew 38 Elisha came back to Gilgal during a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 Then one [of them] went into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, although they did not know what they were . 40 So they served it for the men to eat. But as they ate the stew, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they could not eat it. 41 But he said, “Bring d flour.” And he threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it for the people so that they may eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot. 42 Now [at another time] a man from Baal-shalisha came and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and fresh ears of grain [in the husk] in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give it to the people [affected by the famine] so that they may eat.” 43 His servant said, “How am I to set [only] this before a hundred [hungry] men?” He said, “Give it to the people so that they may eat, for thus says the LORD , ‘They shall eat and have some left.’ ” 44 So he set it before them, and they ate and left some , in accordance with the word of the LORD .

• From Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation (2014)

  Title : Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation Author: Trimiko Melancon ASIN : B00OZFBONI [image file=img/img0000.jpg] [image file=img/page0001_0000.svg] [image file=img/page0002_0000.svg] Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation TRIMIKO MELANCON [image file=img/img0001.jpg] [image file=img/page0002_0001.svg] [image file=img/page0002_0002.svg] [image file=img/page0003_0000.svg] [image file=img/page0003_0001.svg] [image file=img/page0003_0002.svg] [image file=img/page0003_0003.svg] [image file=img/page0003_0004.svg] [image file=img/page0004_0000.svg] [image file=img/page0006_0000.svg] Acknowledgments Introduction: Disrupting Dissemblance 1 "New World Black and New World Woman": Or, Beyond the Classical Black Female Script 2 Toward an Aesthetic of Transgression: Ann Allen Shockley's Loving Her and the Politics of Same-Gender Loving 3 Negotiating Cultural Politics 4 "That Way Lies Madness": Sexuality, Violent Excess, and Perverse Desire 5 "Between a Rock and a Hard Place": Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place Conclusion: "Without Fear of Reprisals": Representation in the Age of Michelle Obama Notes Bibliography Index [image file=img/page0008_0000.svg] Expressing one's appreciation should never be a meaningless task, but rather a moment filled with heartfelt sincerity. This book has benefited from the cumulative support of so many, to whom I am grateful. For their guidance, generous support, and critical feedback especially during the foundational stages, I extend the profundity of my thanks to James Smethurst, Esther Terry, John Bracey, Andrea Rushing, and Paula Giddings. Words cannot convey how especially grateful I am to Jim Smethurst, whose unwavering support, encouragement, and good humor lifted me at various turns along this journey. No lesser expression of gratitude goes to Paula Giddings, a remarkable source of inspiration and earnest support, as her everwelcome advice, encouragement, unrelenting faith in me, and generosity of spirit-especially during our invaluably brilliant clarifying "book conversations" stateside and abroad-have enabled Unbought and Unbossed to march into fruition. To the W.E.B.Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I extend my gratitude for the enormous support-intellectual, financial, and otherwisethat has provided the foundations of my professional and scholarly development, nourished me as a professional and person, and further cultivated my desire for intellectual rigor and social justice. Others have had a remarkably indelible impact in ways that may never be fully transparent to them. For her pioneering scholarship, as well as intellectual and pedagogical influence on me, Mary Helen Washington-who may never know the depth of her imprint on me while I studied with her as a visiting graduate student at University of Maryland and beyond-deserves my thanks. I am especially grateful to Thadious Davis for her "warmest best wishes," intellectual support, model work, and brilliant advice, which was instrumental in my extended fellowship at Emory. Trudier Harris has been not only a constant source of inspiration, but also a model scholar and professional confidante. I also thank Joanne Gabbin and the Wintergreen Collective for paving a path and welcoming me.

• From Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation (2014)

  Without the generous financial support of several foundations and institutions, this book may well not have seen the light of day. I express my utmost gratitude to the UNCF-Mellon Mays University Fellows Program, especially Cynthia Neal Spence; Andrew W.Mellon Foundation, especially Lydia English and Armando Bengochea; Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, especially Richard Hope, Bill Mitchell, and Caryl McFarland; Social Science Research Council, especially Cally Waite; and Fulbright Commission, especially Reiner Rohr. Additionally, this book was made possible by financial assistance from the Ruth Landes Memorial Research Fund, a program of The Reed Foundation. Loyola University New Orleans awarded me two generous sources of funding: a Marquette and a Bobet fellowship. I also thank the staff members at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library; the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University; the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University; the Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University; and the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, especially Christopher Harter, to whom I express special thanks for an image, Figure 3.1, used in this book. As I have had the marvelously good fortune of being a visiting scholar and fellow at Emory University's James Weldon Johnson Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (JWJI), I am especially indebted to the founding director, the late Rudolph P.Byrd, a trusted advisor, charismatic scholar and human, and model of protocol. A host of individuals at Emory enriched my project and fellowship period: Calinda Lee, Dorcas Ford Jones, Robbie Lieberman, Joshua Price, Tekla Johnson, Mab Segrest, Bill Turner, Evelyn Crawford, Chandra Mountain, Erica Bruckho, and Yolande Tomilson, all in some way affiliated with the JWJI, and Martina Brownley and the Fox Humanities Center. Amy Benson Brown, Randall Burkett, Frances Smith Foster, Brett Gadsden, Bill Gruber, Leslie Harris, Lynne Huffer, Larry Jackson, Mark Sanders, and Kimberly Wallace-Sanders at Emory also deserve my thanks. My most profound and heartfelt gratitude goes especially to Natasha Trethewey, a kindred spirit whose continual encouragement, advice, and unrelenting support have been as welcome and enormously appreciated as her poetics and friendship. I am so incredibly thankful for the crossing of our paths, as she will never fully know that I have traveled and endured this journey far longer, more courageously, and with head and shoulders elevated higher precisely because of her.

• From Birthday Girl (2018)

  Arqueo mi cuello, mirando por la ventana y lo veo a él y un par de sus amigos rodear el viejo VW de mi abuela, por el que pagó el papá de Cole para que lo trajeran aquí, ya que ahora no funciona. No podía dejarlo en el departamento, y parece que Cole finalmente va a cumplir su promesa de arreglarlo, para que pueda tener un auto. El chisporroteo de la carne friéndose en la sartén golpea mis oídos, y me giro, volteando las hamburguesas. Una mancha de grasa golpea mi antebrazo, y hago una mueca por el dolor. Sé que Cam está aquí para ver cómo estoy. Viejos hábitos y eso. Mi hermana solo es cuatro años mayor, pero fue la madre que nuestra madre no quería ser. Me quedé en el parque de casas rodantes hasta que me gradué de la escuela secundaria, pero Cam se fue cuando tenía dieciséis años y ha estado sola desde entonces. Solo ella y su hijo. Echo un vistazo al reloj, viendo que son poco más de las cinco. Mi sobrino ya debe estar con la niñera, y ella debe estar en camino al trabajo. —Entonces, ¿dónde está el padre? —me pregunta. —Todavía en el trabajo, supongo. Sin embargo, pronto estará en casa. Paso las hamburguesas de la sartén al plato y saco los panecillos, abriendo el paquete. —¿Es amable? —pregunta finalmente, sonando vacilante. Estoy de espaldas a ella, por lo que no puede ver mi molestia. Mi hermana es una mujer que no tiene pelos en la lengua. El hecho que esté cuidando su tono dice que probablemente tenga pensamientos que no quiero escuchar. Como por ejemplo: ¿Por qué diablos no solo acepto el trabajo mejor pagado, que su jefe me ofreció el otoño pasado, para poder quedarme en mi apartamento? —Parece agradable. —Asiento, lanzándole una mirada—. Un poco callado, creo. —Tú eres callada. Le lanzo una sonrisa, corrigiéndola. —Hablo en serio. Hay una diferencia. Se ríe y se sienta derecha, tirando del dobladillo de su top blanco sin mangas, el sujetador de encaje rojo debajo muy visible. —Alguien tenía que ser serio en nuestra casa, supongo. “En nuestra casa” al crecer, quiere decir. Pone su cabello castaño detrás de su hombro, y veo los largos pendientes de plata que usa y que combinan con su maquillaje brillante, sus ojos ahumados y sus labios brillantes. —¿Cómo está Killian? —pregunto, recordando a mi sobrino. —Un mocoso, como de costumbre —responde. Pero luego se detiene como si recordara algo—. No, espera. Hoy me dijo que les dice a sus amigos que soy su hermana mayor cuando voy a buscarlo a la guardería —se burla—. La pequeña mierda está avergonzada de mí. Pero, aun así, estaba como “Vaya, ¿la gente realmente cree eso?”. —Y luego sacude su cabello otra vez, montando un espectáculo—. Quiero decir, todavía me veo bien, ¿no? —Solo tienes veintitrés años. —Termino la hamburguesa con mozzarella rallada, agrego otra hamburguesa, y también le pongo queso—. Por supuesto que sí.

• From Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation (2014)

  At Loyola University New Orleans, I am incredibly fortunate to have not only a vibrant, supportive, and affable cadre of colleagues, but also an intellectual home. To former Provost Ed Kvet; former Dean Jo Ann Cruz; Dean Maria Calzada of the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences; my department chair, John Biguenet; and my colleagues in the Department of English, I extend my deepest thanks. I owe a very special expression of gratitude to Katherine Adams-my former chair and an absolutely marvelous person and colleague-for her steadfast advice, enthusiasm, and good humor; Kate has showered me with much support, which has helped garner fellowships, and I am deeply appreciative. Many thanks go to Barbara Ewell and especially my faculty mentor, John Mosier, a generous and dedicated advisor, for professional support, goodwill, and necessary good laughs over countless good meals, and to Chris Schaberg for his incredibly jovial, intelligent, and ever-willing support and inspiration as I completed this book. I also benefited from colleagues and institutional support at St. Lawrence University, Auburn University, and Freie Universitat (Free University) in Berlin, Germany, during my time as a J.William Fulbright Scholar of American Literature and American Studies. For that amazing intellectual and personal experience, I am thankful to my colleagues in the Department of Literature: Ulla Haselstein especially for serving as my mentor, as well as Catrin Gersdorf, Andrew Gross, and MaryAnn Snyder-Korber, who were incredibly welcoming and brilliant-inviting me to present my research at the colloquium, while also providing an international venue in which to engage, research, and teach race and black feminist theories, literary studies, and African American studies. Sehr vielen dank!

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [2 Sam 16:1–4 ] 27 “Further, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God; so do what is good in your eyes. 28 “For were not all of my father’s household (family) nothing but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. So what right do I still have to cry out anymore to the king [for help]?” 29 The king said to him, “Why speak anymore of your affairs? I have said, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’ ” 30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has returned to his own house in safety and peace.” 31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went on to the Jordan with the king to escort him over the Jordan. 32 Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years old; and he had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great and wealthy man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me and I will provide for you in Jerusalem with me.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How much longer have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 “I am this day eighty years old. Can I [be useful to advise you to] discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or drink? Can I still hear the voices of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 “Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward? 37 “Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own city [and be buried] by the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham [my son]; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.” [1 Kin 2:7 ] 38 The king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you; and whatever you ask of me, I will do for you.” 39 So all the people crossed over the Jordan. When the king had crossed over, he kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place. 40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel accompanied the king.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions (extremely painful scourges).’ ” 12 So on the third day Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam just as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king answered them harshly, for King Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the elders. 14 He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for the c turn of events was from God that the LORD might fulfill His word, which He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. [1 Kin 11:29–39 ] 16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listen and pay attention to them, the people answered him, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel; Now, [Rehoboam, descendant of] David, see to your own house.” So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But as for the Israelites who lived in Judah’s cities, Rehoboam ruled over them. 18 Then King Rehoboam d sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the Israelites stoned him and he died. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his [royal] chariot to escape to Jerusalem. 19 And Israel has rebelled against the house of David to this day. 2 Chronicles 11 Rehoboam Reigns over Judah and Builds Cities 1 N OW WHEN Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors to fight against [the ten tribes of] Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD : “You shall not go up nor fight against your brothers (countrymen); return, every man to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” And they listened to and obeyed the words of the LORD and turned back from going against Jeroboam. 5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built [fortified] cities for defense in Judah. 6 He a built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them, with supplies of food, [olive] oil, and wine. 12 And in each city he put [large] shields and spears, and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin. 13 Further, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with Rehoboam from all their districts.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  18 “And whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, you may do in accordance with the will of your God. 19 “As for the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver [those] in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 “The rest of the things required for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, provide it from the royal treasury. 21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the provinces a west of the [Euphrates] River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently and at once— 22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 kors (measures) of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of [olive] oil, and salt as needed. 23 “Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done diligently and with enthusiasm for the house of the God of heaven, so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. 24 “We also inform you that it is not authorized to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants or other servants of this house of God. 25 “You, Ezra, are to appoint magistrates and judges in accordance with the wisdom and instruction of your God which is in your hand, so that they may judge all the people who are in the province west of the [Euphrates] River; appoint those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who does not know them . 26 “Whoever does not observe and practice the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly and promptly, whether it be for death or banishment or confiscation of property or imprisonment.” The King’s Kindness 27 Blessed be the LORD , the God of our fathers [said Ezra], who put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn and glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, 28 and has extended His mercy and lovingkindness to me before the king, his advisers, and all the king’s mighty officials. I was strengthened and encouraged, for the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together outstanding men of Israel to go up with me [to Jerusalem].

• From History of the Christian Church: The Complete Set of Eight Volumes (1858)

  The elements were common or leavened bread407 (except among the Ebionites, who, like the later Roman church from the seventh century, used unleavened bread), and wine mingled with water. This mixing was a general custom in antiquity, but came now to have various mystical meanings attached to it. The elements were placed in the hands (not in the mouth) of each communicant by the clergy who were present, or, according to Justin, by the deacons alone, amid singing of psalms by the congregation (Psalm 34), with the words: "The body of Christ;" "The blood of Christ, the cup of life;" to each of which the recipient responded "Amen."408 The whole congregation thus received the elements, standing in the act.409 Thanksgiving and benediction concluded the celebration. After the public service the deacons carried the consecrated elements to the sick and to the confessors in prison. Many took portions of the bread home with them, to use in the family at morning prayer. This domestic communion was practised particularly in North Africa, and furnishes the first example of a communio sub una specie. In the same country, in Cyprian’s time, we find the custom of infant communion (administered with wine alone), which was justified from John 6:53, and has continued in the Greek (and Russian) church to this day, though irreconcilable with the apostle’s requisition of a preparatory examination (1 Cor. 11:28). At first the communion was joined with a love feast, and was then celebrated in the evening, in memory of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples. But so early as the beginning of the second century these two exercises were separated, and the communion was placed in the morning, the love feast in the evening, except on certain days of special observance.410 Tertullian gives a detailed description of the Agape in refutation of the shameless calumnies of the heathens.411 But the growth of the churches and the rise of manifold abuses led to the gradual disuse, and in the fourth century even to the formal prohibition of the Agape, which belonged in fact only to the childhood and first love of the church. It was a family feast, where rich and poor, master and slave met on the same footing, partaking of a simple meal, hearing reports from distant congregations, contributing to the necessities of suffering brethren, and encouraging each other in their daily duties and trials. Augustin describes his mother Monica as going to these feasts with a basket full of provisions and distributing them. The communion service has undergone many changes in the course of time, but still substantially survives with all its primitive vitality and solemnity in all churches of Christendom,—a perpetual memorial of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and saving love to the human race. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are institutions which proclaim from day to day the historic Christ, and can never be superseded by contrivances of human ingenuity and wisdom. § 69. The Doctrine of the Eucharist.