Excerpt from The Fierce Urgency of Now Rainbow Push Chicago, Keynote Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas:
Rising to the Call of a United Humanity Rainbow Push, Chicago, Jan 25, 2025
Rev Frank Thomas, Christian Theological Seminary of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Sub specie aeternitatis “Under the pretense of eternity.” The Gaze of Eternity. It means to live your life under the vision that eternity is watching. It is to see things from the perspective of that which is eternally true, regardless of temporal facts of reality, no matter what happens you are under Sub specie aeternitatis, you are under the Gaze of Eternity. Some of these folks forget they are under the Gaze of Eternity. You see the Gaze of an eternity is an inside thing to live by, so we have to look inside out, rather than outside in, meaning it's an inside to live by to look with the Gaze of Eternity. The best way I can think to say this is to say that our slave ancestors knew it. They would look with the Gaze of Eternity and they'd say stuff like trouble don't last always, that there’s a better day coming or walk together children, don't get weary. There's a great camp meeting in the promised land. So they pull the covers, this is Zora Neale Hurston, over their souls and were kept from all hurt, harm and danger and they made laughter and a song.
People ask me how you been doing after the election and I said I've been doing, it's been painful, it's been grievous, but when Mr Trump was elected in 2016, I didn't sleep. This time I stayed up and I found when I saw what was the official results, I went to bed and I pulled up the covers up over my soul and went to sleep. I am not gonna give this man and this stuff this kind of, I'm not. So what I tell people is I guard My Heart by day and I cover my soul at night. You got to guard your heart from some of this stuff. What our ancestors knew is that you win this war from within, The Gaze of Eternity tells us that God can make a way out of no way. God can hit a straight lick with a Crooked Stick. God can pull Victory out of seemingly certain loss.
I have a playlist of all civil rights music. Donny Hathaway, someday, we will all be free. You know, a change is going to come. It's a long long long, who let me Nina Simone Mississippi got down just a long long long list. Keep your eyes on the prize. Paul and Silas Bound in jail got no money to post their bail. Keep your eyes on the prize hold on yeah. Paul and Silas thought they lost. Then the dungeon Shook and the chains fell off. Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on. Sara Groves has a version of this where she says the way is slow and we've so far to go. Keep your eyes on the prize. The way is slow y'all. So far to go, keep your eyes on the prize. Got my hand on the gospel, plow wouldn't take nothing for my journey now and then she said something else that stirs my soul. She says ain't no man on Earth can control the weight of Glory of a human soul.