Last Sunday, I received the sad news that Jeff Denny, a member of my former congregation in Macon, Georgia, had died of cancer. Jeff was 53. On Wednesday of this week, I received word that BPC’s own John Robinson had died after a swift decline in his health. John was 102.
I am blessed to have known both Jeff and John. Both were quite similar in that they had amazing minds and loved to laugh, they both loved their families, and they both loved the church. Jeff was a math professor. John was an expert in telecommunications. Both of their lives were a gift to all who knew them. Of course, the stark difference between the two was that John’s life was so long and Jeff’s life was cut short. . . too short.
I had the privilege of sitting with Jeff and his wife, Lynne, years ago at their kitchen table, reading scripture, praying, and laughing with them, sometimes with tears in our eyes. I was not part of the pastoral care surrounding Jeff Denny and his illness. I was no longer his pastor. But I did see him at church in Georgia last February when we were in town for a visit and I was able to give him a hug. I remember thinking that it was probably the last hug I would give him. . . and it was. When our older son was born, Jeff and his wife, Lynne, sent us a children’s book that they had read their children – their family’s copy of Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish. The other night, I read that same book to our younger son, turning the pages and wondering how many times Jeff’s hands had turned those same pages. It was a meaningful moment – a gift from someone who had led such a meaningful life.
One of the most meaningful things that John Robinson ever said to me – as his wife of 70 years, Phyllis, was dying years ago – was, “Well, ever since I survived the invasion of Iwo Jima, I’ve never been afraid of dying.” I would never assume to know the horrors that John experienced for a solid month lived amid the hard volcanic rock of that bomb-and-bullet-blasted island in the Pacific in 1945, but I imagine that he knew more about the possibilities of life and death than most people. John’s Marine unit played an essential role in silencing a deadly enemy cannon and they did it by triangulating its location, using sound waves – an innovative technology, ahead of its time. And in the decades to come, John put his expertise to work – even stringing phone lines through our church building, years ago.
Each week in worship, our congregation is invited to recite an “Affirmation of Faith,” which comes from various parts of the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In these eleven different “confessions” or “statements” of faith, which are compiled from nearly 2,000 years of church history, we find the many different ways that Christians have talked about God and expressed their faith. The most recent confession found in our Book of Confessions is the”Brief Statement of Faith,” which was written about 40 years ago.
The Statement begins with the words, “In life and in death, we belong to God. . .” and ends with the words, “With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Whether our lives are long or short, we need to be reminded – sometimes again and again – that we belong to God and that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
In life and in death, both Jeff and John trusted this to be true, and I believe that they now know more about belonging to God and being loved by God than we can fully imagine in this life.
Thanks be to God. . .
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship – World Communion Sunday
This Week: “The Patient Practice of Faith – Clothed in Love, Week 5”
Read Colossians 3:12-14
Read 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Read or sing Hymn # 538 – “Hallelujah! We Sing Your Praises”
Attachments area
Preview YouTube video “Haleluya, Pelo Tsa Rona.” Andrews University Singers, CD All Nations Sing (1997)