Pastor's Monthly Article
By: Rev. Tracy Sexton
June 2008
Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me…..Emily Dickinson
The name David Burnett probably doesn’t mean anything to you. It doesn’t mean much to me either. That is to say, I never had the privilege of meeting him. The only reason it means something to me now is owing to this one thing: it was upon Mr. Burnett’s untimely death that I conducted my first funeral.
Before this my experience with funerals had been like most everyone else’s: a few family members, some close friends, and assorted fellow church members. But I became a pastor, and that all changed.
Now, I don’t intend to depress you by all this talk of funerals. It’s something few prefer to talk about, or even think about. But no amount of avoidance can change this plain fact: it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment.
One of my favorite texts having to do with death is found in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. In chapter 7 verse 2 Solomon tells us that (I am paraphrasing here) it is better to go to a funeral than to an amusement park. Sure, amusement will please you, but death will instruct you.
Why is this so? Because it is in those times of mourning that we are forced to think, even if but for a few moments, about the brevity of life, the certainty of death, and the prospect of a life beyond this one.
In 1 Timothy Paul says that church leaders must be “grave”. This “grave” he refers to is not a hole in the ground; the word basically carries the idea of being serious about life. The grave person recognizes that life is not one long pony ride. He avoids the silliness that pervades our culture, and gets on with living a life that matters.
So let’s conclude with a bit of honesty: one day the gig will be up. It will be time for our
own funeral. There will most likely be a song or two, a few words from a minister and, if
we’re lucky, some people present who truly hate to see us go. I hope there are lots of them
at mine.