Sermon Preached by Deacon David R. Bender Sixth Sunday of Easter May 5, 2013 "Stand"

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Please be seated.

In today's Gospel, the part that really speaks to me is;

Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now here was a man that had been by that pool of water for thirty-eight years and was determined to get into it somehow. No one would help him, and when he was able to make his way to the pool, someone would enter the pool ahead of him. To understand what this means, we have to look at later manuscripts that expanded this portion of the Gospel by adding the following explanation, “waiting for the stirring of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was made well from whatever disease that person had.”

So here was a man who was Determined to be first into the pool someday, and had the Courage to wait for a very long time. And in the end, it is Jesus' Grace that cured him. He did not have to enter the pool.

I really like all kinds of music. From Classical, which Carol and I listen to when we go to Tanglewood on Parade in August and listen to both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, all the way to the other end of the spectrum, Rap, especially the song that a group of girls that Carol chaperoned last minute on one of her schools trips to Washington DC made up for her when they thought they were getting an old fuddy-duddy but soon learned different, and to everything in between. However my two favorite genres are the 50s, 60s, and 70s Rock'n'Roll aka the Oldies, and Country Music. Now I know that Father Chuck, and several members of the choir are rolling their eyes over this, but that is ok with me.

When someone asks why I like the Oldies and Country music I point to a song by Country artist Trace Adkins titled, “Songs About Me” with the chorus that says:

“Cause it's songs about me; and who I am. Songs about loving and living and good hearted women and family and God. Yeah they're all just songs about me.”

I find that both the Oldies and Country Music tell a story that I can understand and that is why I look those two genres so much.

The seeds of today’s sermon came together in my head last week, when just before the service I read both of the Gospel selections for today, choosing the alternate one, and when I listened to Father Chuck's sermon to the Journey to Adult kids about the “Long and Winding Road”. Those together reminded me of a set of songs that I have picked out for my funeral, hopefully a

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long long time from now. There is a song for Carol (wife), a song for Chris (son), a song for Jennifer (daughter), a song for Jacob (grandson), and a song for all the Deacons and Chaplains that I work with. I will have to pick one for Sarah (granddaughter), but I should have time. Now, I would like to have them all played, but knowing most churches, the priest will most likely balk at that, but Chris, who I have given the list too is aggressive and pushy enough to get at least a couple of them played.

The song that sprang to mind last week, is the one for Jacob titled "Stand" by Rascal Flatts and the chorus is:

“Cause when push comes to shove; You taste what you're made of; You might bend till you break; Cause it's all you can take; On your knees you look up; Decide you've had enough; You get mad, you get strong; Wipe your hands, shake it off; Then you stand, then you stand.” and the ending verse is:

“Every time you get up; And get back in the race; One more small piece of you; Starts to fall into place.”

The song is about six young adults, not much older than the Journey to Adult kids, and a meaningful vignette about each of them. The first glimpse of each of the six shows them somewhat dejected and wondering if what they are doing is right or if they can even accomplish it, but as the song progress, the get mad, stand and do what they need to do. Each of one shows a different quality that makes an adult. There is the young woman who throws the piano bench out of the way and just plays the piano putting her heart and soul into it, representing Passion. Then the high school football player, while initially looking dejected, and in the pouring rain, gets mad, stands up and pushes the tackle sled, and the word Determination is revealed. The young woman who is pummeling the boxing heavy bag, and she is Courage. The young dancer who balances himself on one hand, and also does a head spin, and he is Grace. The guitarist, strapping on his guitar and letting loose with music, who is Desire and finally the modern paint artist using a large canvas with black paint to create his work of art about life, who represents Expression.

In 1st Corinthians 13:13, the Bible says: “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” and as Father Chuck asked last week, “did we love as Jesus loved”. Those are the great qualities, but I have to think that the six qualities represented in the song, Passion, Determination, Courage, Grace, Desire and Expression are also qualities that we need to pass on to our children and grandchildren. Teach them to love as Jesus loved, and teach them the qualities that will make them better persons.

Amen