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And Death Shall Have No Dominion |
Romans 6: 9-11
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© John Ewing Roberts |
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INTRODUCTION Last week at the climax of our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ we witnessed the baptism of three new Christians. As each came up out of the water, all Christians reaffirmed our baptismal vows by repeating Romans 6: 4: "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." From the same great 6th chapter of Romans which gave us our words for renewing baptismal vows comes the text for this day. It was also our Responsive Reading: For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Two great phrases come from this mighty text. (1) Death shall have no dominion. In the midst of the horrible deaths of World War II the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote a poem whose title comes from Romans 6: 9, And Death Shall Have No Dominion. With consummate skill he pictures the power of death - death on the battlefield, death at sea, young love lost to death, painful death, faith challenged by death of the breaking point, death's madness. But each section of the poem begins and ends with the refrain from Paul's powerful cadence, "And death shall have no dominion." (The Literature of England, edited by George K. Anderson and Karl J., Holzknecht [Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co.] 1953, "And Death Shall Have No Dominion," by Dylan Thomas (1943), p. 1,204) Phillips Brooks was a great 19th century preacher, best remembered today for his Christmas carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem. But he wrote these fine lines about the resurrection: "Tomb, thou shalt not hold him longer; Death is strong, but Life is stronger; Stronger than the dark, the light; Stronger than the wrong, the right; Faith and Hope triumphant say Christ (was raised) on Easter Day." (2) A person in Christ For centuries thoughtful Christians have expounded what is the meaning of living "in Christ," this union which joins us in Christ's victory over sin and death, this oneness which transforms how we live, what we say and do, and where we will go. Here in Romans 9: 11 we encounter this key phrase in Paul's thought for the first time in the book of Romans. (James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1-8 (Word Biblical Commentary) [Dallas, Texas: Word Books] 1988, p. 324) To be "In Christ" means that we "hail the power of Jesus' name and crown him Lord of all." Praise and actions, faith and ethics. To be "in Christ" means that their Lord was their captain "in the well fought fight," Lordship and engagement, faith and ethics. To help us understand "in Christ" I like this little analogy: "We cannot live our physical life unless we are in the air and the air is in us; unless we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, we cannot live the life of God." (William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, revised edition [Philadelphia: Westminster Press] 1975, p. 86) A LIFE OVER WHICH DEATH HAS NO DOMINION - A LIFE IN CHRIST Today we continue the celebration of Easter and resurrection as we think not of a new Christian, but of a seasoned veteran, a life-long traveller on the Christian journey, Sarah Lee Atkins. The tone for Easter is celebration, as is the mood for this Memorial Service. In case any one has not heard, and just because it is worth repeating, hear again what Sarah Lee said in her last conversation with me. I consider her words to be an act of ministry on her part to all of us, since I am sure she wanted me to report our conversation. After our prayer she took hold of my knee and said, "Now, John, I am very tired, tired of taking medicine, tired of getting up, tired even of eating, and tired of being tired. Soon I will die, and when I do, I want there to be no lamentations." She raised both arms and shook them in a gesture of artificial lamentations. Her voice grew even stronger as she continued: "No lamentations! Let there be celebration and thanksgiving because I will not be tired; I will be where I want to be; I will be with eople I want to be with. No lamentations!" She had raised her arms again, but she put them down quickly and firmly grasped my knee again. "Do you understand me?" "Yes, ma'am," I said. SARAH LEE ATKINS - EUTAW PLACE AND WOODBROOK These three names are inseparable in my mind. I simply cannot think of this church without an Atkins in the membership. Someone from the family is going to have to join today! Sarah Lee Atkins first became a member of this church on August 28, 1927, when she was living with her uncle and aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Joseph T. Watts. (Let's put that year into context - in 1927 Lou Gehrig, the man whose record for consecutive games Cal Ripken broke, was in his prime.) She rejoined our church on January 15, 1930, where her husband became the assistant pastor. In the interim she remained in close contact with our congregation while Clyde Atkins was pastor of the Catonsville Baptist Church. For 71 of her 97 years she had a connection with our church. 69 of those years were consecutive, a mark which I doubt if even Cal Ripken will surpass. The seventh pastor of this church, O. C. S. Wallace, in 1932 had each member of the Eutaw Place Church fill out a card which began with these words: The Pastor believers it would be interesting to members of this church 25 or 50 years hence to know how varied and complete was the participation of their predecessors in membership in the life and activities of this church... Sarah Lee Atkins was involved in nine activities even though she was the wife of the assistant pastor and the mother of a three year old little boy named Joseph Thomas Atkins. Dr. Wallace praised her constancy and interest in the church and noted that she was "profoundly sympathetic with her husband's ministry." She was profoundly sympathetic, but she also had a healthy sense of humor about the ministry. On the Sunday when Dr. Atkins installed me as his Associate in 1960, he spoke at length about the rigors of what he called "the secret work of the ministry." He referred to those matters which remain private but which drain the minister's spiritual, intellectual and emotional resources, "the secret work of the ministry." The next day Dr. Atkins invited me to the parsonage to join him in watching on television as the Pirates and the Yankees played in the world series. Around the 5th inning Sarah Lee appeared with a pitcher of home made lemonade and cookies. "Here," she said, "you two look like you need some refreshments while you do the secret work of the ministry!" She ministered at multiple levels in our congregational life. The records of the church show that she chaired the Baptism Committee, was Director of the Woman's Missionary Union, President of Women's Missionary Society, chaired the Visitation Committee, taught numerous Sunday School classes, and led in Vacation Bible School work (at least once in a six week session when there was neither an outdoor play area or air conditioning). She also held various leadership positions n Baptist missionary work and ministers' spouses groups at the city and state level. She is on record as declaring, "I never preached, never sang in the choir and never was a deacon." HER CONTRIBUTIONS What were her greatest contributions? - her church and denomination work, particularly her work in missions, foreign, home and neighborhood. In the first years at Woodbrook Sarah Lee led every fall and spring a church wide mission study, from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Sundays. She gave us a time off to eat, but every minute was planned with all sorts of people recruited to take part in missions education. She would rope in, --er, enlist all sorts of people of all ages and all levels of involvement with the church. How could they say "no"? How cold they and we not learn about missions? What were her greatest contributions? - her ministry to her family, as Dr. Atkins' partner, as the mother of Joe, Betty Lee and Ann, as arguably the finest grandmother and great-grandmother of all time? Three children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Her greatest contributions were in the church and the family. Of all the worthwhile places we can invest ourselves - civic, professional, business, patriotic, athletic groups - as fine as they are, there are only two God-created institutions, the church and the family, and to these she gave herself. There were times when she knew disappointments from directions taken by family or church, but she remained constant in her active good will, her support, her faith, her hope, her love of family and church. A RADIANT SPIRIT I would hold that the common denominator for all of these great contributions was her radiant spirit. The lady glowed. She embodied the meaning of vibrant. Her laughter was so hearty, so kind, so warm, so knowing. "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance..." "A merry heart does good like a medicine..." (Proverbs 15: 13, 17: 22) The radiant spirit did not come from an easy life. Many were surprised to learn that she had lived in the Oklahoma Territory where she experienced Indians, prairie fires and fierce wind storms. At age 9 she lost her mother. But like Jesus and with him, she "increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2: 52) In recent years she lost her daughter Ann; that there was for Ann Judson Atkins Anderson an in memoriam time in a communion servicegave Sarah Lee a sense of comfort and gave us a sense of solidarity and continuity with her family on the day when we committed Ann's bright spirit to her Lord. Let me recall a recent example of her radiant spirit. There was some divergence of opinion was to why in her final months with us she did not make the long walk back to the Eutaw Place Room for Sunday School. Various reports circulated: - she was short of breath, and the walk was too long to make all the way from the Eutaw Place Room to the sanctuary; - she missed the Christolite Class; - she respected Dr. Atkins' reservations about having men and women in the same class. Whatever the reason, on a number of Sundays she got only as far as the entrance hall where she made herself comfortable on the deacon's bench which had belonged to her old friends, Buck and Elizabeth Engel. Her radiant spirit was never more evident. She drew people to her. Though she could not always see or hear well enough to recognize at once her admirers, she engaged them in conversation and soon was asking about families and jobs and health and home. To see her there receiving people of all ages wholoved and respected her was to see a queen holding court. At Eutaw Place she was much more mobile. Many of us can remember her moving through the sanctuary before the service began, seeking out visitors, welcoming returning members, and greeting the regulars. It is often said of charismatic personalities in public life and show business that they automatically know how to "work a room." They should have seen Sarah Lee Atkins in her prime! Her greatest contributions were to the godly institutions, church and family. At the heart of this involvement was her radiant spirit. And what was the secret of this radiant spirit? PRAYER - THE SECRET OF THE RADIANT SPIRIT It was her prayer life. Long before the term "conversational prayer" was popularized, Sarah Lee Atkins prayed conversationally with her Lord. Exodus 33: 11 tells us that Moses spoke with the Lord as a friend does with a friend. No wonder a favorite gospel song ends each verse with the words, "He's my friend." (Baptist Hymnal, Wesley L. Forbis, editor [Nashville: Convention Press] 1991, "Jesus Is All the World to Me," by Will L. Thompson, No. 184) Her prayer style was relaxed but reverent, at ease secure. Now if you were ever blessed to pray with her, you know that her prayers were not short. She did not want to end the conversation with her friend. She lingered in the Lord's presence and delighted in it. She drew from such encounters the radiance, the energy, the patience, the humor, the love which we all associate with her. In my next-to-last visit with her she asked God to help her with all the time she had on her hands to be able to pray more focussed prayers. I was thrilled by what I was hearing. Here was one of the world's great pray-ers praying to be a better pray-er. I once read that a person is "through" when he or she stops trying, caring, praying and sharing. If that is so, then Sarah Lee was never "through." Her trying and caring, praying and sharing continued to the end of her life. CONCLUSION I have spoken of a life which was one in Christ, a life which shares in his victory over sin and death, a life which we celebrate because over Sarah Lee Atkins "death shall have no dominion." You and I can be sure to share in this victory if we commit ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord. I invite you to make that commitment in a few moments while we sing our hymn of celebration for a life in Christ, a hymn which also invites you and me to live a life in Christ. But before we sing, we will have one more visit with Sarah Lee Atkins, looking at pictures, and in the silence of our hearts, remembering and offering thanks. When the last picture has left the screen, Terry Yount will begin playing our hymn. It is time for me to close these memorial remarks. In a moment you can write your own memorial service inside your own head and heart as we watch again the wonderful pictures from her family and our church archives which Bill Butler has prepared. As we near the end of the luncheon which follows this service please feel free to go up to the microphone and share any memories or thoughts you have appropriate to this occasion. But now I am going to let Dr. W. Clyde Atkins have the last word by quoting two poems and a benediction he often used at times like this. I know them by heart, but I dare not trust my emotions and should read them. I want to read them from a service book which belonged to him and which Sarah Lee gave to me after his death. "Beautiful life is that whose span Is spent in duty to God and man, Beautiful calm when the course is run, Beautiful twilight at set of sun, Beautiful death with a life well done." (found in the handwriting of W. Clyde Atkins inside A Service Book [Chicago: National Society of Morticians] 1940, presented by William J. Tickner and Sons) "Yet Love will dream and Faith will trust, (Since He who knows our needs is just,) That somehow, somewhere, meet we must. Alas for him who never sees,... Who hath not learned in hours of faith, The truth to flesh and sense unknown That Life is ever Lord of Death, And Love can never lose its own." (John Greenleaf Whittier, Ibid., p. 175) BENEDICTION O Lord, support us all the day long of our troublous life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy great mercy grant us a safe lodging and a holy rest, and peace at the last, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |