I collect stories. An illustration shared in a post-resurrection sermon delivered by Dr. Stacy Conner, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Muleshoe, TX caught my attention. The illustration came from The Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan who served as the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. Reportedly, Kee was ordained a priest in 1982 and became a bishop in 2008. He is now retired. Kee grew up in Vicksburg, MS. He is now retired. He and his wife live in Birmingham, AL.
When I heard the story about the blind man who jumped off a high diving board, I knew that I wanted to know more. My search for the illustration led me to a trilogy of books written by Kee Sloan (The Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan). The included: Jabbok, Beulah and Prodigal. I was fortunate not to find the illustration until mid-way through the last book.
Had I found the illustration in the first book, I could have concluded that I found what I was looking to find and may have chosen not to read more. Had that been the case, I would have lost out. The trilogy of books (all fiction) are about an Episcopal priest named Buddy. Yet, in the introduction of his first book, Kee says of Buddy that his story is a fictional autobiography.
Throughout the three books, Buddy always chooses to tell people to call him Buddy. He preferred that over Pastor Buddy or Priest Buddy. I can't imagine that he would ever have been comfortable as the Right Reverend. He was the kind of man that gave priority to relationships. Being called by his first name carried the kind of comfort you find in a well worn pair of jeans.
The illustration I was hoping to find related to the funeral message for a nine-year old girl. She was walking across the street to get in the car with her mother who was picking her up from school. In so doing, she was hit by the car and died instantly.
Reportedly, when Buddy first learned of the tragedy, his immediate reaction was his desire to go visit with the family. I can imagine the thoughts that filled his head as he made his way to the family's home. In fact, he had not quite sorted out what he was going to say and subsequently, drove past the home. He gently redirected himself and eventually made it to the family's home.
Sometimes, preachers, extended family members and close friends often feel obligated to share something thoughtful to explain away the kind of pain and sense of loss that a family is experiencing. With few exceptions, I suspect the words do more harm than good. There are some things for which no explanation is satisfactory.
Consequently, I most often let my presence and the tears in my eyes do the talking for me. There is nothing one can say surrounding the untimely death of a nine-year-old that will provide an aha moment.
During the interim between news of the death and the subsequent funeral service, Buddy sorted and resorted his thoughts. It weighed heavily upon his heart. Shortly before the service was to begin, Buddy's wife told him he'd do great. He said something closely akin to: "You don't understand, I have nothing to say." Recounting a recent conversation with Buddy, she suggested the story of the blind man jumping off the high diving board. Buddy was filled with gratitude. Why hadn't he thought of that?
As he stood to speak, he briefly shared about the special camp for adults with disabilities and that he had paired Edward, a blind man with Zach, a 16-year-old camp counselor that was kind of a knucklehead. On the last day of camp, someone rushed in his office to tell him that Edward was about to jump off the high diving board.
He hurried to the pool! He saw immediately that Zach had followed Edward up the ladder and surmised that he had provided Edward step by step details associated to what he could not see. Can you imagine the trust it took for Edward to let go of the rail? Can you imagine the sensation of the sandpaper like surface of the diving board and walk forward until he sensed his toes wrapped over the edge? It would take absolute trust of the counselor on Edward's part to jump into the darkness.
Buddy suggested: "Faith is not about understanding. Faith is about who you trust. So here we are, up here in the dark. And all we can do is let go and jump in, or stand here for the rest of our lives. But we are not alone – we are never alone. The One who's up here with us has been through all of this before. That's what Good Friday and Easter is all about…Even when we don't know, even when we're lost, we have each other. Even when we are filled with doubt and we're afraid, we're not alone: our Lord Jesus is up there with us in the darkness saying: 'Let go, step out, jump in. Even when you can't trust yourself, you can trust me!
Of course, Buddy's message had far more than this, but this is the story I wanted to find and I will keep it because it resonates with me.
All My Best!
Don
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