Darkness Over All the Land

Darkness Over all the Land A Sermon on Matthew 27:45, by Dwight A. Moody Providence Baptist Church, Hendersonville NC I wrestled all week with my chosen preaching theme: how can the baptism of the Holy Spirit equip us to exercise influence and power for the common good? We need this gospel teaching because the world is wracked with people trashing the world with their selfish pursuit of money, sex, and power. We are suffering because of it; but I am suffering because of something else. This something else has burdened my soul all week. It has driven me to preach what is on my heart and in my mind. So today, I abandon my text on the temptations of our Lord Jesus Christ, and take another story, at the other end of his career. He was, we think, yet 33 years old, and he died, and this is what the Bible says, “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land” (Matthew 27:45). I. Some of you read my Meetinghouse newsletter, and some of you read my Facebook feed. You know of the tragedy that struck the family of my young friend, Rev. Tanner White, in Tampa, Florida. This past Monday afternoon, he died. Just two days earlier, Tanner White had been ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church. It was a celebratory event, and he and others posted summaries and images from that day. Then on Sunday, he led the morning worship at his church, a congregation of less than one hundred people.  He welcomed his people and said, “It is a good day to be here. Any day is a good day to be alive and to be in worship.” Then, then presented Tanner with a ministerial robe and stole. She prayed, “Give us patience, wisdom, and courage as we care for one another.” Then he prayed, “Almighty God you are good to save, and you are the one who helps us all along the way. For this journey, … we give you thanks.  … help us to live into the vision you have given us for this place, a settlement where the hungry are fed, the poor find the richness of your love… lives are transformed for the transformation of the world. Let it begin here. In Christ name we pray.” They sang the hymn, “Praise to the Lord the Almighty, the king of creation.” Then they sang the old gospel hymn, “God will take care of you.” Then the contemporary worship song, “All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good.  I will sing of the goodness of God. I will sing of the goodness of God.” He turned and watched his daughter bring the offering place down the aisle; then he knelt with his daughter at the altar and prayed. He then introduced his friend and fellow minister to preach, Rev. Cole Altizer, pastor of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Charlotte NC. That was last Sunday. On Monday, Tanner White died, victim of an accident at his home. The world is full of tragedy. The nightly news chronicles these. Parents and children all over the world suffer in these ways. Thousands of children in Gaza have lost their fathers since the last Fathers Day. Maybe you have lost yours. I honor my father today. George Thomas Moody. 1923 to 2013.  A good, hardworking, intelligent, education, spiritual, and kind man. I loved him. Dearly. I hope you feel that way about your father. Give thanks today, if you had a happy, hardworking, and kind father.  Pledge yourself to be just that kind of father all the days of your life. You never know when your days will be over. II Back in 2008, I launched the Academy of Preachers. For the next ten, years, I was privileged to meeting hundreds of young preachers: evangelical, orthodox, protestant, pentecostal, and catholic. It was a fabulous experience. It was full of the Holy spirit and also with a happy spirit. We hosted festivals of preaching, From Harvard Divinity School in Boston, to Abilene Christian University in Abilene Texas. As I was getting started, I received a phone call. “My name is tanner White. I have just read about your Academy. I must be involved. Tell me how.” He was in Florida, a new graduate of the University of Tampa. He had won the academic prize for outstanding student in Communication Studies. He was wrestling with his sense of vocation. He was struggling with a call to gospel work. Our Academy of Preachers was just what he needed. Our mission was and is to identify, network, support and inspire young people in the call to gospel preaching. He joined up. I invited him to join the Leadership Team. He attended our first preaching camp. My associate called me this week when he heard the news and said, I remember the title of his first sermon: “God, the Cosmic Surfer.” Tanner was bright, talented, joyful, winsome, and dedicated. He was a bright light in the world, in the church, in the Academy of Preachers. Later, he married, and continued to shine the bring light of hope and joy everywhere. Last Saturday, he was ordained. At the age of 36.  Sunday he led his worship service. Monday he died. II What to say when tragedy strikes? Some things are theological wrong: such as “God knows best.” Or “God never sends more than we can bear.” Or “This is part of God’s perfect plan.”   Some things are emotionally wrong, even if they are true. Such as “Something good can happen.” Or “Time will heal this wound.” And certainly, “Everything will be all right.”   You want to be the voice of the holy spirit? Try saying “I care about you.” Or “Let’s go get coffee.” Or “Here is a Panera gift card.” Or “I am coming over with a bucket of chicken.”   Or just say nothing. Just be. There.   What we know. Life is tough. Random things happen. We make unwise decisions.  Other people make bad decisions.  An ugly part of me rises up to sabbatical my best intentions. Often, there is no explanation, no reason, no purpose. Just sadness and tragedy and darkness.   “Darkness fell over all the land,” the bible says about the death of Jesus. And it can be said of so many life episodes: failure, grief, disappointment, illness, disability, incarceration, and the breakdown of once-precious relationships. There is so much that can trigger the darkness of the land, darkness of the soul, darkness of the day.   Even in these days of darkness, we remember the Lord Jesus Christ.   We gather today to celebrate Jesus and remember Jesus and pray the spirit of Jesus fills each of us. But who knows what will happen this week.  I kissed my wife goodbye this morning at 5 am. She was headed out to our home in Georgia. I will be headed there in two weeks. We are working to put our house on the market to move up here. God help us. Pray for us. Pray for one another. Pray for yourself. Pray always.   III.   The aftermath of Tanner White’s death has been felt in his family, throughout his spiritual family, and even around the country among those of the Academy of Preachers who knew and loved Tanner.   I posted on my Facebook page on Wednesday the news of his death. These are the messages that people posted: “I had not heard this.  How tragic.  Tanner was an intern at Journey when I started there and I so appreciated his energy and insight.  Will be praying for his family and loved ones.” (Kentucky) “This is heartbreaking. All of those young people from those early days hold a spot in my heart. but Tanner especially was such a bright light.” (Kentucky)   “Oh my Goodness! Nooo- that is the most tragic and terrible thing. I’ve heard that breaks my heart. He was so special… I remember getting to sketch him he had his, it was like a priest collar on at one of the Academy of Preachers festivals in Atlanta I believe…”   “I remember him well! Such a gifted preacher with a loving soul. I pray for peace and strength for his family, friends, and loved ones.” (Illinois)   “One the most authentic human beings I have ever met in my life” (Texas)   “This news is heartbreaking. I was in that first class with Tanner. He was an immediate presence of warmth. It was evident he took his call to ministry to heart, and he was intentional about authentically connecting with each person he encountered. The years may have separated us, but he left an indelible mark.” (Kentucky)   “The Academy of Preachers mourns the sudden death of one of our charter members and alumni, the Reverend Tanner White (AoP’10). He was a faithful part of our organization and dedicated himself to the preaching of the Gospel.  Not only that, but he was a loving and welcoming person who sought to see the best in everyone.  And he was indiscriminate with his kindness and affection.” (Georgia)   “Tanner was such a gift to everyone who crossed paths with him and to the denomination. I am beside myself with grief.” (Tennessee)   III.   Can I conclude this extemporaneous sermon with three simple appeals? First, let us pray for God to raise up another to replace this precious soul that has been lost to the cause of Christ. We need another person full of the Holy Spirit, bright with a smile, agile of mind, in love with life, and winsome in every way. We need another Tanner White, and another, and another.   Second, let us remember how fragile and fraught with danger is this thing called life. When I was 19 years old and finishing my first year of college, my uncle died in a car accident. He was a Baptist minister, and I inherited all of his library. You know of such episodes as well: people planning for a long life suddenly snatched from us. Nothing is certain. Do not be surprised. Get your house in order. Call out to God and make things right with God. “It is appointed unto each of us once to die, and after that the judgment of God.”   Finally, nurture your soul with things that matter: faith, hope, and love; friends and family; grace and peace; the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the Resurrection of Jesus. Shape your life not by urgent things but by important things: making and keeping promises, caring for the least of these, living with both compassion and courage; and this, one of the first verses of Scripture I learned as a child: “Be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ as forgiven you.”   You live like this, and you will be ready to meet your savior any day, any time, any year. God bless you all. God bless the family of Tanner White.