The Sermon Folder by Carroll Makemson
During this pandemic quarantine, we have stripped wallpaper, scraped popcorn ceilings, and painted in preparation for new carpet. A couple of weeks ago, I needed to clean out the closet in the room which has been my “office” since we became empty-nesters. The closet was full of unused gifts, unframed art, seldom worn clothes, craft supplies, and treasures we brought from our parents’ homes.
In the bottom drawer of a little-used file cabinet, I found a well-worn folder of my father’s sermons. The folder is about three inches thick and overflows with handwritten and typed sermon notes dating back to 1957, covering his preaching career through the late 1970s. I remember when we cleaned out my childhood home, no one wanted this folder. After years of storing it, I vowed that the next morning I would send my sister, brother, and daughter an email saying put your dibs on this folder or it heads to the recycle bin.
Then, I made the “mistake” of looking through the sermons. Now, neither you nor I could preach from these outlines, but just as I remembered, his sermons were full of illustrations from history, mythology, poetry, music, life experiences, and current events with abundant Biblical references and stories. We used to call him our “encyclopedic Dad.” Maybe the most intriguing things I found were careful notations on the back of each sermon telling where and when it was preached. Dad, a bi-vocational pastor, served at least seven small, rural churches in the Quincy Baptist Association while teaching high school world history. Our family never moved from the “big city” worshiping together at the early service at our “big church” before Dad and Mom drove the 15-30 miles to preach while we children went to Sunday School. Therefore, I wasn’t present for all of the sermons, but I can hear him now as I study his notes. I was hooked. The email was not sent, and the folder has not been recycled.
About a week after I found the folder and set it aside, my sister in New Jersey and I were discussing Richard Rohr’s “second half of life” Christian maturity philosophy and her recent study of the Apocrypha. She wished that she had talked more with our father about the Bible and theology. I agreed and then told her about finding the folder. We were both in our early 40’s when Dad had a stroke changing him significantly. We were busy working mothers on “cruise control,” not even thinking about that “second half of life.” Those conversations with Dad didn’t happen, and suddenly it was too late.
Probably forty years have passed since he wrote his last sermon. So, what would he preach if he were in the pulpit today? He was seminary educated and definitely not a “hellfire and damnation” preacher even then. I often wonder where he would stand on the issues facing communities of faith today. I know inerrancy and women in ministry were nonissues for him. Still, I want to believe that as he studied, listened, and discerned that he would have evolved in an open-minded, informed, and compassionate way about the issues facing churches now such as systemic racism, gender-inclusive language, human rights, church polity, LGBTQI inclusion, and worship style, among others. May it be so for all of us!
What I do know for sure is that my Dad loved Jesus! And, so do I. If you follow me on social media, you know I often type that being a follower of Jesus defines my worldview. Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father’s Day!