After the death of his wife, C.S. The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, The use of Gods will or God has chosen to take whatever the phrase has always made me uncomfortable. Among the healing flood of letters that followed his death was one carrying this wonderful quote from the end of Hemingways A Farewell to Arms: The world breaks everyone, then some become strong at the broken places.. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. He was ordained in the Presbyterian church and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. Contributions to support this project can always be made through PayPal (david@davidcoffin.com). She chattered all the way; And I wept and I wept. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness. We all do what we know how to do, maybe. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. I walked a mile with Sorrow And neer a word said she; But the things I learned from her But oh, the things I learned from her When sorrow walked with me. Q: Many of us say, "Well, you know, I've got to work hard to support my family, I don't have a lot of time," or "I don't want to seem radical," or "I don't want to cause my neighbors to suspect I'm not fully patriotic." Theres something in the flight That clarifies the sight And decks the rays. They said it was god's will, that she is in heaven now and they moved on without the tearjerking remorse many who call them true believers in a faith feel. what do you say? This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. I read through this with utter esteem for the sentiments therein and Will is right to say that those who speak in response to a tragedy like this they could learn much from this eulogy, which said it all, so very very well. By a departing light When she saw me, she shook her head, then headed for the kitchen, saying sadly over her shoulder, "I just don't understand the will of God." And round that early-laurelled head 25 RN: Why do you think most of the anti-war groups stopped their marches in 2004 and became quiescent compared to 2003? I sought the Lord, and he heard me, And silence sounds no worse than cheers 15 When she saw me, she shook her head, then headed for the kitchen, saying sadly over her shoulder, I just dont understand the will of God. Instantly I was up and in hot pursuit, swarming all over her. I swear to you, I wouldnt be standing here were I not upheld. This is the second year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. SERMON: Alex's Death, by William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Posted on October 6, 2013. Nationalism at the expense of another nation, is just as wicked as racism at the expense of another race. So set, before its echoes fade, Download Sermon Scripture List(84 kb - PDF). But the point is this. #Power Of Love #Truth #Love. #Hope #Passion. And neer a word said she; Lewis wrote, They say the coward dies many times; so does the beloved. Famously, at the height of that conflict . William Crawley | 12:42 UK time, Friday, 27 July 2007. Individual prayers and sermons can be purchased by clicking the cart icon next to each prayer or sermon title. We have to be forced down. In his younger days he was an athlete, a talented pianist, a CIA officer, and later chaplain of Yale University, where the influence of H. Richard Niebuhr's social philosophy led him to . The night after Alex died I was sitting in the living room of my sisters house outside of Boston, when the front door opened and in came a nice-looking, middle-aged woman, carrying about eighteen quiches. In my email signature, I have this quote by him: The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.. So I shall so let us all seek consolation in that love which never dies, and find peace in the dazzling grace that always is. Rev. I know that. One of the most powerful statements in this sermon was the following: The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your mind's I was moved to tears, to be perfectly honest. This brings up additional illogic in religion. William Sloane Coffin Jr., was arrested several times during the civil rights movement. Then he moves on to the next town. Seems a good deal for him - get all the praise when things go our way but none of the blame when things go wrong due to no fault of our own. To be one with the dull, indiscriminate dust. After the tsunami, some Moslem clerics said it was god's punishment for their sins. He was 81. . William Sloane Coffin, a United Church of Christ Minister known globally for his peace and justice advocacy, died April 12, 2006, at his home in rural Strafford, Vt. But just one thing before you read it Heres one of my favorite Coffin-isms, from an interview with Bill Moyers when Coffin was 80: Chirping optimism is terrible. Why aren't people in the streets today the way they were in the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement? Rev. What do you think it is? Different cultures have different views of death. There are many kinds of silence, and one of them is a humbled, respectful, listening silence. I read someone say recently that this is only a training ground for eternity. In other word, good patriots are not nationalists. But like God herself, Scripture is not around for anyone's protection, just for everyone's unending support. #Ignorance #Self #Violence. But the point is this. The reality of grief is the absence of God My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your minds a blank, that there is no joy the world can give like that it takes away. (Lord Byron). But when children die, they take away the future as well. As almost all of you know, a week ago last Monday night, driving in a terrible storm, my son Alexander who to his friends was a real day-brightener, and to his family fair as a star when only one is shining in the sky my twenty-four-year-old Alexander, who enjoyed beating his old man at every game and in every race, beat his father to the grave. I also know this day-brightener of a son wouldnt wish to be held close by grief (nor, for that matter, would any but the meanest of our beloved departed) and that, interestingly enough, when I mourn Alex least I see him best. COFFIN: No. The reality of grief is the absence of God My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your minds a blank, that there is no joy the world can give like that it takes away. (Lord Byron). Robert Browning Hamilton. And the wise mans gone back. Of lads that wore their honours out, Crowned with lilies and Laurel they go; but I am not resigned. But if anyone dare speak in response to this tragic accident, they could learn much from William Sloane Coffin, the American justice activist who died last year, about what not to say to someone whose heart is breaking. I walked a mile with Sorrow And neer a word said she; But the things I learned from her But oh, the things I learned from her When sorrow walked with me. Q: What's the essential connection for you between religious faith and justice? This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. William Sloane Coffin's Eulogy for Alex Ten days after his son, Alex, was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered this sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. Your email address will not be published. That is what makes the valley of the shadow of death seem so incredibly dark and unending. That clarifies the sight You gave me what God gives all of us minimum protection, maximum support. The question seems more pointed given the context -- a group of devout believers making a religious pilgrimage -- but the same question is struggled over every day by people of faith who experience suffering or have to watch a loved one suffer. How does a true Christian operate in a pluralistic world? I wrote the sermon. Reprinted with permission of theWilliam Sloane Coffin Sermon Archive Project. My own broken heart is mending, and largely thanks to so many of you, my dear parishioners; for if in the last week I have relearned one lesson, it is that love not only begets love, it transmits strength. William Sloane Coffin. I know how lucky I am! c a m p u s l i f e ; m e s s a g e ashington, Jan. 5--Five men, including Dr. Benjamin Spock, the author and pediatrician, and the Rev. Read more. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. But I also, couldnt think of anything else for the moment, but about Alex, and his death. William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 - April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. The Blessing of Grace by The Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (born 1924) was a Yale University chaplain who spoke out against the Vietnam War and was indicted as a criminal by the United States government for conspiring to aid young men to avoid the military draft.. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born to considerable wealth and social position on June 1, 1924, in New York City. William Sloane Coffin. Lewis wrote, They say the coward dies many times; so does the beloved. A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, The woman most in need of liberation is the woman in every man and the man in every woman. In a prideful way it would be easier to walk the valley alone, nobly, head high, instead of as we must marching as the latest recruit in the worlds army of the bereaved. I know. I was reminded today of this beautiful eulogy by the late William Sloane Coffin for his 24-year-old son, Alex, and I wanted to share it with you. Something I wrestle with is the balance between pastoral presence and prophetic witness as a minister. William Sloane Coffin also wrote about this in his eulogy for his son, Alex, who was killed in a car accident at age 24. Unfortunately he left the building April 12th, 2006. MOYERS: Youre not supposed to outlive your children, are you? God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. So, I wrote the sermon about it. And of course I know, even when pain is deep, that God is good. Then a miracle working preacher comes to town promising at midnight, all the dead will rise from boot hill and come back to life. I know how lucky I am! A powerful eulogy. 18 Sourced Quotes. ABERNETHY: As he conducts what he calls his lover's quarrel with his country, Coffin acknowledges that he has to be careful not to become self-righteous himself -- perhaps especially when he is honored, as he is often. And finally I know that when Alex beat me to the grave, the finish line was not Boston Harbor in the middle of the night. This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. What do you say to those people? And I played all the hymns. For some reason, nothing so infuriates me as the incapacity of seemingly intelligent people to get it through their heads that God doesnt go around this world with his fingers on triggers, his fists around knives, his hands on steering wheels. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In the fascinating documentary movie Mondo Cane' which was released in 1962, among the strange and seemingly depraved (to Western eyes) behavior is one segment about old people in China who wait around in the upper floor of a house to die while their families are downstairs at a party celebrating their deaths. In other words, in my intense grief I felt some of my fellow reverends not many, and none of you, thank God were using comforting words of Scripture for self-protection, to pretty up a situation whose bleakness they simply couldn't face. After earth has stopped the ears: Now you will not swell the rout The Theology of William Sloane Coffin Thursday, February 15, 2007 Moral lassitude Interview with Religion & Ethics Newsweekly August 27, 2004 Q: You have, in the course of your life, participated in a good many great causes and have done so with a lot of passion. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. by Rev. Rev. 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william sloane coffin eulogy for alex