Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Welcome to a beautiful, almost spring like day.
What a contrast from just a few days ago, huh?
We’ve come here to lay to rest the earthly remains of our brother, Juddie Kolb McLeod, Jr.
I didn’t know his name was Juddie until he got sick.
I’d always known him as Jake and Margaret as Margie.
But if you want to get in to visit at the hospital, you’d better have the right name.
When I first became the pastor of First Baptist, Jake and Margie could attend.
They sat on my right as I stood in the pulpit.
I memorized their names by associating their hair color with the clouds.
Their hair was white like a cloud - their name was McLeod.
Unfortunately, sometimes my mind wanted to play a trick on me and call them Whitehead.
Mercifully, I never said it out loud - I’d struggle until their name came up.
Over time Jake and Margie became too feeble to come to services.
George Sheffield and I would visit with them.
George would play his guitar and sing.
I would chat with them and share a verse or so from the Bible.
On occasion Margie would send us home with some fig preserves.
Old fashioned style - whole figs - not the current rage of cut up and mixed with something.
No, they were like my great grandmother made years ago.
Tasting those with a buttered home made biscuit was like stepping in a time machine.
Now here is where I want to deviate from the script just a little bit.
One of the hazards of my vocation is I only get to see what people want me to see in their lives.
When the preacher is around, dirty jokes stop.
Language becomes pristine and devoid of cursing.
Jesus is praised often way to many times.
Not saying that Jake and Margie did that - just giving you insight into how I think.
One of the things I have a fear of is preaching someone’s funeral and having everyone listening wondering who I’m talking about.
That the person I knew and the person you knew were obviously two different people.
So saying that, I’m going to dive into the deep end of the pool and tell you something I did see in Jake.
He had a sharp tongue and he wasn’t afraid to use it.
I saw it first hand several times.
I suspect some of you saw it too.
And maybe it was directed at you - and I’m certain it didn’t give you the warm fuzzies.
Now the easy thing for me to do is ignore that and say how much Jake loved Jesus.
And I believe he did.
And I could talk about Jesus’ forgiveness.
But I worry about what that says to you about Jesus.
I’m afraid my brother pastors and I have done that too many times.
And it’s left a bad taste in people’s mouths.
Let is suffice to say that I recognize that Jake was not a perfect man in any sense of the word.
I’m not here today to try to convince you of that or to say that Jesus ignored his imperfections
God willing, I want us to see a gracious God who loved a man who was simply living the best he knew how.
Let’s pray:
Father, our hearts are heavy for a multitude of reasons.
A loving wife has lost her husband of 67 years.
A daughter has lost her dad that she had grown to love.
Family lost a grand dad.
A church lost a member and a friend.
As much as we know death is not the end of life,
We still ache from the parting.
So comfort us Lord through your Holy Spirit.
Give us unexplained peace and forgiveness.
Give us memories of goodness and forgetfulness of hardship.
Let us remember enough turbulence to grow and enough happiness to rejoice.
You know what we need better than we do,
So Lord, do what is best.
Help my feeble words convey your glory as adequately as possible.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hear the word of the Lord from John 1:9-14
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Before we talk about Jake, let me say two things about this passage of scripture.
First, Jesus is the light of the world.
It’s an excellent metaphor - where there is light, nothing can be hidden.
Second, all who trust in Jesus have a right to become children of God, not because they chose God
But because God chose them.
Both of those things are very important to understand.
Juddie Kolb McLeod, Jr was born on Thursday, November 12, 1932 in the big city of Grove Hill, Alabama.
It sounds like Grove Hill is a smaller version of Gray.
2020 population of 1800 - about half the size of Gray.
It’s the county seat of Clarke County and the county website says its in the heart of Alabama’s timberland.
Sounds like nothing much has changed there.
Jake’s dad worked in the logging industry.
My interpretation of what I heard is he probably ran a skidder or something similar.
Jake’s mom was a homemaker.
In High School Jake was in the marching band.
Don’t forget he was a young man - I suspect the only one of us who ever saw Jake young is Margie.
He was no different than we were when he was young.
Full of vim and vinegar - ready to take on the world.
And he did when he joined the Army.
He served 4 years.
According to Margaret, he was scheduled to ship out when I suspect it was the Korean Conflict ended.
He came home and married.
I believe 2 sons and Kay were born before the marriage ended.
A lot of hurt came from that - hurt always comes from a divorce.
It’s not how God intended things to work.
But, we choose our road.
One day Margie was shopping with her mom for shoes.
They went to a general mercantile store called Bedsole’s and Jake was a manager there.
He was obviously smitten as he did nothing but stare.
So much so that Margie’s mom noticed and commented on it as they left.
A few years later Jake was working for Monsanto making cord for automobile tires.
A new employee worked in the area next to his.
This new employee had to go to the restroom and a co-worker took her on a short cut through Jake’s area.
He saw the new employee and fell crazy in love with her.
It was the same girl from the shoe store.
I asked Ms. Margie what one thing she wanted people to remember about Jake and she said, “That he loved me dearly.”
And he did - they dated and married and stayed married for 67 years.
Their marriage was simple event as many marriages were in those days.
They got up early one morning.
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