NINETY-EIGHT AND STILL GROWING
by Dr. Wayne Evans

                          
     This week I had the privilege of conducting the funerals of the two oldest people I have ever performed.  I have done hundreds of funerals, but both of these gentlemen were each almost 100 years old.  James W. Hammett was 99 in April died May 16 and Fletcher Baker would have been 99 in August of this year. He died May 22. 

     Both were long time members of this congregation, and both were faithful in their attendance in worship through January of last year.  They didn’t just show up  whenever they felt like it. Nor do I mean to say neither ever missed a  Sunday.  But I will say that they were here far more than most people half their age.

     Did they ever come when they didn’t feel well?  Neither ever complained about the aches and pains that inevitably come with old age, but they kept coming to church.  Why?   Long before they reached retirement age they had made intentional decisions to attend worship faithfully.  It became a way of life for them.  It was as natural as shaving or reading the newspaper. They both knew that worship and Sunday School were what Christians do. They came because they needed it in order to be faithful disciples.

     They  both heard far more sermons than I will ever preach. I don’t think they came because they needed to hear me. They came because they needed to express their faith.  Mr. Hammett was so hard of hearing that I doubt he ever heard more than ever fifth word I spoke.  Yet he kept coming because he knew he needed to be in the presence of other Christian believers. 

     Mr. Baker kept coming to worship until he moved to the nursing home last year. If they couldn’t be here, they sent a check to the church or a family member brought it for them.  This was a sign of their partnership with God. 

     Both men came from very humble beginnings. They grew up in rural Lincoln Parish with no running water, no electricity, no indoor bathroom, not even screens on the windows.  And yet through hard work and the support of their wives they were successful in their professions.  Both raised children who have become active members of churches in their communities.  Neither man ever went overseas as a missionary, yet through their faithful witness they influenced others to choose to follow Christ in service through the church of Jesus Christ. 

     Not many of us will live to see 98 or 99, but we can be sure to live each day and make it count for Christ and his kingdom. In fact, since most of us won’t live that long, maybe we should ask ourselves, “If I knew this were my last Sunday I was able to be in church, how would I spend it?”

     James Hammett and Fletcher Baker answered that question. They were in church. Do you want a vital relationship with Jesus Christ like they had?  Then show up where they did: in worship and Sunday school.  It made a difference for them. In can make a difference for you and me.

Wayne Evans is pastor of Ruston’s Grace United Methodist Church . An archive of his articles is to be found at www.graceruston.org. Go to the Pastor’s link.