Reverend Raymond Osborne, Pastor

Please Note That Most Messages Follow
The Revised Common Lectionary

A preacher went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule in the churchyard. He called the police. Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the preacher to the health department. They said, since there was no health threat, that he should call the sanitation department.

The sanitation manager said he could not pick up the mule without authorization from the mayor.

Now, the preacher knew the mayor and was not to eager to call him. The mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the preacher called him anyway.

The mayor did not disappoint. He immediately began to rant and rave at the pastor and finally said, "Why did you call me anyway? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"

The preacher paused for a brief prayer and asked the Lord to direct his response. He was led to say, "Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first!"

Ladies and Gentlemen let me clear up one thing right now, preachers bury no one, we preside at a service designed to celebrate life, death, and resurrection. Further more I submit to you that we are living in a time when we are presiding over too many of these services for individuals who seem to die pointless deaths at far too young an age.

Karl Barth once said that the intelligent preacher has a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. As I prepared this message that truth came to life.

“SANTEE, Calif. -- As authorities prepared to arraign school murder suspect Charles Andrew Williams, this community spent Tuesday asking questions no one could answer, searching for consolation and worrying that blood in a high school hallway may stain the town's conscience.

Sheriff's investigators, despite hours of interrogating 15-year-old Williams, were still without a motive for Monday's rampage. It left two people dead, 13 wounded and Williams, a Santana High School freshman, in jail on suicide watch.

Parents and students at Santana High struggled to understand who among them could have prevented the carnage, who stayed silent and why. Even when coaxed by Red Cross counselors, some grief-stricken parents still couldn't bring themselves to talk about what had happened.

Brian Zuckor, 14, and Randy Gordon, 17, were killed. The wounded included 11 other students and two adults - a student teacher and a campus security worker.

Four students remained hospitalized Tuesday in good condition at two San Diego hospitals. Student teacher Tim Estes, who was wounded in the chest, was released.

Williams is to be arraigned today.

Williams' father, Charles Jeffrey Williams, a 41-year-old lab technician at the Naval Medical Center-San Diego, said in a written statement Tuesday that the killing stunned the boy’s family.

"We understand that the general public wants answers to how and why a thing like this could have happened at the hands of what everyone reports to be a well-mannered good kid," the father said. "The family, too, joins the public in this need for answers." The boy's mother, Linda Wells, is divorced from Williams and lives in North Augusta, S.C. She tearfully expressed sorrow for the victims' families after opening her door to a television reporter at her home.

"My heart goes out to them. They've lost their babies, their hopes, their dreams for their futures," Wells told WJBF-TV in Augusta, Ga.” (The Charlotte Observer, Wednesday, March 07, 2001)

Couple that with just a few days later as I sat listening to the news I heard of an apparent "hit list" that was compiled at our own Weddington Middle School and my heart begins to feel like it's missing every other beat and my hands get clammy while a sweat breaks out on my forehead!

Contrary to the belief of my children, who probably think I’m a bit stricter than most Dads, I like to think that I’m really NOT all that different. If I took a poll of the fathers in this sanctuary, I bet most of you can remember your children’s first day at school. I remember both Seth and Paige’s first days very well. They were days that are embedded into my mind after hours of prayer and heart-wrenching tears. The whole thing was very frightening to me. Up until that point Stephanie and I were responsible for the care of my children and while there is always the possibility of someone hurting us, I at least have the confidence that if they are in my presence I might have the opportunity to intervene if I saw that they were about to be hurt.

But to let them get out of the car and go into the school alone, and to entrust them into the care of other people? That was so very hard for me. And if the truth is known, each morning when I drop them off at school my heart still flutters a wee bit. I mean I know that we have good people working in our school system. In this church alone we have Jane, Sandy, Carol, Rebecca, Renee, and Teresa who all work with the school and in whom I have complete confidence. Yet I find not having my children within my reach after reading the newspaper and seeing the news is very frightening to me.

In our text this morning we find Jesus weeping over Jerusalem Why? Why is he weeping over this city? Because it has become a city filled with ungodliness. It is a city that “kills the prophets.” As someone has asked what about a world where children are killing children? What about a world that is so filled with violence that an elderly woman walking down a street in Daytona Beach is murdered for 25 cents? What about a world that is filled with drugs and promiscuity; a world in which children are giving birth to children; a world where the poor starve and the rich get richer; a world that has forgotten who God is or what it means to be in covenant with Him; a world that has taken a sacred book and made it nothing more than a paper weight?

Would Jesus stand and weep over our land? Would he weep over our world? I not only think he would, I think he already is.

Can you not hear both pain and love in his voice as he says, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” What is Jesus saying? Three words, “I love you!”

That is the message our world needs to hear. That message needs to go forth from this pulpit! That message needs to go forth from the depths of our hearts and lives into a world filled with desperation and hopelessness. We need to tell others about Jesus and His love and how God wants ever so much to be reconciled to each one of us and how that comes to each of us as a result of His grace because He loves us!

As people in Santee, California begin to reach out seeking answers to the horrible act of school violence that caused ministers to preside over funerals of those too young to die and who seem to have died pointlessly, they should hear the message that their children are now in the hands of a loving God. Those who were wounded and their families need to hear that God loves them.

It is said that the young man who did the shooting fired at least 30 shots, reloading his gun four times. Beloved, that’s a lot of anger and hate that has built up over God only knows how long. But why? Why all the anger? Why all the hate?

"Witnesses said he was mad at something. We don't know if he was mad at the school, mad at students, made at life, mad at home," Lewis said. (San Diego county Sheriff, Jerry Lewis) "He was an angry young man." (The Charlotte Observer)

On the news it was reported that Williams had been ridiculed and teased by students at the school. I wonder what would have happened if instead of ridiculing the young man, instead of teasing the young man, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if someone had taken the time to tell this young man that God loves Him. I can’t help but wonder if anyone will go to him even after the fact and tell him that even though he has committed this terrible act – Jesus still loves him.

If you hear nothing else I say to you this morning stop whatever you’re doing and hear me – Jesus loves you! What does the Bible say about the love of Jesus?

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)

This is the message for our world today! This is the message for the families in Santee, California. This is the message for the citizens of Wesley Chapel. This is the message for you and I this morning!

Each day I pack my children’s lunch boxes for school. Stephanie taught me how to do something a little special for their lunch. My last act every morning is to take a scrap piece of paper and write these words:

“Dear Seth or Paige:
I love you!
Love, Daddy”

I then place that piece of paper in their lunch packs and that way they know that I love them even though I can’t be with them.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as you sit down to eat after church today, as you sit down with your family in whatever form that may be in, take a napkin, open it up, and imagine these words,

“Dear (insert your name):
I love you!
Love, Jesus”

Now go and share that news with someone else. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Following the prayer:

This morning I am going to do something a bit different which I think has become something that you regularly expect from me. I'm going to ask every child, every youth, and every person who works in any capacity in our school system, employed or volunteer to come to the alter this morning and stand here facing me. Will you do that for me? Just come right now from wherever you are and stand right here in front of me.

Now I'm going to ask those of you who remain in the pews and might want to, will you come and gather around these who have gathered here? Reach out and place a hand on someone and I'm going to lead us in a prayer this morning. A prayer for these young people, these teachers, bus drivers, after school faculty, employees, counselors, and volunteers. I don't know that I've ever served a church which had so many people directly involved with our school system as we do here. We need to pray for these folks.

Let's Pray:

We pray for the Children who sneak Popsicle's before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes," who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move,
but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must,
who we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.

For those we smother and . . . for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

And Lord, we pray for our older children who are dating and going to the bowling alley and skating and whatever else they enjoy - we lift them before you.

For these teachers, counselors, bus drivers, afterschool faculty, other staff and volunteers, for all those who provide care for our children in one way or another, I lift them before you and ask you to give them strength, wisdom, tolerence, and comfort. I pray for their safety too O Lord.

I come to you placing their care into your hands, your nail-scarred hands, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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