A High Honor

This is a transcription of a sermon I gave this (Sunday, April 18, 2010) morning during our first service. I went on to teach from Scripture, the text I had prepared, but The Lord moved on my heart to bring this message.

I had a rare and great opportunity yesterday, to sit by the bedside of a dying warrior. A man of our community, suffering in his final illness. 

His wife called me. his pastor's mother passed, and he couldn't be with him.  And we need to pray for that pastor too, that his hear be comforted in the loss of his mom..

So this lady, and I know these people, asked me to come. She said "My husband is dying, would you come and be with him, and pray with him. So I went and sat with him in the nursing home where he is. 

They woke him up, and told min that he had a visitor.  "Oh, Reverend." He said. He always calls me that. I, I'm not too thrilled about that term, because there is none reverend but God, you know, but if that's what people choose to call me, i understand their meaning of it, so I accept it. In the world's eyes, I am a "Reverend",, You know, a minister.

So, I sat there with that man, and he went immediately back to sleep. He's under pretty heavy drugs. Pain medication, and whatnot. So I just sat there with him for a while. and I watched hi, I prayed for him, and I thought about him. There's a man who has served his country in many, many, many capacities. He's a World War two veteran. He served admirably. A decorated war hero.Served in France and Italy  Several places like that, in the 442nd Division, and right in the thick of the fighting. And survived. 

He worked on the railroad before he went overseas, and he came back and he worked on the railroad again until he retired.  And he loved The Lord. A devout Christian all his life.. 

And I thought What an honor! What an absolute deep, deep, personal honor it was to be called to sit by the bedside of that man whom I admire so. To be able to be of comfort. Not only to a hero of America,  and a hero in God's eyes, but what an honor to be called to sit by the bedside, and pray, and read Psalms and comforting scriptures to one of God's children.

And it made my life and my ministry all seem somehow worthwhile, that I was able to be with this guy. A great war hero.

Dan Takanaka. A great war hero. Served honorably in World War Two. Came out of the Internment camp, and served his country. And never thought a thing about it. At least never out loud, never publicly, he never condemned The United States for putting his people in internment camps. He saw that this was what was happening, so he accepted it, and he prayed, and God sent him the answer.

He served his nation in time of war, and in time of peace. God gave him the answer. 

And it does not matter, that this is a man of Oriental heritage. It doesn't matter any more than if he was a man of German heritage, or English heritage, or Swedish heritage, or Finish heritage, or anything like that. he was, He is, an American. A man of whom we need to be proud, and honor greatly. 

And when I spoke to Mildred, his wife, afterward, she asked me to be a pallbearer at his funeral, and what greater honor could that be?  I'm not going to speak at his funeral, that's his pastor's place, because Dan's one of his.

I just wanted to share a little bit about that, and it's been on my heart since it happened. And I just wanted to share a little bit about who I am, and how I feel and what I feel, and what I believe, and how deeply I feel for the warriors of our nation, and how deeply I feel for each and every one of you.

And it doesn't matter whether you're a member of another congregation, or whether you're a member of this congregation, I know that you're God's children. You've accepted Jesus Christ, you're God's children, and I love you. And I feel just as deep an honor standing before you today, as I felt sitting in the presence of Dan Yesterday morning.  And that's my message today.

Agape
Lee