The Cemetery Sermon - A Short Story

The venerable minister stood pale and fragile before gathering that had come to pay their respects to their departed friend and loved one. Near a tall, stately evergreen in the center of the cemetery, the physical form of Dr. Solomon Wreath lay in the bronze casket, which had a faint shimmer to it on that cold, wet, overcast October day. But  Rev. Daniels, alone, out of all the living who were there, was able to see and hear all who were gathered in that place. For many evil spirits stood in the back of the congregation, angrily cursing the minister, and God.

But stretching his eyes past that wicked crowd, Daniels could see another assembly at the outskirt of the cemetery. There, shining with a light so vibrant that it was life itself, stood the smiling, risen Lord with a holy band of angels. They played warmly and with great skill on flutes and stringed instruments. And it was this auspicious sight that gave strength to the old minister as he stood to speak over the din of hell, which was audible only to him.

The minister's sermon began with Psalm 88:3, "For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave". Having read the verse, Pastor Danielson spoke saying "Though you stand in this graveyard today, none of you here draw near to the grave as our dear friend, Solomon, did in his final hours. 

I sat and prayed with him as sickness and death crept over his face like a dark cloud. And yet, there was also a peace about him which transcends understanding. We talked, and sang a hymn together. And then, looking past me, he smiled and said in that weak yet stirring voice 'It is not the grave that I am approaching. I draw near to the Lord!' And with those words he departed".

The congregation listened intently to Daniels as he continued. "So now here is another thought. Do we live as our friend died? Are we who survive him also drawing near to the Lord who died for us, and conquered death and the grave? Are we drawing near to Him truly; not merely in the flesh, attending church, and going through the motions, but in spirit - in the Spirit? Is His life overtaking ours as the apostle said 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.'"? (Galatians 2:20).

For half an hour or so the minister went on; giving examples from the life of his departed friend - examples of Christ living through him.    

A devoted husband and father, he had raised three daughters and two sons. He and his wife had also grieved terribly when another son had died at birth.     

As a surgeon, he had served in field hospitals during the American Civil War. He had seen a lot of suffering and death. But he had also seen some healing, and a few lives saved. Once, in the course of his career, he had even witnessed a miracle when a dead woman was prayed over, and she was raised to life again!

He was also an avid musician. And whether he was playing the mandolin, or the fiddle, or the piano; he could always move a listening audience to dancing, or to tears. And he loved to praise the heavenly Father with song. 

After recalling these things, Rev. Daniels spoke of the resurrection that is to come. He read from the Scriptures where Jesus said "...the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live... Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." (John 5:24-30).

"Let us, then, trust in Him and follow Him." said Daniels, as he concluded his sermon. And after he spoke these words, he noticed that his physical body had just slumped down, and he remained standing. And he looked down in shock at his own form. He looked up and saw the astonished faces of the congregation. Those nearest him ran up and knelt down beside the minister's body, apparently unaware of his presence standing over it. And he saw the hellish crowd in the back, still sneering and cursing vehemently. 

He felt different too. He felt perhaps fifty years younger; like one in the prime of life, and even better. And his spirit was filled with inexpressible gladness and peace. The heavy chains of sin and mortality that are in Adam, were loosed and gone with his mortal body. 

And then he stepped forward and walked past the congregation, past the crowd of devils, past all the sullen gravestones; to the place where the Lord and His angels were gathered. And he found that his friend, Dr. Solomon Wreath, was with them. And he, too, appeared a new man altogether. 

Looking around, Daniels saw that the cemetery was gone. The whole scene was completely changed. He was no longer upon the earth, but stood in wonder of the beauty and majesty of heaven. He saw the vibrant light of God, illuminating a glorious landscape of brilliant colors; colors unknown to the people of the earth! He saw the river of life, and the tree of life. He saw the Temple of God. And he heard beautiful, flowing music; and angelic voices singing:

 "Holy, holy, holy is He who sits on the throne,

And the Lamb who was slain and lives again!"

And so Daniels was greeted warmly into eternal life.

The End

The Bird's Song - A Tale of Trees and Birds

Once, there was a great forest of oaks and ash trees, rosewoods, maple trees and perhaps even a sycamore or two. This forest was situated at the base, and all up one side of a great Mountain called Temporal  And in this forest, there was an old, respectable looking tree named Rykard. And oh, he was a smart one, he was. As he stood with his root going down deep into the earth, he examined everything around him. He was a teacher of the laws of nature, as he could observe them.

Every year, he watched as he and his fellow trees flourished in the spring. Oh how beautiful the forest was in the spring; as the radiant sunlight seeped through the leaves and tumbled in between them to shine on all the flowers and shrubbery. Rabbits, squirrels, and other wildlife also went to and fro about the forest floor. And many a robin, and many a lark, and cardinal, and sparrow made sweet songs in the air, which was filled also with the sweet smell of living trees, and plants, and flowers blown in the breeze

But Rykard became indignant toward the song that some of the birds were singing. As late summer waned into early autumn, they were singing about another side of the Mountain. And as the story in the song told, that other side was inhabited by trees called Evergreens. And the Evergreens on the other side of the Mountain called their home Eternal  instead of Temporal.

"Quiet now!" Rykard said to the birds, as the tweeted around his branches. And he shook his leaves at them as they sang. "There is no other side of the Mountain! And even if there were, I know that there can be no such things as these 'Evergreens' as you call them. Even now you can see that our leaves are turning yellow and red. Soon they will be brown, and fallen off. This is how things work. No tree stays green all the time."

And he seemed to himself to be right. After all; every winter, the stern, rocky side of Mount Temporal showed itself hard and cold through the barren branches of the trees, their once-vibrant lives held in gloomy suspension. And Rykard insisted that if the forest began to believe in Evergreens, they would stop producing acorns and soon the whole forest would fade into oblivion.

As time passed, however, a rottenness ate away at Rykard, and soon he no longer thrived any time of the year. And the planter of the forest came to cut him down.

But Rykard's speech against the birds germinated in the minds of younger trees. And they remembered his call to silence them for the sake of the forest. The new generation of trees became even more inflamed against the birds and their song. They made a law that they would not allow the birds to nest in their branches anymore. And if any flew near them and in among their boughs, they would shake them out.

As time went on, the birds found themselves welcome with fewer and fewer trees in the forest. And eventually, some of the trees began to whack at the birds with their branches, and kill them. And so they did just as some ancient generations of trees, long since fallen and rotted away, had done; long before Rykard was ever a seedling germinating in the earth. 

Some owls and eagle called out to the forest planter concerning this matter. And he knew already about it, as he walked in the forest and knew its history from the time he planted it. And when it was high time, and summer was passed, he sent woodsmen in to up-root, haul away, and burn every tree that had bird's blood on it's branches. Then he brought small Evergreens from the other side of the Mountain and planted them to replace those that had been destroyed. And from that time, all the Mountain and surrounding land was called by the name Eternal.

The End.

Some Helpful Notes

1. The forest planter represents Jesus. Yes, I did make up the title "forest planter". I don't know if anyone has ever had such a title.

2. The birds represent those who present the gospel message.

3. The trees represent those who hear the gospel message, whether they receive it or reject it.

4. The reference to some of the trees falling and rotting away, or rotting and then falling, implies Divine judgement.