Embed. I know all the right biblical passages, including Blessed are those who mourn, and my faith is no house of rest, came from fellow reverends, a few of whom proved they knew their cards; these passages are true, I know. When she saw me, she shook her head, then headed for the kitchen, saying sadly over her shoulder, I just dont understand the will of God. Instantly I was up and in hot pursuit, swarming all over her. After the death of his wife, C.S. Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death, Joan Halifax, Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs and Communicatoins of the Dying, How Can I Help? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. William Sloane Coffin. So why the grief, self pity? But the things I learned from her A Eulogy for Alex Editor's note: Ten days after his son, Alex, drove off a bridge and was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered the following sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. In his younger days he was an athlete, a talented pianist, a CIA officer, and later chaplain of Yale University, where the influence of H. Richard Niebuhr's social philosophy led him to . William Sloane Coffin. These are all end of sermon prayers from the Sunday sermon delivered at Riverside Church. As the . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Yes, but at least, My God, my God; and the psalm only begins that way, it doesnt end that way. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Houseman, To an Athlete Dying Young. And I wept and I wept. As the grief that once seemed unbearable begins to turn now to bearable sorrow, the truths in the right biblical passages are beginning, once again, to take hold: Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall strengthen thee; Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning; Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling; In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world; The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.. Required fields are marked *. You blew it. The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is It is the will of God. Never do we know enough to say that. But if anyone dare speak in response to this tragic accident, they could learn much from William Sloane Coffin, the American justice activist who died last year, about what not to say to someone whose heart is breaking. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. Coffin on defense issues from the Center for Defense Information; Read Coffin's eulogy for his son Alex; Relive the past with Rev. William Sloane Coffin gave what would be his final sermon at Chautauqua. For all she had to say. If a week ago last Monday, a lamp went out, it was because, for him at least, the Dawn had come. But when children die, they take away the future as well. One of the most powerful statements in this sermon was the following: The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your mind's Rev. They are gone. My own consolation lies in knowing that it was not the will of God that Alex die; that when the waves closed over the sinking car, Gods heart was the first of all our hearts to break. He became famous while at Yale in the 1960s for his opposition to the Vietnam War. I feel scorched by how much he insists on truthfulness in grief. This is the ninth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. But I also, couldnt think of anything else for the moment, but about Alex, and his death. God does not spill milk. But its a fact: few of us are naturally profound. Another consolation, of course, will be the learning which better be good, given the price. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Well compared to heaven isn't all of life suffering? This website is the home of the William Sloane Coffin Sermon Archive Project. Which is not to say that there are no nature-caused deaths I can think of many right here in this parish in the five years I've been here deaths that are untimely and slow and pain-ridden, which for that reason raise unanswerable questions, and even the specter of a Cosmic Sadist yes, even an Eternal Vivisector. When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. You can stay up to date with Will & Testament via these feeds. Robert Browning Hamilton. You blew it." Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind; Why are they unhappy if they think he is in paradise with 72 virgins or are they just feeling sorry for themselves? My own consolation lies in knowing that it was not the will of God that Alex die; that when the waves closed over the sinking car, Gods heart was the first of all our hearts to break. Rev. Q: What's the essential connection for you between religious faith and justice? Q: What should we be mindful of when we make defense policy? Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. And of course I know, even when pain is deep, that God is good. The Rev. The Rev William Sloane Coffin A radical preacher and antiwar activist, he took on the American establishment Christopher Reed Thu 13 Apr 2006 19.04 EDT The upbringing of William Sloane. I know how lucky I am! Just click the play button. The reality of grief is the absence of God My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your minds a blank, that there is no joy the world can give like that it takes away. (Lord Byron). But I'm an atheist. Ten days after his son, Alex, was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered this sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. After the death of Coffin's father in 1933, the family moved to Carmel, California, where William attended public school until the ninth grade, when he attended Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. I know all the right biblical passages, including Blessed are those who mourn, and my faith is no house of rest, came from fellow reverends, a few of whom proved they knew their cards; these passages are true, I know. In a prideful way it would be easier to walk the valley alone, nobly, head high, instead of as we must marching as the latest recruit in the worlds army of the bereaved. Seems a good deal for him - get all the praise when things go our way but none of the blame when things go wrong due to no fault of our own. I wrote the sermon. This is the sixth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. To-day, the road all runners come, 5 William Sloane Coffin Jr., was arrested several times during the civil rights movement. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. And that's what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Famously, at the height of that conflict . William Sloane Coffin challenged the nation with his passionate calls for social justice. RN: Any comparisons between the domestic opposition to the Iraq War/Occupation with the domestic opposition to the Vietnam War? Every sermon constitutes a powerful reminder of his legacy-challenging the conscience of a nation. This is the last year of the complete 10 year collection of sermons. But oh, the things I learned from her what do you say? The night after Alex died I was sitting in the living room of my sisters house outside of Boston, when the front door opened and in came a nice-looking, middle-aged woman, carrying about eighteen quiches. These sermons were delivered from the pulpit at Riverside Church, N.Y.C. The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your mind's a blank, that "there is no joy the world can give like that it takes away." Because there are no rankling unanswered questions, and because Alex and I simply adored each other, the wound for me is deep, but clean. God gave man dominion over the world at the beginning - and free will - and man so man has had the responsibility for his conduct since then, and for infecting all of creation with his sin. I walked a mile with Sorrow "Eulogy for Alex" by William Sloane Coffin The prayers are presented in several multi-year collections. And then, Im a preacher. In other word, good patriots are not nationalists. But it's a fact: few of us are naturally profound. This is the fourth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Please address any specific reforms that demand priority. What should churches be doing in the face of whats going on in our country right now? Elegant and curled But just one thing before you read it Heres one of my favorite Coffin-isms, from an interview with Bill Moyers when Coffin was 80: Chirping optimism is terrible. Would it be abhorrent to find that intensely funny? When she saw me, she shook her head, then headed for the kitchen, saying sadly over her shoulder, "I just don't understand the will of God." Stories and Reflections on Service, Ram Dass and Paul Gorman, Knocking on Heavens Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death, Katy Butler, Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche. "A spiritual person tries less to be godly than to be deeply . We all do what we know how to do, maybe. ABERNETHY: I asked Coffin to think back on the civil rights and other protest movements he helped lead. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, You blew it, buddy. Will was tyring to elicit thoughts about the whole concept of a god's will. What makes you think you dont limp?, Love measures our stature. Thought he was omnipotent and omnipresent. Paul said he would prefer to be in eternity (where all pain and suffering ends), but worked all the harder here in time until he left. While the words of the Bible are true, grief renders them unreal. When a person dies, there are many things that can be said, and there is at least one thing that should never be said. Quotes. What is happiness? And the wise man said, Happiness is when the grandfather dies, and then the father, and then the son. That is on the money. Q: After September 11 there was a surge of patriotism. If you are interested in purchasing the whole collection on aDVD Data Discplease contact me byemail. We see acuter quite Below you will find one of my favorite sermons "Preached from the Piano Bench" at Riverside Church. Rev. So I shall so let us all seek consolation in that love which never dies, and find peace in the dazzling grace that always is. A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, SERMON: Alex's Death, by William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Posted on October 6, 2013. Something I wrestle with is the balance between pastoral presence and prophetic witness as a minister. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. She chattered all the way; Ill say you dont, lady! I said. Well yes this is all very well but why, then, do Christians _thank_ God when something goes right. Some will even argue that God has a purpose in allowing the accident and will use this tragedy to provoke moral growth in the world (though one hopes that this explanation will not be offered in the hearing of any grieving family members). As far as I can tell, when you die, in the words of Art Bell, it's.."lights out" (I love the way he puts it.) Hello Select your address I was impressed by the Amish last year when that young girl was killed. Rev. The night after Alex died I was sitting in the living room of my sisters house outside of Boston, when the front door opened and in came a nice-looking, middle-aged woman, carrying about eighteen quiches. Robert Browning Hamilton Or, in Emily Dickinsons verse: By a departing light We see acuter quite Than by a wick that stays. They accepted that it was god's will. While the words of the Bible are true, grief renders them unreal. After the tsunami, some Moslem clerics said it was god's punishment for their sins. Instantly I was up and in hot pursuit, swarming all over her. It is difficult to know how to theologise about a tragedy of this order without descending into cliche, trivialisation or offensiveness. I mentioned the healing flood of letters. But when children die, they take away the future as well. BTW, anonymous was I ere I saw Suomynona WTB, but I'm sure you guessed that right away. In his younger days he was an athlete, a talented pianist, a CIA officer, and later chaplain of Yale University, where the influence of H. Richard Niebuhr . But the point is this. William Sloane Coffin Jr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (born 1924) was a Yale University chaplain who spoke out against the Vietnam War and was indicted as a criminal by the United States government for conspiring to aid young men to avoid the military draft.. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born to considerable wealth and social position on June 1, 1924, in New York City. They said it was god's will, that she is in heaven now and they moved on without the tearjerking remorse many who call them true believers in a faith feel. William Sloane Coffin's Eulogy for Alex Ten days after his son, Alex, was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered this sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. 2023 Barbara Becker / All Beings Everywhere. God did not bash the truck into your fathers car. Updated February 2023. Ill say you dont, lady! I said. As you look around the country today, I wonder whether you see an absence of commitment to great causes with great passion. So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind. "William Sloan Coffin, who died yesterday at 81, was among the foremost pacifists of his generation, and set the mold for the liberal activist preacher." You gave me what God gives all of us minimum protection, maximum support. Q: Many, many religious conservatives read the same Scripture that you do and come out very differently on social issues. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, You blew it, buddy. Thats why immediately after such a tragedy people must come to your rescue, people who only want to hold your hand, not to quote anybody or even say anything, people who simply bring food and flowers the basics of beauty and life people who sign letters simply, Your brokenhearted sister. In other words, in my intense grief I felt some of my fellow reverends not many, and none of you, thank God were using comforting words of Scripture for self-protection, to pretty up a situation whose bleakness they simply couldnt face. -- William Sloane Coffin. As the grief that once seemed unbearable begins to turn now to bearable sorrow, the truths in the right biblical passages are beginning, once again, to take hold: Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall strengthen thee; Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning; Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling; In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world; The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.. A formula, A phrase remains.but the best is lost. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. The Theology of William Sloane Coffin Thursday, February 15, 2007 Eulogy for Alex Ten days after his son, Alex, was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered this sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. Only reverance can restrain violence - reverance for human life and the environment. There's something deep in there that involves joy and hope. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Yes, but at least, My God, my God; and the psalm only begins that way, it doesnt end that way. For. William Sloane Coffin Compassion, Sentimental, Individual William Sloane Coffin (2004). The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love. Like A.E. 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