Generations
Don Davis, memorial service bulletin photo
Sermon Series “Through the Bible,” № 20, 1 Samuel 3:1-11, 15-18
delivered at the Service of Witness to the Resurrection, celebrating the life of Don Davis
“Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.” – 1 Samuel 3:8
It’s sad to mark Don’s passing, but it’s also an honor and a privilege to look back over his life, and celebrate his unique personality and gifts. Joy has shared from the biography, and, in this context, a biography is one way to reflect on the outline of a person’s life. Thank you, Patrick, Bob, and Lauren, for sharing your memories, and giving us a fuller picture of Don.
Don has been a nearly constant presence for the twenty years I’ve served as pastor, from the day during my candidating weekend when he and Mary Anna showed me the town. I learned about his knowledge of local history, his pride in SIUE, his love of this congregation, his dream for a new building on the recently purchased land. We had good-spirited fun regarding our college sports loyalties, Don to the Ohio State Buckeyes and me to the Michigan Wolverines. I quickly learned that Don was not only gregarious and enthusiastic, but quick to share memorized verses and old sayings that seemed just right for the situation.
· An idle mind is the devil’s workshop!
· Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
· I’ve personally adopted as one of my own a verse that Don was fond of quoting, from the 84th Psalm: I would rather be doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
The main difference between Don and me is where each of us imagined the tents of wickedness to be located, Ann Arbor or Columbus. The fact that we got along, I think, always stood as subtle reminder that loyalties to teams, tribes, and sub-cultures are superseded by our far more important loyalty to Christ. Today, for the first and perhaps only time, you see me wearing an Ohio-State tie in honor of Don, and in recognition of the truth that in life and in death, we belong to Jesus Christ, and in him we are one.
The people of First Presbyterian will long remember Don for the profound influence he has had in many ways. From his role as co-chair of the first capital campaign committee to raise funds for this new building and campus, to his work in the presbytery, and session, and Art East, to the very unique way my children and many of our youth got to know Don while cleaning his chicken house. We’re left with visual reminders of his service through things like the art glass windows, Don having chaired the committee that coordinated their design; the organ, toward which he and Mary Anna not only contributed as donors, but also in the early sketches with Denny Tiede; the new bells for the bell choir, for which Don also was a donor and advocate.
From my perspective, one of the chief reasons to remember and celebrate Don’s ministry is the way in which he made evangelism a personal priority. We Presbyterians are sometimes reluctant to use the word “evangelism” due to negative associations, but Don was not. The first ten years of my ministry here, once per week Don would stop by the office, and remind us of the names of the people who had visited (many of whom he had cornered before they could leave the building). He’d research the addresses for my greeting letters, he would make sure they were added to the newsletter list, that a loaf of bread or some other token of hospitality was delivered, that they were personally invited to an event or small group. Many members who joined in the past 30 years will remember that it was Don who first extended a warm welcome, and made them feel that this would be the place to make a church home.
Don’s son Evan suggested the scripture text I read for you, and almost immediately I knew it was fitting for his service. The text records a moment in the history of God’s people when it was time for passing the torch from one generation to the next. Eli thought he understood the leadership succession plan, but when he get acquainted with Samuel, he sees a different plan unfolding. As he arrives at the final chapter of his life, he recognizes that it is time for someone else to take the lead, and he blesses God’s choice.
Don was doing something similar among us for a long time. If you had the talent to do something, then he would challenge you to use that talent in service to the church. If you had the gifts to lead or serve, then Don was the first to nominate you for service as an elder or deacon.
If we could ask Don today, “How are you?” he might respond with one of those old sayings or memorized Bible verses. Based on many conversations that started this way, I imagine Don wouldn’t put too much focus on himself, and would quickly change the topic to familiar themes and challenges. I think his eyes would be looking around the worship space, and he would wonder something I might translate as, Who are the new Samuels who are going to take up the ministry that we old Elis are laying down? In a manner something like when he stood at your shoulder and invited you to an event, or to donate to a cause, to take on a leadership role, he would echo the words of Eli, … if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’. Don would want you to take a moment, open your hearts, and sincerely ask yourself, “Do YOU hear God’s invitation?”
Along with Don’s challenges to us to serve God, we remember his warmth, his enthusiasm, his faithfulness to God and church, reflected in his ministry of outreach and hospitality. As we grieve his passing and celebrate his witness, may we also continue his legacy of love and service.
