Joan sends her regards. Our daughter-in-law Kelsea phoned us last Thursday to tell us her contractions had started. I tell you; less planning went into the Normandy Invasion than went into this delivery. Here was the plan: Our daughter-in-law would phone us when her contractions began. If Joan were not home, she would immediately come home, pick up her suitcase, which she had packed a month ago, and drive straight south for four hours and seventeen minutes to assume care of our 3-year-old grandson, then Sam would drive Kelsea to the hospital, five miles from their home. Meetings have been held about this, and practice runs have been made. Maps had been procured, routes planned, cars were tuned up and topped off with gas.
So when Kelsea phoned, Joan sprang into action, left school, came by the house to get her suitcase, and off she went. Five minutes after her arrival, Sam and Kelsea were on their way to the hospital and three hours later, out came Lewis Allen and Emilia Joan. I continue to marvel at the competence of the average woman. Had this venture depended upon me, I would have stopped to eat three times on the way to Fort Campbell, insisted on a nap upon arrival, and urged them to wait until the next day so I could have a good night’s rest. Instead, they got Joan, who climbed from the car, a firetruck book in hand, read a story to Miles, gave him a bath, and put him to bed an hour after her arrival. That’s a woman for you.
My mother was cut from the same efficient and capable cloth as Joan and Kelsea. I went by mom’s grave yesterday to tell her she had two new great-grandchildren. But then I told her it wasn’t all good, then mentioned the shooting death of Charlie Kirk. Mom always liked keeping up with current events. A friend of mine once asked me if I missed talking with my mother, and I told him I’d never stopped talking with her. She passed away in 2017 and I’ve talked with her at least once a week ever since. Now, to be honest, she doesn’t talk back, but there are memories so strong and real, it sometimes feels as if she does.
My mother had little interest in organized religion but was nevertheless spiritually curious. She wasn’t one to quote the Bible, but she did have her favorite sayings, which she attributed to the Bible, even those which weren’t. She would say, “As it says in the Bible, the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree.” I once made the mistake of pointing out that saying wasn’t in the Bible, but I learned never to do that again. One of her favorite sayings was from the Bible, from the book of Numbers. “Your sin will find you out.” I always found it odd to hear my mother talk about sin, because she seldom did, except when quoting the book of Numbers. Don’t think you can behavior poorly and keep it a secret. Truth will out. She also said, “By their fruits, you shall know them.” Which is also from the Bible, the book of Matthew. Chapter 7. Jesus warns his disciples. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.”
By this Jesus meant that we can judge our leaders by the visible outcomes of their actions and character. We will know them by their fruits. That’s what my mom said after I told her about Charlie Kirk. I told her how confusing it was because some people thought he was mean-spirited and others thought he was a saint, and how could one know for sure what he was. She said, “We are known by our fruits. Our sin will find us out.” That helped a little. I was hoping for a more definitive response, but my mother was never one to do my heavy lifting for me. She would give me a quote, and I would have to figure out what she meant by it, which is what she did yesterday. I didn’t want to argue with her. We haven’t had a disagreement since 2017, and I want to keep it that way.
But I think we can all agree it’s been an anxious time since the murder of Mr. Kirk. Lines are being drawn, freedoms curtailed, careers ended, speech prohibited and punished. A teacher in my hometown was forced to resign for quoting from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia, “A man reaps what he sows.” A small but vocal number of citizens, many of whom want the Bible taught in our schools, demanded the termination of a teacher who quoted it. What a curious time we live in. Your sin will find you out. By their fruits you shall know them. A man reaps what he sows. Now I’m not saying these things, mind you. I’m just reporting what my mother used to say. Some people quote Shakespeare. Others quote Buddha, Solomon, or Mohammed. I quote my mother.
But those things are all true, and we humans have a way of elevating certain folks only to have time reassess them. Things have a way of finding their right level. In time, some are promoted, others are demoted. I had a family member who when he was alive, everyone said what a wonderful man he was, a pillar in the Baptist church, an exemplary citizen. Then he died and it came out that he had molested his daughters. Some get demoted. And sometimes people we don’t appreciate or think especially wise, turn out, in retrospect, to have been especially gifted and insightful. The truth will out. By their fruits we shall know them.
A man came up to me this past week and said, “I bet you’re happy Charlie Kirk is dead.”
“You would be mistaken. I’m not at all happy. Violence disgusts me.”
Then he said, “You watch and see. History will say he was one of the greatest men in American history.”
I didn’t argue with him. I just quoted my mother. “Time will tell. The truth will out. By his fruits we shall know him.”
The longer I live, the more I quote my mother.
I would be remiss in my pastoral duties, if I didn’t remind you that these great truths apply not only to Charlie Kirk, but also to you and me. By our fruits we too shall be known. Time will tell. Truth will out. We do indeed reap what we sew.
I don’t know what happens when we die. I don’t know if we just fade into nothingness or ascend to the heights. I don’t know if God judges us. But I know time and history judge us. And I know time and history cannot ultimately be fooled, though they can be temporarily misled. But the truth will out. Time will tell. By our fruits, we will be known.