Preaching Life

Ezekiel 37: 1-10

 

“Prophesy that these bones may live.”

          That was the message that God gave to Ezekiel

                   And that was the message that God gave to Bill Borst

                              69 years ago when God called Bill to ministry.

                                      And for the next 66 years after seminary

 Bill was preaching life that churches,

          People, communities might live.

 

There was one summer that Bill’s children remember when

          “Dem Bones” was the sermon topic for a whole summer

                   of preaching.  It made quite an impression on them

                             since they got to hear the same sermon preached

                                      many different times at many different churches

                   Odds are pretty good that by the end of the summer

                             Any one of the 5 children could have preached

                                      That same sermon. They still remember it.

                   But that passage where God calls a prophet to preach life

                             Just characterizes Bill’s ministry so well

                                      That it seems reasonable to preach “dem Bones”

                                                One more time.

Bill enlivened dem bones in Byers Presbyterian Church,

          Salida First Presbyterian, Ottuma-West End Presbyterian,

                   Syracuse Presbyterian, Bethel Presbyterian in Wichita,

Kingman Presbyterian and then he tried to retired

          And ended up preaching to “dem bones” in

                   Spearville Federated Presbyterian.

                   You’ve heard some stories from colleagues in those places.

          Whenever Bill went, wherever he preached,

                   He gave God the glory and he preached life

 and he left the congregations stronger and more vital

          than they were when he arrived.

          And that’s what the Ezekiel Dry Bones story is all about.

The preacher preaches because God calls him to

          But God gives the life, God brings the breath

                   To this living breathing body we call the church.

 

Bill was reformed to the core.

          He always gave God the glory.

                   He knew he was merely a witness to the work

God was doing in different communities.

          But he also brought order to this living, breathing body

                   That we call the church.

                             Notice in the Ezekiel dry bones story that

                                      As a result of the preaching, the body

                                                Ends up with sinews, and flesh.

                   That was part of Bill’s gift to the church- order.

                             Bill not only served as preacher in the church

                                      But he also served as clerk in the greater church

                   He was such a good teacher of polity and Robert’s Rules

 that his teenage daughter knew that if she moved

that the congregational meeting be adjourned

          that she could pre-empt Bill’s lengthy recap

                   at the end of the meeting.

 

You’ve probably noticed that Bill’s children remembered a lot

          From Bill.  Whether it was a shared love of trains

                   Or a shared loved of family or a shared love of the church

                             Bill had an impact on his children

                                      Because they knew that as much as

he was committed to the church he was even

          more committed to them.

                   Whether it was driving them to flute lessons,

                             Or helping with the concession stand at the ball park,

                                      Or folding newspapers on a Sunday morning,

                                                Doing math problems on the kitchen table,

                   Or ditching Presbytery to hear a 4H presentation at the

                             County Fair, Bill was there for his children.

And Bill and his beloved Margery shared their faith with their children

          Each day with devotions at breakfast and dinner.

                   With seven people in the family each person had a day

                             To share the devotion or praytime.

                                      The kids liked to pray because

it was shorter than Bill’s prayer

and yet Bill had a gift for prayer.

          Even when he lived at Riverside people would ask him to pray

                   At both dining rooms.

                             They even bought a PA system to hear his prayers

                                      When his voice became weaker.

 

I didn’t meet Bill until later in life.

          It was after Margery’s funeral that I really got to know him.

                   It was clear that he had a deep love and devotion to her.

                             They were partners in ministry.

                                      They were helpers for each other.

                                                They were as Bill’s son in law says

                                                          “A model of a couple that cared for

and loved each other.”

 

They are together at last. 

          After a life time of moving from home to home,

                   Church to church they are now together in a home

                             Eternal in the heavens prepared by God,

                                      Worshipping as part of congregation of saints

          That is the message of life, the breath of hope that Bill preached

                   Into “Dem bones” his whole life long.

                             Let us live in that faith and let the message of

                                      Ezekiel and the preaching and memory

of Bill Borst be an inspiration to us from this

          day until we also are reunited with him

                   the God’s eternal home.  Amen.