Last week at the shower ministry for the homeless, while we were cleaning showers and handing out towels, Gwen asked me to do a sermon on the different kinds of love. I was not sure what prompted her request, and I wish Gwen were here, yet the Roman’s passage speaks of love. Paul has just suggested we present our bodies as living sacrifices to God which is our spiritual worship. We are to discern God’s will- what is good, acceptable and perfect. By grace we become the body of Christ each with our own gifts. Today we are celebrating the musical body of Christ, the musical community, that has been so faithfully led by Don Adkins. READ Romans 12:9-18
I was curious how Don came to be our Music Director, so I asked Kathryn. Gene, who was our previous Music Director, knew Don, I believe through Cabrillo College, and recommended him for the job some 37 years ago. Don was so iconic to our church, that a picture of a robed-up Don holding the hand of his toddler son Alex walking into worship, was on the cover of the St. Andrew Church Directory.
I met Don as part of the Pastor Nominating Committee who brought me to this church. I was excited about joining the wonderful Music Camp that was up and running when I arrived. This weeklong music camp was a creative community outreach that attracted kids with real music instruction and taught them some Bible stories while providing connection. Marian Allen welcomed the kids and organized the snacks. Judy Smith played the guitar with the little ones. David and Sharon helped Don create a youth bell choir, just for the week. Carolyn and Eileen sang with the middle grades. Jacob Mesci attended all 6 years. We had Boom Whackers, rhythmic double Dutch and a melodious worship service where the kids displayed and performed all they had learned during the week. Everyone was making a joyful noise to the Lord! There was gladness and we came into God’s presence with singing. Music Camp was St. Andrew Church using its grace given talents to share music with Aptos children. Genuine love, mutual affection, and celebrating through song shaped the foundation of this mission. Of course, this Music Camp was led by Don and Kathryn. Their energy and love of music was infectious. They created a Music Camp community.
Paul in Romans is teaching about community formation with genuine love, mutual affection, patience and prayer. These are the qualities that Don has formed within the St. Andrew Music program. His commitment to musical excellence was married to a teaching spirit that welcomed people into choir and helped them to excel to their potential. Choir members wanted to learn from Don, because he corrected and shaped the choir performance with genuine care.
Years ago, when I was co-leading a youth group in Michigan, I asked another leader how she got the kids motivated to do service, to help, to give their best. She was a seasoned teacher who knew the power of clear expectations, strong guidance, and believing in her students. Don has that gift. The ability to expect excellence, while guiding choir members to reach their performance peak.
Another part of this charge, the actions needed to build a community, was zeal. Don certainly did not lag in zeal. Enthusiasm, energy, passion, eagerness Don has them all. He consistently brought that zeal to the music program. As he wrote in his retirement letter, he has been the Energizer Bunny’s twin brother. How true that is. I am not sure if you all know this, but this church has benefited greatly from the actions and zeal of the Energizer Bunny’s twin. Out of the goodness of his heart and him seeing what needed to be done, Don would often spend his afternoons at the church, not leading music but maintaining the campus. Don has stained the decks several times, painted the exterior of our campus buildings, and offered leadership to our Operations Committee.
In forming community, Paul writes about two kinds of love, agape and philo. Philo is like friendship love or Philadelphia, brotherly love. It is agape love that is unique to Christian scripture, richly developed in light of Christ’s death and resurrection. Agape love is used to describe God’s saving love, because “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:16). Agape love is also our response to God’s love and love within the covenant community, which we have been talking about. Paul develops agape love after “the Christ-event changes Paul’s understanding of God to such an extent that it leads to a comprehensive reimagining of what divine love looks like (the cross) and what a response to it entails (sacrificial love)” (faithinireland.wordpress.com). All of that was for Gwen.
As I was thinking about these kinds of love, Steve Winwood’s classic 1980s song Higher Love came on the radio. When I looked up the words “Bring me a Higher Love,” was repeated lots. That part I remember. But I was surprised to see how pertinent the words are today some 40 years later. “Things look so bad everywhere, In this whole world, what is fair? We walk blind and we try to see, Falling behind in what could be.” Then we are back to “Bring me a Higher Love.” A higher love is what we all want. An honest, forgiving, unconditional love. That is agape love.
Jesus’ love on the cross, God’s love for the world, the love we find within community. The love of God poured out in the incarnation, mission, death and resurrection of the Son of God.
That is what Paul is charging all of us to form, to create. A community where God’s love is felt and where we become the body of Christ. Where we live in harmony with each other. As one commentator writes, “Let agape be genuine,” recognizing that it can be faked. Let your agape be sincere, like love for brothers or sisters (philadelphia) or like love you have for your best friends (philostorgos). Love them warmly, with devotion, with sincere concern for their well-being” (Working Preacher, Frank L. Crouch).
I visited Jane Odell last week and she has served and attended many Presbyterian churches in her wonderful career. She reminded me that St. Andrew is one of the healthiest churches she knows. I would say because we live in harmony with each other. Of course we have our moments of disagreement, but our care wins the day. We live peaceably with each other because we take that part seriously, “as far as it depends on you” Paul says. And because we know grace lives here, within this community of faith. So, when I mess up and forget something we can all smile in grace. When a musical performance is not quite what we had hoped, we see it as a gift to God, offering of love. Because all our music is truly us making a joyful noise to the Lord. Singing God’s praise and celebrating being in the presence of God and worshipping with each other.
Music is a vital part of who this family of faith is. How we see ourselves. Don Adkins has shaped that reality into being by cultivating a Music program where people want to sing, want to praise God, want to grow musically. He even nurtured the choir with annual choir potlucks breaking bread together and nurturing the ties that bind. I was blessed to attend a few of those lunches where gratitude and praise abounded. A place where sharing a meal unified a group, much like Jesus did in an upper room. Much like we will all do following worship, as we celebrate Don and all he has fostered within this church community.
I want to thank Don for his passionate leadership, his devotion to this church, and especially for being a colleague in ministry. I truly had a partner in Don when it came to leading worship. We would brainstorm seasonal themes, he helped me know which hymns you all like to sing by marking each hymnal page, and he always got excited about Pentecost. I love that he wrote the music for the response we sing during communion. When pastors have come and gone, Don remained the glue that held this congregation together. In honor of all that Don Adkins has given to this church, for his brilliant musical leadership, and for the faithful person he is, Session has voted to give Don the title of Music Director Emeritus. That means Don has served with distinction and gets to keep his former title. For us that means we will get to hear Don play on occasion.
