Memories of Jesse

A year ago today my beloved friend and Mentor the Rev. Dr. Jesse Brown passed away.  Today I post in honor of his memory.  I have discussed Jesse several times in this blog and by now you've all determined that he occupies a special place in my heart.  At Jesse's service I was honored to be one of the select few asked to speak.  Jesse had many, many friends, colleagues, students and family who would have liked to have spoken and it was truly special to be asked to speak in their place.

Jesse's wife Kathy asked that I also read the 91st Psalm which was one of Jesse's favorites.

Jesse's library continues to nurture me and several times I have had 'odd' occurrences concerning his books.  I like to think that it's Jesse continuing to guide me from his place in Heaven.  I've told about each of them already so I'll just retell one now.  A few weeks back I preached down in Humboldt and I was preaching from the Lectionary.  So I went to Jesse's books to get a commentary that covers each of the weeks of the Lectionary.  In the book that covers the lessons for this year I turn to the week that I was to preach.  On that page was a bookmark placed there by Jesse.  It had some handwritten notes on it which sad to say I could not make out.  But still of all the pages in all the books to find the bookmark exactly where I needed to be (especially since this is a thick book!) was something that I took as a sign from my friend.

I truly miss Jesse and know that I always will...

Just a few days ago Jesse's longtime friend the Reverend Fred Ansel passed away down in Kansas.  Fred was for many years the Executive Minister for the American Baptist in Kansas.  Fred was here when Jesse passed away and in fact he was the first to get to the Hospice House when the nurse called to let the family know Jesse had passed.  I had been alone with Jesse praying over him when he passed and when I told Fred what had happened he said "Maybe I should have you pray over me."  Fred suffered from ALS and even then he knew his own time was short.  I'm sure he and Jesse are having some great conversations in Heaven right now.  God Bless them both!

Be the Blessing to this World!
In His Abiding and all Sufficient Love & Grace,
Roy


Psalm 91: Assurance of God's Protection (NRSV)

¹ You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
   who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,^*
2 will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
   my God, in whom I trust.’
³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
   and from the deadly pestilence;
⁴ he will cover you with his pinions,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,
   or the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
   or the destruction that wastes at noonday. 

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked. 

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your refuge,^*
   the Most High your dwelling-place,
¹⁰ no evil shall befall you,
   no scourge come near your tent. 

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder,
   the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 

¹⁴ Those who love me, I will deliver;
   I will protect those who know my name.
¹⁵ When they call to me, I will answer them;
   I will be with them in trouble,
   I will rescue them and honour them.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy them,
   and show them my salvation.

I have included in it's entirety the speech I gave in Jesse's memory:

My name is Roy Karlen, the Reverend Doctor Jesse Brown, was my Mentor.  But more importantly to me, he was my dear friend.

Had you told me as a young man growing up on the prairie of west river South Dakota, the son of a cattle rancher and a bon-a-fide cowboy, that one day I would sit at the feet of and study with a man who not only received his Doctorate from but who also taught at Duke University; a man who was a Pastor, who taught at several seminaries, a man who attended Crozer Theological Seminary with Martin Luther King Jr., a man who participated in the Civil Rights Movement, and who not only touched the Dead Sea Scrolls but was the first person to translate portions of these same scrolls, well if you had told me these things... I would have thought you were crazy.

And if you had gone on to tell me that due to this same man's influence in my life I would decide to pursue a career as a Minister, well then I would have KNOWN you were crazy.

Yet this is exactly where I find myself today.

I first met Jesse at  a Bible Study at Sunset Hills Baptist Church, and for some reason even though our backgrounds were as different as one can imagine, we immediately recognized each other as kindred spirits in our Christian journeys.  We soon decided that we would like to form a more advanced Bible Study and so the "Brown Bible Study" was born.  Meeting in Jesse and Kathy's home we spent many evenings pouring over various biblical topics and writings.  A number of other people came and went from the group through the years, many of whom are here today.  But it was always Jesse and myself from the beginning to the end.

Jesse was first and foremost in this world a teacher. He loved to teach and I love to learn, so it was only natural that we should gravitate to one another.

Intellectually Jesse was a giant of a man, and though he far surpassed me both intellectually and academically, he always treated me as an equal.  For you see Jesse not only loved to teach but he was profoundly gifted at it, he knew well how to inspire and lead his students.

Most of what I received from Jesse was not material in nature, rather things stored here (pointing to head) and here (placing hand over heart).  But one of the material things he gave me was this book (holding book overhead) which I have used a great deal and anticipate using for many, many years to come.  However the most important thing to me is not the book itself but the inscription in the front.

To My Friend Roy.  Keep an open mind, a curious inquisitiveness, and a healthy skepticism of simplistic solutions!  May this book help you toward those ends.  Jesse

To me that handwritten message from Jesse is something I will comeback to time and time again in my lifetime, and it is worth far, far more than any material item he could have ever given me.

As I stated earlier, Jesse was more than a mentor, he was a dear friend.  We enjoyed going to lunch together, often with our mutual friend Todd Davis who unfortunately was not able to be here with us today.

Just ten days before Jesse's passing he was feeling well enough to accompany me to the Annual Biblical Archaeological Conference at UNO.  Both of us enjoyed the conference a great deal and I am so happy to have had this last outing with Jesse.  It is a time that will always be a cherished memory for me.

As the years go by I know that I will frequently find some new insight in a bit of scripture or question a message in a book or a sermon I've heard and I will so want to call and talk to Jesse as I have so often.  At these times, I know I will pause and feel the loss of Jesse anew.

I could not begin to relay to you how much of an impact Jesse has had on my life, all I can say is that I am infinitely the better and the wiser for having had the rare chance to know him for these last few years.

Jesse may be gone from this world now but as long as this west river cowboy draws breath he shall never be forgotten in this world.

On November 21st, 2011 it was my considered privilege to accompany my dear friend Jesse Brown to the very gates of Heaven, and to literally hold his hand as he walked through those same gates.

I rather suspect that someday when it's my turn to walk through those gates, that just inside I'll see Jesse...  with an outstretched hand, a wry smile on his lips, that twinkle in his eye, his head cocked for effect, and he'll say "what took you so dang long?".

(looking up with a raised hand)
Love you Jesse, I'll see you later my friend.