Brother Cooper's Closet

Evangelist Herman E. Wesley III

Brother Cooper’s Closet

Ephesians 6:13-19 NIV

The Homegoing Service for brother Ransom Cooper

Southside Church of Christ / Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

Evangelist Matthew Myles, Officiant

Evangelist Herman E. Wesley III, Eulogist

THE OCCASION

To the honorable minister of this church that I love so much, my friend and brother, Minister Matthew Myles Sr., the bereaved family, friends, deacons and members of the Southside Church of Christ, and the Gospel Satellites. We have come together on this day, again, to remember the life and legacy of one of our contemporaries. A great man. A loving husband. A devoted father. A thoughtful friend. Brother Ransom Cooper. I am humbled to have been asked to share some thoughts with you on this day. I want to read some words from the Bible, if that’s alright with you. In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, Ephesians chapter 6 at verse 13, the NIV Bible reads:

THE TEXT

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

INTRODUCTION

Without a doubt, anybody who ever came in contact with brother Ransom Cooper knew brother Cooper was a “dresser.” From my very first Sunday ministering at this church, back in 1996, I remember a sharp fellow, sitting right over there, who always looked like he had just stepped out of a clothing catalog. Many Sundays I would be compelled, before preaching, to simply ask brother Cooper to stand up so everybody could see how sharp he was. I ain’t gay, and I don’t have any feminine tendencies, Lord knows I don’t...but brother Cooper always looked good! You might as well say Amen! It was evident by the way he presented himself that he cared about how he looked, he cared about the impression he would make; and the way he dressed and the way he carried himself indicated that he had himself together! With that in mind, this afternoon, as we celebrate his life and times, I want you all to journey with me as we take a look into BROTHER COOPER’S CLOSET. Ya’ll don’t mind peeking into his closet with me, do you? I believe brother Cooper had three closets, and the first one I wanna take a peek in is his material closet.

BROTHER COOPER’S MATERIAL CLOSET.

Brother Cooper had a material closet. When you look into this closet you see an extensive wardrobe, and one thing about it, in this closet, his wardrobe stands out. Slacks and shirts of all colors and fabrics and styles. Shoes from every hue of the rainbow, snake skin, alligator, leather, canvas...belts, a wide array of belts to match his particular outfit on any particular day. And suits, man, brother Cooper has some suits! Green suits, yellow suits, navy blue, sky blue, baby blue, steel blue, powder blue, ya’ll loosen up, you know I’m telling the truth! Dierdre told me his favorite color was red, and you have to be a man’s man to wear a red suit, but brother Cooper was able to wear it with style, class and dignity! Not only that, but in order to get all this stuff in his closet, he had to be a worker! I know that’s a foreign concept to some folk, but if you want something, you have to work for it, so brother Cooper didn’t mind working for what he wanted. If he wanted a shirt, he’d work for it! If he wanted some slacks, he’d work for it! If he wanted a suit, he’d work for it! He knew nothing was free, so he worked for what he wanted! He drove trucks for a while for the trucking company. He’d work nights and weekends on his ice cream truck! And when he got a little extra cash to do something nice for himself, he’d go down to some of his favorite stores...Looking Good, Right-On, Oxford Street, and he’d pick out what he wanted, and he’d put it on! And since I’m driving his way, I need to tell you that he didn’t just want to look good by himself. He had a wife that he loved for 44 years, who preceded him in death, but he made sure that she was sharp, too! Helen and Ransom, sharp together! You walk in their home, and there’s a picture of them, from back in the day, ya’ll know about back in the day, don’t you! The seventies and the early eighties, and you can just envision how sharp they were together. A man’s closet says a lot about him, and brother Cooper’s material closet showed him to be a man of style, a man of taste, and a man of dignity. But there’s another closet I want to take a peek in....