Howard Abernethy approached me after worship one Sunday and said that he and his wife wanted to invite Margaret and me on a little excursion. It would be a day on the railroad. He had learned that my grandfather had been a railroad mechanic, and thought maybe we were kindred spirits. Howard loved the lore of railroading. So he and Liz and Margaret and I spent a lovely day riding the rails on a special train from Kensington up to Brunswick and back.
On that rail journey, Howard commented on the rolling stock and led us to look at the Brunswick yards. He taught us about the switches at Point of Rocks and showed us the historic stone arch bridge. All these things delighted Howard. There was only one unhappy thing about the day, only one thing that bothered him: browsing through antique shops.
You see, the excursion train waited a few hours at Brunswick, so that everyone could stroll the streets of the town before returning. Those streets were lined with antique shops. Liz and Margaret gravitated to those shops like kids to candy counters; Howard and Joe trooped dutifully behind, praying that their wallets would not be ravaged. The farther we went, the more disinterested Howard became. For him, if you’ve seen one antique store, you’ve seen them all. He said, three or four times, "I think we should be getting back to the train. We don’t want to miss it."
For Howard, it was about the train and the ride, and not about wandering or browsing. For Howard, the train represented a way of life, a style of being: focused, certain, sure, on the rails, no time for foolishness, stay with it, without wavering. His was a life of faithfulness, persistence, steadiness, a life lived without wavering.
And so the Psalmist, I think, captures what must be said about this good man: " … I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering." Along the path of the rails, like the enormous power of the locomotive, Howard moved forward and lived his life with integrity and without wavering.
I
It’s important to understand that Howard’s steadiness was founded in his understanding of God’s truth. Some of us live without wavering simply because we are too stubborn to do anything else; but others live without wavering because we know whom we have believed, and know that He is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him against such a day as this.
For Howard, it was not about being a know-it-all; far from it. Never was there a more humble soul. No, it was what the psalmist pleas, "Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you." Howard believed in the old ways, the ancient values, the eternal truths. He was not interested in pointless byways, but only in those things that express his relationship to his Lord.
One Sunday he said to me, "How come we never have any messages on temperance any more?" Temperance, for those of you who do not speak our language, is "Baptist-speak" for "not drinking alcohol." We say temperance, but we don’t mean temperance. We mean abstinence, teetotaling – dry! Howard wondered why nobody had been beating that drum lately. I started to explain that today we focus on positives more than on negatives, on what to do more than on what not to do. But Howard persisted, "Some of these people have never heard a good temperance sermon." Well, I thought about that, and did in fact preach one – didn’t change any habits, but I did it, because Howard was right. The old ways do need to be reinforced. The ancient values must not be thrown away. Eternal truths come out of living in relationship with the living God.
Howard’s steadfast commitment to his way of life was without wavering. Like the rails that keep the Metropolitan Line running straight and true up the Potomac valley, so Howard’s integrity was based in his love for the Lord. "For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you." Those of you who prayed with Howard during these last weeks and months saw indeed in his eyes that faithfulness, without wavering.
II
Now Howard’s sure and steady way of life came out in many ways. He never threw away anything that might have a use. Once Margaret and I visited and had a bit of a time finding a place to park because of Howard’s old cars, each one filled with tools or equipment or bits of this and that. But Howard wanted to be useful, and those things allowed him to be useful indeed. Among other things, they allowed him to serve this house of faith.
The Building and Grounds Committee here at Takoma Park needed to deal with several broken locks, and especially the panic bars on the exterior doors. They got quotations from various suppliers; the prices were astronomical. Howard stepped up. "I think I might have some parts for those." He did. He even created parts for the locks when he did not have them, and lingered late to make sure they would work. If, when this service is over, you are able to push a panic bar and leave this building, give thanks for Howard. He invested himself in this place and its security without wavering.
Just as the psalmist has it, "O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides." Howard loved this house. Do you want to know just how steadfast and how unwavering was his love for this church? He joined by profession of faith when he was about ten years old; sixty-four years in one congregation! The longest-term member of this church, I think. When the complexion of the congregation began to change, in the sixties, some folks left. Not Howard; he stayed. When in the eighties, there was a controversy, and other folks left, not Howard. He stayed. He stayed through whatever hiccups we had. He loved this house of God, without wavering. I can still see him and Walter Wright, creating an inventory of the contents of the building, putting little stickers on every chair and table, working long and late. Now, Walter, I think you went home at a decent hour. But not Howard; he wanted to get it done, without wavering.
Hear again the word from the psalmist, " … I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering."
III
But it was in relationships that Howard’s unmovable faith and unshakeable love truly became as strong as steel rails and as powerful as a mighty diesel. Howard loved people, not in a flashy, demonstrative way, but in authentic, deeply felt ways. He could not always tell you what he felt, because speechmaking was not easy. But he could show it, and he did, in critical times.
I am told that when Howard and Liz married, years ago, the whole church turned out and gave them a huge wedding. That’s an indicator of what Howard felt about his friends and what his friends felt about him. But then came those terrible days more than four years ago when Liz was dying; Howard stayed in the hospital hour after hour, day after day, loving her to the end, without wavering.
And so how wonderful it was that just a little over a year ago, Howard and Malinda stood in this place to pledge their love to one another. He, who never threw anything away, cherishing all those who had been in his life, had looked up his friend from young adulthood. He loved you, Malinda, without wavering and without feeling that in any way he had transgressed on Liz. And you, my dear, what a gift you were to him, and what understanding you showed, never feeling that you were in competition with Liz’s memory, never wanting to remove her from his heart. We give thanks for you, and like you, wish there could have been more time. But know this: he loved you without wavering.
The psalmist closes his prayer: "But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me. My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the Lord." Claiming redemption and blessing the Lord in the midst of the great congregation of those who have gone before; that’s Howard, unwavering in his faith, unmovable in his love, and unshakeable in his relationships.
And, of course, calling on his redeemer to receive him. Turning to his Christ to grant him the gift of life eternal. Riding the rails straight toward heaven, moving with power and yet with humility toward the prize set before him, without wavering.
One day Howard told me about the Memorial Book that sits in a case in the corridor out here. He told me that it was his father who had printed those pages, each of which tells the story of a serviceman who gave his life during the Second World War. Howard said, "I don’t think anybody even looks at this any more." Well, we came to a November Sunday, Veteran’s Day, just like today, and I brought the book to the altar and read the names of those whose sacrifices we still honor after all these years. Howard was immensely pleased. So pleased, in fact, that he who never threw anything away went home and found blank pages, and brought them to the church in case we needed to use them.
Brothers and sisters, Howard McCord Abernethy did not give his life in mortal combat against a foreign foe. But he has won the victory, just the same, and deserves his page in the book of memories, for no one lived more than he for the Lord, for his church, and for his friends without wavering. He is written in the Lamb’s book of life, for all eternity.
" … I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering."
