"FANCY MEETING YOU HERE"

Over the past week, I have had the occasion to attend two funerals.  The first was the funeral of 97-year-old Rachel Bangs, which I conducted last Thursday.  The second was the funeral of 75-year-old Al Davis who died a little over a week ago.  Al’s funeral was on Monday at Living Waters Church in Norwood.

I did not “conduct” the Davis funeral, but I was pleased to be one of several people giving eulogies.  Al and his wife Princess Davis (that’s her name not a title!) have accomplished more as a couple during their lives than most medium-sized CHURCHES accomplish in half a century!  I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but it’s not.  I met Al and Princess in early 1976.  At that time this middle-class Black couple were in their mid-forties.  Al was an Engineer for Kendall Mills in downtown Walpole.  Al was leading a home Bible study for those who were interested in “the Baptism in the Holy Spirit” and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It would take me many paragraphs to explain that to those who are unfamiliar with these experiences and manifestations, but I’d encourage you to check out the entire Book of Acts, plus First Corinthians chapters 12 through 14.  To make a very long story short, it was through Al Davis that I was led to seek and receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and to join the Assemblies of God.  I would not be an Assemblies of God minister today were it not for Al and Princess Davis, especially Al.

Al and Princess moved from inner-city Boston to the mostly Jewish Boston suburb of Sharon in the middle 1960s.  Somewhere around 1969 they each became “born again Christians”.  When they did, there was no stopping them!  One bearded guy around my age also spoke at the funeral.  In 1971, Al and Princess had rented the Unitarian Church facility in Sharon on one night a week (maybe Saturdays?) and ran a program for troubled teenagers called “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”.  They were not professional counselors.  They did not have state funding.  They just DID THIS.  I suppose today we’d ARREST them for running a program like that without a license or something!  Anyway, this guy was 16 in 1971...from a broken home...and on drugs.  He wandered into “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” and was told by Al Davis that God loved him and so did Al.  This guy turned his life over to Jesus Christ and has never been the same.  He graduated from Bible College, pastored for ten years, and lived in Israel for a time.  

“I’ve led hundreds of people to Christ,” he said, “and it all started with a guy named Al Davis telling me God loved me!”

In the audience was a couple who were won to Christ by the Davises over thirty years ago, after the accidental drowning of their 9-year-old daughter in the family swimming pool.  There were SCORES of people who could have told similar stories had there been time.

George Nickerson, an old friend of Al Davis told about going golfing with Al.  

“He’d write ‘God loves you, John 3:16’ on all his golf balls!” George exclaimed, “I couldn’t believe it.  He hoped that a wild drive into the woods or something would lead to someone finding the ball and finding Christ.”

George, much to Al’s dismay, insisted on keeping one of those golf balls which he still has and treasures today.

I almost forgot to tell you why I called this piece, “Fancy Meeting You Here!”  Al Davis had a ridiculously corny sense of humor.  At the funeral, some told of the stupid corny jokes he used to tell.  I told about the fact that EVERY time I ever saw Al Davis, he would make an impish and silly face and say, “Fancy Meeting You Here!” and then start laughing.  At the beginning of my eulogy, I remarked that if Al is looking down from Heaven, he’s saying to me, “Fancy Meeting You Here!”  After my five-minute eulogy, I closed with this thought:  The next time I’ll see Al Davis, it will be in Heaven, and he will probably greet me by saying, “Fancy Meeting You Here!”

Second Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”