Rev. Benjamin C. Squires, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Manitowoc, WI
Mark 1:12-15
“Dead By Thirty-Three”
First Sunday in Lent (B)
Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5, 2006
This past Monday was my birthday. I turned 33. For about six years I’ve been thinking about this sermon, the sermon around my 33rd birthday, because around six years ago is when I first heard the song “Glory” by David Wilcox. Wilcox is a singer/songwriter, a folk singer who also happens to be a Christian. His song “Glory” contemplates what it means to wake up on your 33rd birthday knowing that this is the age that Jesus Christ was when He was crucified and rose again. I want you to hear the first verse and chorus of the song.
Well, I’d be dead by thirty-three
That was my best guess
But hey, here I am this morning
singing “happy birthday to me”
as I clean up all this mess
because I’m still left alive
without warning
In the big boring middle
of my long book of life
after the twist has been told
If you don’t die in glory
at the age of Christ
then your story is just getting old
Read the rest of this music-inspired sermon by clicking here.
