Sammie E. Swim Eulogy
July 23, 2008
Sammie E. Swim was born on December 21, 1925 in Crowell, Texas and was welcomed into the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on July 19, 2008. He was preceded in death by his parents Samuel A. and Bertha Swim. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Jo Ann; daughter Terri Swim; son Michael Swim and his wife Laura; grandchildren Christopher Paradowski, Matthew Paradowski, Randall Paradowski, Calen Swim and Samuel Swim. He is also survived by his brother Keith D. Swim and wife Vonna and numerous nieces and nephews.
The first and last thing we can say about Sammie is that he was a family man. He was a loving, attentive and supportive husband to Jo Ann. He was a welcoming, nurturing and accepting daddy to Terri and Mike. He was an indulgent, caring and adoring granddad to Chris, Matt, Randy, Calen and Sam. To Sammie’s way of thinking, it was the most natural thing in the world for his family to come first. And they always did.
But outside that family circle Sammie was best known as a churchman. He was a preacher in the Church of Christ for nearly sixty years. He was a Bible teacher at church as well as, for sixteen years, at the Bible Chair at San Antonio College. But he was more than a churchman—more than a preacher. All those qualities and qualifications that made him a good husband, dad, granddad, preacher and teacher uniquely equipped Sammie to be a true pastor. That’s not a word used much in our church tradition. But it’s a good word. I was so happy to see it in Sammie’s obituary. The word pastor perfectly describes Sammie, how he lived, how he cared for people and what his motives were.
Among Church of Christ preachers from the mid-twentieth century, Sammie was one of the ones who got it right. He suspended judgment and offered grace. He would forgo his rights and offer peace. He forget his own interests and offered comfort, strength and understanding. He lived by and gave away a lovely home-spun variety of wit and wisdom on the order of Ronald Reagan. Sammie was practical, real, helpful, genuine and unpretentious.
The longer Sammie lived the more he looked like, sounded like, thought like and lived like an Old Testament Prophet of God. He simply could not understand why or how anyone couldn’t or wouldn’t love God. The last few days I’ve been concurrently writing my remarks for this morning about Sammie and working on my lesson for Sunday about Abraham. I had Sammie on one side of my desk and Abraham on the other. It seemed like those two projects were so similar. What I would write about Abraham I could also say about Sammie. And what I was going to say about Sammie also fit Abraham.
In short, Sammie was a man, a pastor, of compassion. All his words and all his actions were seasoned with interest and concern for others. He helped. He assisted. He wept with the ones who wept and laughed with the ones who laughed. He prayed for everyone. He accepted everyone just as they were. He didn’t judge or condemn. He encouraged. He was a realist and a dreamer. He lived with what was and always wanted it to be better…including some of us.
I am happy I could call him my friend. I know you feel the same.
Two things I appreciated and will remember about Sammie were his keen sense of humor and his sense of responsibility. Those two characteristics seemed to go hand in hand for Sammie. I’ll never forget a few years ago when our new, very young preacher at the Highland Oaks Church in Dallas was scheduled to speak at the Pepperdine University Lectureship. I asked Sammie if he would do me a favor and go hear young Tim preach and then afterwards go speak to him. I asked him put on a stern face and say, “Well, young man. That was not bad. Ray Hardin sent me here to listen to you to be sure you were teaching sound doctrine.” Sammie did it. And it had the desired effect…and then some. It scared young Tim really bad. He said he thought his legs might not hold him up. And the next time I talked with Sammie I told him how successful his efforts had been. I also told him I wasn’t sure he would really do it. Sammie looked me right in the eye and said, “I told you I would.” That about sums it up. Sammie was a man of his word. If he said he would, he would.
That reliability made Sammie a man for all seasons. All generations. All times. And even though he lived in the real world and loved to talk on his cell phone and set his T-Vo…if he could just remember how to set the thing!...Sammie’s values, interests and admiration was mostly for the older traditional things. The traditional church. And its traditional ways…especially its traditional songs.
Sammie loved the old songs—and their theology—and he knew all the words. He could sing without looking at a hymnal:
Be with me, Lord, I cannot live without thee.
I dare not try to take one step along.
I cannot bear the loads of life unaided.
I need they strength to lean myself upon.
A wonderful savior is Jesus my Lord.
A wonderful savior to me.
He hideth my soul in the depths of his love
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
Abide with me, fast falls the even tide
the darkness deepens, Lord with me abide
When others helpers fail, and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Today we are not going to have a choir or chorus sing to us. We are going to sing
together…some of the really old songs that Sammie loved…because that’s what he loved to do. He attended those Lectureships at ACU and Pepperdine not so much for the preaching and teaching as for the singing. When we sing together today, on behalf of Sammie and the entire family, I ask that you sing out! Put your inhibitions and reservations aside and sing out!
There are two new songs that make me think of Sammie. He may not have known them. But they are so him. First is a new spiritual called “All My Tears…be washed away.” by Julie Miller. The group Selah recorded it a couple of years ago.
When I die don’t cry for me
In my Father’s arms I’ll be
The wounds this world left
on my soul
will all be healed and I’ll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced
with the light of Jesus’ face
And I will not be ashamed
For my Savior knows my name.
It don’t matter where you bury me
I’ll be home and I’ll be free
It don’t matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away.
So, weep not for me my friend
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him
who will raise the dead again.
But there’s another new song that really characterizes all Sammie’s beliefs, all his faith, all his hopes, all his efforts…all his life. Chris Rice wrote it a few years ago and didn’t know what to do with it. He didn’t think anyone would ever like it. He didn’t even know what to call it. He put it on a CD three or four years ago and called it The Untitled Hymn. I think of it as Sammie’s song:
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far way
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall…so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
and music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!
Fly to Jesus, Sammie.
Fly to Jesus and live.
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