• FITZGERALD: GRAHAM’S PASSING LEAVES VOID,
With pastor put to rest, a void left behind
To borrow a line from an old British sitcom, this was the week that was, and it’s not likely we shall see a week like it again, given the aimless direction in which America seems to be heading.
It began with the top dogs of government — President Trump, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan — citing and praising the evangelical ministry of Billy Graham as the body of “America’s pastor” was accorded the rare honor of a governmental tribute in the Capitol Rotunda.
How could that be? Aren’t we told, erroneously, that church and state were never meant to mix? They certainly mixed this week, and it felt good, didn’t it?
Whether or not you concurred with Billy’s notion of eternal life, there was still something uplifting about the man and his message.
But the notable week ended with his intimate funeral yesterday and already the silence is deafening.
Who will step into that void? Who has America’s ear today?
Long after their departures, we still recall JFK’s timeless exhortation to ask what we can do for our country and Dr. King’s timeless dream of a day when his kids would be judged by the content of their character.
Well, Billy left some timeless thoughts, too.
In the aftermath of 9/11, when he was 82 and already frail, he was asked to address the nation at a prayer service in the National Cathedral.
Members of Congress were there. So were the president, four previous presidents and members of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I’ve become an old man,” he said. “And the older I get, the more I cling to that hope I started with many years ago.
“We all watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and glass of the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers were examples of the prosperity and creativity of America. When damaged, they plummeted to the ground.
“Yet underneath that debris is a foundation that was not destroyed. And therein lies the truth of that old hymn, ‘How Firm A Foundation.’
“We now have a choice, whether to disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a nation, or rebuild on a solid foundation.
“That foundation is our trust in God.”
Who will remind us of that today? Who will do so with the blessings of our leaders, and without objections from those who otherwise insist faith has no place in the public square?
That’s what Billy Graham did because he knew better, and so did we once upon a time.
Who will remind us of that now?