THE REV. RUSSELL LEVENSON SHARES HIS PRESIDENTIAL EULOGY.
‘MAKE NO MISTAKE … GEORGE BUSH WAS ON GOD’S SIDE’
A few days before Barbara Bush’s death, I was called to the Bush’s home, where the President asked me pray with Barbara. When I knocked on her door, she said, “Hello Russ, I’m not checking out yet!” We talked for a bit, I anointed her head with oil, and then prayed for her. As I left, she called out for me again.
“Bar, are you OK?” I asked. She said, “Yes, just tell him I adore him.”
Today we are gathered to celebrate the life of a man we all adored.
At the beginning of a journey that began June 12, 1924, George Herbert Walker Bush was born into the cradle of a loving family that held fast to the values of friendship, family and faith; of integrity, honesty, and loyalty; and of character, courage and service.
Now at the end of the journey, that cradle that sustained him throughout his 94 years of life has released him into the loving arms of his Heavenly Father. The end depends on the beginning — and this is a good ending — because from the very beginning George Bush was committed to a life not for himself, but for others.
And so, we gather today charged with three tasks: saying goodbye, giving our thanks and lifting our lives to hope.
Bidding farewell is the hardest of those three tasks because we must acknowledge that the world isn’t the same without this great man, the tectonic plates of our lives have shifted. In today’s world, we sometimes recoil from complex emotions instead of shedding tears of grief that honor our loved ones. George Bush was never afraid to shed tears. And so today, I bid you to follow his lead.
We also gather to give thanks for the actions of a remarkable public servant who improved the lives of so many around the world, across the nation and in our great state of Texas and our beloved city of Houston.
Each of us gathered here today join untold millions around the globe to mourn the death of one of history’s greatest leaders. But we have lost more than a leader. He, like his wife of over 70 years, Barbara, had that unique ability to make you feel like he was your best friend, and you were his — and he pulled it off with charm, humility and humor with few, if any, rivals. So, however you do it — whether through quiet meditation, tearful remembrance or jubilant story — give thanks that his life brushed up against yours.
Good-bye, and thank you. But there is one more thing we come to do: We also come to raise our lives to hope. What do I mean by that? President Bush was a man of faith — a faith that sustained him in this life and that has brought him new life.
The President and Barbara Bush were devoted and active members of St. Martin’s for over 50 years. In a talk, President Bush gave here in 1982, he spoke of his love for St. Martin’s, his memories of teaching Sunday School, serving coffee and just worshipping here. “I remember sitting in the back and how my pew wiggled and shook as our four boys and sometimes Doro got the giggles,” he said.
Then, he added: “I don’t want to hold it over the rest of you, but how many of you can say of the Christmas Pageant, ‘My grandson was a shepherd in 1980 and his sister an angel. Both in the same year!’” At which point, Barbara spoke up and said, “Did it ever occur to you they both made it because you had just been elected vice president a month before?’
But there was a deeper purpose in his faith. In an open letter to clergy across the United States just days before his inauguration, then President-elect Bush wrote, “Worship is basic to my own life. Our family has endeavored to uphold our faith by participation in the life of our Church.”
In an address two years into his Presidency he recalled President Lincoln’s response at the height of the Civil War when asked if he thought The Lord was on Lincoln’s side. Lincoln responded, “My concern is not whether God is on our side, but whether we are on God’s side.” Make no mistake about it — George Bush was on God’s side. It is why together we carefully chose the lessons for this service, lessons that bespeak the love of God, the comfort of God and the hope of life eternal given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Martin of Tours is the patron saint of this parish and is best known for tearing his cloak in two to cover a barely dressed beggar. He did so impulsively, instinctively knowing that it was the right thing to do. Only later was it revealed to him in a dream that his selfless act had clothed Christ Himself. Those of us fortunate to worship with George and Barbara Bush witnessed a similar selflessness. As we worshipped together, they never made a show of arriving, worshiping or leaving.
They had a “favorite spot,” but if they arrived and someone had beat them to it, they never created a fuss.
In fact, on particularly crowded days, they often relinquished their seats to a mother overloaded with children or a son coming with his elderly parents.
One particularly cold day, as the President came in the back, he was met by an usher who did not have an overcoat. “Aren’t you cold?” the President asked the young man. “I’m fine,” the usher started to say. But before he could finish his sentence, the President whipped off his own coat and placed it around the gent’s shoulders. He then walked into worship with a smile and without another word.
George Bush loved our Lord, and knew our Lord loved him, and it was THAT connection that birthed in our 41st president a desire to serve.
A few years back, the President and I discussed his deteriorating health. At the time, he did not know how that struggle would end. He put a question to me about as simply as anyone could. “What do you think heaven is like?” he asked. It was a confident statement, one that that bespoke of a resolute faith.
He didn’t want to know if there was a heaven, or whether he would be there, when the end came. Instead, he wanted to know what it was like. He was ready for heaven... heaven was ready for him. My guess, on December 1st, when the President arrived in heaven — Barbara was standing there with her hands on her hips saying, “What took you so long?” But then, a big old Texas-sized hug from his wife and daughter with the words, “We adore you.”
His very first act after being sworn into office as the 41st President was to lead our nation in prayer.
And, as the end depends on the beginning, and as we say our goodbyes — allow me to invite you to pray in honor, thanksgiving and celebration of the man we know and love, this man we adore. May his prayer be ours.
“Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write on our hearts these words: ‘Use power to help people.’ For we are given power not to advance our own purposes nor make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us remember, Lord. Amen.”
“We don’t want an America that is closed to the world. What we want is a world that is open to America.” – George H.W. Bush “Freedom and the power to choose should not be the privilege of wealth. They are the birthright of every American.” – George H.W. Bush