RIP Senator Kennedy with a Sermonic Tag
I am back musing because I awoke at 5 am because a horrible dream that Obama had been assassinated and in the hazy reverie of being in between asleep and awake...I turned on the TV to find that the President was safe but that the "Lion of the Senate" Senator Ted Kennedy had died. I haven't processed all of the emotions that are related to the situation. The dream was vivid and heart-wrenching and I remember screaming "No!" But what I feel in the reality of the death Senator Kennedy is a strange relief mixed with sadness understanding his battle with terminal cancer. I am honored to have watched him from the distance. I believe in honoring those who are worthy of honor. Senator Kennedy even more than his deceased brothers had the great opportunity to create and affect change and be a bastion and champion for Civil Rights, homelessness, universal healthcare (he wrote a book demanding and championing it in 1972), and many other things. I know he was a flawed man (Chappaquiddick comes to mind). But, Jesus said that he that is without sin let them cast the first stone. I am not without sin so I throw no stones at him. God chooses who he will.
Cancer claimed his body, but his spirit and his legacy lives on. He championed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and many others for the poor and less fortunate. He found great courage to remain in the Senate for nearly 47 years. That power of influence equated to more than he ever had if he was president. I am a young man who is thankful for the shoulders of the men and women hat came before. Because of men and women like Ted Kennedy, I could go and succeed at Wake Forest. I have the privilege to dream big. I know that there will be those to say that what did Ted do for you? Nothing specifically, but I am able to be a part of the story of this country because of the generations before. It is fateful, ironic, serendipitous that Ted Kennedy died one year to the day that he made his powerful appearance at the Democratic National Convention and endorsed President Obama and roused and set a course for the party. He lived to see a watershed moment in the quest of the dream of Dr. King in the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Ted Kennedy said in response to the fallout of losing a dear friend at Chappaquiddick, "The stories of the past courage cannot supply courage itself. For this, each man must look into his own soul." I say the same to our leaders about the healthcare debate. Our nation stands at a crossroads...just as it did when it faced slavery and the "War between the States"...just as it did with Woman's rights and Civil Rights...just as we still stand looking at the wounds of Katrina and 9/11...just as we are standing in Iraq...this crossroads is healthcare and is finding the courage to collaborate. The world is watching us fight over covering the 47-million people who are uninsured. I submit to you that healthcare is a matter of national and international security. The health of our people in the words of Ted Kennedy is a right. The system is broken and in need of great repair, but the ones who are arguing and throwing out insults and innuendos are the ones who have. We must find the courage and the wisdom to do what must be done. Congress will never read this...but my friends who vote will...this battle needs foot soldiers. Yes, I believe that it is important to ask how we are going to pay for this, but that the end result is that we are going to pay for the uninsured anyway. Insurance companies charge their customers extra for the uninsured that show up at the emergency room. But, yet that is lost in the noise.
Now, what is the Christian response to the need for healthcare? I believe that God has made it clear in Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O man, what [is] good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)" I believe it is my responsibility as a Christian man to champion justice and our system of healthcare is not just. It is not just that millions of people are uninsured, the vast majority not by choice but by circumstance. Healthcare should have never become the biggest ponzi scheme ever where palms are greased over and over and over again. My greatest response to the situation is to pray specifically for this nation and the decisions that must be made and to walk my faith and live my faith much louder than I proclaim my faith. Christians will not be measured by the ranting, but will be measured by our love or lack thereof. Jesus makes it clear in Matt. 25:
Mat 25:32-46 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (33) And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. (34) Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, (36) I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' (37) Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? (38) And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? (39) And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' (40) And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (41) "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, (43) I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' (44) Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' (45) Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' (46) And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
So now brothers and sisters let us go and do likewise...
Much Love,
ErnDawg
Cancer claimed his body, but his spirit and his legacy lives on. He championed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and many others for the poor and less fortunate. He found great courage to remain in the Senate for nearly 47 years. That power of influence equated to more than he ever had if he was president. I am a young man who is thankful for the shoulders of the men and women hat came before. Because of men and women like Ted Kennedy, I could go and succeed at Wake Forest. I have the privilege to dream big. I know that there will be those to say that what did Ted do for you? Nothing specifically, but I am able to be a part of the story of this country because of the generations before. It is fateful, ironic, serendipitous that Ted Kennedy died one year to the day that he made his powerful appearance at the Democratic National Convention and endorsed President Obama and roused and set a course for the party. He lived to see a watershed moment in the quest of the dream of Dr. King in the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Ted Kennedy said in response to the fallout of losing a dear friend at Chappaquiddick, "The stories of the past courage cannot supply courage itself. For this, each man must look into his own soul." I say the same to our leaders about the healthcare debate. Our nation stands at a crossroads...just as it did when it faced slavery and the "War between the States"...just as it did with Woman's rights and Civil Rights...just as we still stand looking at the wounds of Katrina and 9/11...just as we are standing in Iraq...this crossroads is healthcare and is finding the courage to collaborate. The world is watching us fight over covering the 47-million people who are uninsured. I submit to you that healthcare is a matter of national and international security. The health of our people in the words of Ted Kennedy is a right. The system is broken and in need of great repair, but the ones who are arguing and throwing out insults and innuendos are the ones who have. We must find the courage and the wisdom to do what must be done. Congress will never read this...but my friends who vote will...this battle needs foot soldiers. Yes, I believe that it is important to ask how we are going to pay for this, but that the end result is that we are going to pay for the uninsured anyway. Insurance companies charge their customers extra for the uninsured that show up at the emergency room. But, yet that is lost in the noise.
Now, what is the Christian response to the need for healthcare? I believe that God has made it clear in Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O man, what [is] good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)" I believe it is my responsibility as a Christian man to champion justice and our system of healthcare is not just. It is not just that millions of people are uninsured, the vast majority not by choice but by circumstance. Healthcare should have never become the biggest ponzi scheme ever where palms are greased over and over and over again. My greatest response to the situation is to pray specifically for this nation and the decisions that must be made and to walk my faith and live my faith much louder than I proclaim my faith. Christians will not be measured by the ranting, but will be measured by our love or lack thereof. Jesus makes it clear in Matt. 25:
Mat 25:32-46 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (33) And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. (34) Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, (36) I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' (37) Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? (38) And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? (39) And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' (40) And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (41) "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, (43) I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' (44) Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' (45) Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' (46) And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
So now brothers and sisters let us go and do likewise...
Much Love,
ErnDawg