The World's Applause

Yesterday I watched much of the funeral services for Sen. Ted Kennedy. It was extremely fascinating. Many dignitaries and celebrities were present. His family spoke. The President spoke.

One of the things that caught my attention was the extraordinary amount of attention paid to Kennedy's political accomplishments. Phrases like "his brothers' keeper" and "speaking on behalf of those who have no voice in our country" and "working to right wrongs of injustice" and "giving people the freedom to do whatever they want."

No doubt Sen Kennedy has done many fine things during his career, but it's no secret that Sen Kennedy was also a passionate advocate for pro-abortion rights as well as same-sex marriage.

I don't think that's what the LORD had in mind when Jesus spoke about being our brother(s)' keeper...allowing the people to do whatever they want, even if it means breaking the LORD's laws.

Just as a loving parent knows that letting a child do "whatever they want" is not necessarily in the best interest of that child, neither is it in the best interest of the people or a nation when lawmakers "play God" and decide which of His laws can be disregarded.

ALSO

A letter (written by the Senator and sent to the Pope) was read aloud. In it, the Senator talked about how he chose to honor his faith and went on to elaborate by citing specifics:

"I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I have worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a United States senator. I also want you to know that even though I am ill, I'm committed to doing everything I can to achieve access to health care for everyone in my country. This has been the political cause of my life. I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field and I'll continue to advocate for it as my colleagues in the Senate and I work to develop an overall national health policy that guarantees health care for everyone."

It is interesting to me to see what things a man, in his final stage of his life, chooses to focus on.

You know, life is very short. And it's a wonderful comfort to know that we will ultimately be judged not on how many grand public works or career accomplishments we amassed in a lifetime, but whether we accepted the gift of Christ and chose to live each day in His wonderful presence, loving Him and loving others.