January 12, 2011
Column #1,533
An Uplifting
Memorial Service
By Mike McManus
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, says your God…
Isaiah 40:1
The Memorial
Service in Tucson was much more than a tribute to those killed or wounded.
In a time of turmoil, Members of the Cabinet turned to Scripture to sooth
and uplift the nation. Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security,
quoted Isaiah:
“Those
who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
“They
will soar on wings like eagles…”
Attorney General
Eric Holder read II Corinthinians 4:4:
“The one who
raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus.”
President Obama
opened the most inspiring speech of his Presidency by quoting Psalm 46: “God
will help us at break of day.”
He lovingly
described each of the six people murdered, who “represented what is best in
America. Judge John Roll…was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did
every day.” Dorwan Stoddard’s “final act of selflessness was to dive on top
of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.”
He said that
after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ husband Mark visited her, “she opened her
eyes for the first time,” sparking joyful applause.
Obama
paid tribute to the heroes as well as the victims: “Our hearts are full of
gratitude for those who saved others,” first, Daniel Hernandez, “who ran
through the chaos to minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her
alive,” but also two men who tackled the killer and “a petite 61-year-old,
Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition.”
He
acknowledged, “Scripture tells us there is evil in the world, and that
terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the
words of Job, ”When I looked for light, then came darkness.”
However, he denounced the partisan and malicious debate which has erupted,
saying “None of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack…What
we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one
another.”
Undoubtedly he had in mind Sarah Palin’s denunciation of a “:blood libel”
against her.
Obama
welcomed a “national conversation” about how to improve gun safety laws and
our mental health systems. Had the Brady law not expired in 2004, Jared
Loughner could not have bought a 30 bullet magazine that shot so many people
in seconds.
However, what was most inspirational about Obama’s remarks was how he asked
all Americans to learn from the compassion of such people as Daniel
Hernandez. Their selfless service “poses a challenge to each of us. How
can we honor the fallen?”
“We may
ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion
to the people in our lives.”
“We
recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we
have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame
– but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in
bettering the lives of others.”
At
another point he asserted, “We may not be able to stop all the evil in the
world, but you and I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to
us.”
He was
most poignant in speaking about Christina Taylor Green, an A student who was
a dancer and also the only girl on a Little League Team, a girl recently
elected to her student council, who wanted to meet a role model, Rep. Gabby
Giffords.
“Here
was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just
beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to
glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a role in shaping her
nation’s future.
“I want
us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as
she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure
this country lives up to our children’s expectations.”
Obama
reminded his listeners that Christina was born on September 11, 2001, when
terrorists killed 3,000 Americans. She was one of 50 babies born that day
who are honored in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her
photo in the book were simple wishes:
“I hope
you will help those in need…I hope you jump in rain puddles.”
The
President smiled, “If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping
in them today.” He asked Americans to forge “a country that is forever
worthy of her gentle happy spirit.”
President Obama rose to the occasion, and increased in stature as he helped
America start the healing from the wounds of an horrific tragedy. Scripture
helped bring order out of chaos. |