an honor & a privilege

There are some moments in life that change us. Let me rephrase. There are some moments in life that have the potential to change us — that is, if we intentionally pause… hesitating long enough to grasp the sobriety of the situation… to recognize all that’s going on… to learn from the moment and say “I want to change this now.”

Friday was one of those moments for me. While state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney was eulogized in Charleston, South Carolina, police officer Sonny Kim was honored in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Each man was widely respected in his community. Each man led others by the depth and consistency of his character. Each man believed, as was said so eloquently at the funeral in Cincinnati, that “service is the rent you pay to live on planet Earth.” Each man came face-to-face with evil. Each man did not know the day he would die. Each man sacrificed his life. Each man loved Jesus. “Amazing Grace” was thus sang at the funeral of each man.

Attending the service in Cincinnati was an honor and a privilege. Several observations moved me…

• Upon arrival, a stranger greeting an unknown policeman, hugging him, thanking him for his service.
• The massive outpouring of policemen; some 6000-7000 attended the funeral; some 4000-5000 were officers.
• The three teenage, surviving sons… no words.
• The charge to each of the boys… courage to the youngest, embracing his father’s example to the middle, and duty to the oldest.
• The brother, remarking how he saw his sibling change the moment he held that beautiful, oldest son.
• The blessed widow, reaching out to touch the casket, as it rolled away a final time.
• The grieving mother, shaken.
• The diversity of the audience… black, white, Asian, Latino…
• The oldest son’s show choir singing… “Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
• The teens in the audience, supporting their friend, learning about the tougher moments of life.
• The minister’s message, acknowledging how the officer’s life reflected Jesus, pondering how we can reflect God more, too.
• The 750 police cars included in the processional to the burial.
• The thousands who lined the streets, saluting one more time.
• The pending rainstorm, that seemingly kept no one away.
• The riderless horse.
• And the final dispatch… “Communications to Badge P396″… and then the acknowledgement of no response.

It was an emotional, powerful day. My words do not say enough.

When I returned home five hours later, I was drained. Instead of immediately grappling with the truth of the day, I numbly turned on my computer seeing what else was in the news. I immediately read the reports of Rev. Pinckney’s service; it, too, seemed bittersweetly beautiful.

And then I encountered all the tweets and status updates surrounding the Supreme Court. Many were fine, but too many others had “#lovewins” or “#sinwins” followed by a “take that” at the end of their rant. Hence, I turned my laptop off.

Instead of the crud that too often pollutes our world, I wanted to stop, sobered by the reality of the day. I want to honor both Pinckney and Kim by wrestling with aspects of my life that I have opportunity to change, if I’m willing to pause and examine where I reflect God well — and where I do not. Changed lives keeps sacrifice from being in vain.

Some posts are harder to write than others. This was one of them.

Respectfully…

AR