Kennedy Funeral

[oselle]

An extraordinary day today here in America, with the true words of Jesus Christ being broadcast live on most news networks during Ted Kennedy's funeral mass.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'

Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'

Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me."

This is not only a perfect Gospel reading for Kennedy's funeral, but it may be the first time that real Christianity has made an appearance on Fox News. Given the central theme of all of the mass's liturgical readings, this may be the first time that social justice has ever been shown in a positive light on that particular outlet.

But the most moving moment of the funeral was the eulogy delivered by Ted Kennedy Jr., the senator's son. Just try to read or watch this with dry eyes.

"Today I’m simply compelled to remember Ted Kennedy as my father and my best friend. When I was 12 years old, I was diagnosed with bone cancer. And a few months after I lost my leg, there was a heavy snowfall over my childhood home outside of Washington D.C. And my father went to the garage to get the old Flexible Flyer, and asked me if I wanted to go sledding down the steep driveway.

And I was trying to get used to my new artificial leg. And the hill was covered with ice and snow. And it wasn’t easy for me to walk. And the hill was very slick. And as I struggled to walk, I slipped and I fell on the ice. And I started to cry and I said, I can’t do this. I said, I’ll never be able to climb up that hill.

And he lifted me up in his strong, gentle arms and said something I will never forget, he said, I know you can do it. There is nothing that you can’t do. We’re going to climb that hill together, even if it takes us all day.

Sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top. And you know, at age 12 losing your leg pretty much seems like the end of the world. But as I climbed on to his back and we flew down the hill that day, I knew he was right. I knew I was going to be okay."

Complete transcript of the eulogy.

And video:

Comments

[elanorgardner.livejournal.com]

Sadly enough, most of those who really NEEDED to hear those words likely tuned out to avoid the "liberal cooties". I really loved the prayers of the faithful delivered by the youngest Kennedys. A few of those really hit home I am sure.

I was watching it on MSNBC to ensure myself of an interruption-free experience and assumed, apparently incorrectly, that Fox wasn't covering it at all. I heard the folks on the networks were doing some obnoxious voice-over crap, which would have just made me madder than I already am...

[elanorgardner.livejournal.com]

And you know what else? The service was pitch perfect in terms of avoiding the types of criticism leveled by the right wing radio/tv talking heads who would accuse anyone of politicizing the funeral, that is unless someone really wants to take on (1) Jesus Christ or (2) the very youngest of the Kennedy children. Of course, I wouldn't put it past folks like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck or Laura Ingraham to do just that.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I am fully expecting Michelle Malkin to materialize on one of the Fox programs to howl about the Kennedys "using" their youngest family members to push a socialist agenda during the Prayers of the Faithful. I remember how she accused the Democrats of "using" Graeme Frost to promote the expansion of S-CHIP -- and then went on to stalk and slander both the little boy and his entire family. She's especially good at that sort of thing.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

The worst gabbing of all was on NBC -- Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams just WOULD NOT SHUT UP. The coverage on MSNBC was pretty good although Chris Matthews comes out with such bizarre, left-field comments that I'm actually wondering if there's something mentally wrong with him or if he's just one of those people who doesn't know how to have an unvocalized thought.

I was surprised that Fox not only covered the funeral but also the Washington motorcade and the burial service that evening.

[mara-snh.livejournal.com]

As moving as the last night's wake and today's Mass certainly were, I think Cardinal McCarrick touched the key point for me at Arlington National Cemetery earlier tonight when he noted that Ted Kennedy's extended family "must probably include most of America."

I am inspired by what he chose to do with his life, and how well he did it. I hope the rest of the family is, too.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

The whole day was such a rare celebration of unapologetic liberalism on television that for a while it made me forget all the horrors of this past August. I hope it got through to some people.

[mara-snh.livejournal.com]

It probably didn't move any wingnuts. I think the best we can hope for is that it energized more of us -- including President Obama.

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this--I didn't get a chance to watch any of it today.

I'm finding the whole thing more moving than I would have thought. I grew up in Boston, and the Kennedys were all the politics there ever was--it's shocking to have almost all of them gone now. I read the NYTimes account of Teddy's last days--his belief that he would be reunited with his brothers--and I just sobbed...

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I was also very moved, and by things I didn't expect. I thought the church would be some lavish Boston affair but, while the church was beautiful, it was so obviously in a very humble, working class neighborhood -- the contrast between the Washington elite on one side of the street and the dumpy little row houses and places like Chacho's Pizza and Discount Auto Parts on the other side of the street was so striking. And at the very end of the burial, the heat lightning in the night sky as taps was being played...goosebumps. Pure goosebumps. I was glued to the television nearly all day.

[sixth-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Ted Jr. told that story. Ted nearly broke down himself.

Also very moving were the scenes later on in Washington, when the motorcade went by the Capitol and stopped in front of the East Steps, where all of the Kennedy staff, past and present, had gathered to pay their last respects. They filled ALL the steps. And there was quite a procession of people lining the streets of DC watching the motorcade.

cspan.org has videos of the the whole thing.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I had read that the funeral and burial would be private and I initially took that to mean there would be no television coverage -- I'm so glad it was covered. It was a remarkable event from morning to night.

[merylmarie.livejournal.com]

I was unable to stay away from the coverage yesterday. The Kennedys are such an integral part of how I view politics and and how proud I am of the ideals they continue to hold up for us all to see. I was glad to know more about Ted's last years and see the love just pouring out from friends and foes alike. The service was pitch perfect, from the choice of the scriptures and music down to the piping voice of Teddy Kennedy III.

I so wish he could have lived long enough to shepherd health care through.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I have literally never known an America in which Ted Kennedy was not on the Senate so it seems especially strange that he's gone. There's been some talking-head speculation about whether anyone in the "next generation" will take up the Kennedy mantle but I'm afraid that these days, neither the Kennedy family nor America is capable of producing a true public servant. He was the last of his kind in more ways than one. It is truly a shame that he couldn't have lived and been healthy enough to fight for healthcare reform -- and how shocking to see him giving speeches 30, 40 years ago proclaiming the need for it and to know that we are no closer to it now than we were then.