Farewell to Falwell



I am never the sort of person who will rejoice in a person's death. When a person dies with whom I have had serious misgivings about even knowing, it is a good time to reflect about what it was about that person that made us such enemies. Actually, I can't say that Jerry Falwell was an enemy of mine. After all, I never met the man and never wanted to. For most of my life, the mere sight of the man's image enraged me. This was a person who personally condemned me to hell (even though our common Savior promised us both eternal life), politically divided this nation over the course of his so-called ministry so that people of different political perspectives could no longer sit down and have a proper discourse with one another (let alone govern a nation), outed a fictitious cartoon character, and used the September 11 2001 attacks to further his own political and religious agenda ("....all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.' ")

When a person spends an entire lifetime purposefully attempting to be offensive, what are others to do or say when that person passes away? It's too tempting to say "good riddance." An acquaintance of mine responded this afternoon at the news of Falwell's death with the hope that "God will treat and judge him more gracefully than he has treated and judged others." Actually, that was a very good response, in my opinion, and much more gracious than my first spoken response at the news. I am sorry that this statement was not mine. For, though Falwell would have questioned it, I have always insisted that I am a Christian, doing the best that I can to live my life as Christ has taught me to live it. Sometimes I succeed, and most of the time I fail, but Christ always leads me back no matter how often I stray. When I responded this afternoon to the news of Falwell's death in an un-Christian manner - but my friend responded as any Christian should - I was ashamed and silently asked for guidance from Jesus.  Perhaps, in his death, Falwell finally did minister to me.

So, now that I have been properly chastised and am back on the "straight and narrow" for the time being, how should I respond again to Falwell's death? I will pray for his soul's acceptance into Heaven, for consolation for those who are left to grieve his passing. And yet, I still have to rejoice too. Not for the death of someone who can no longer use his power for bad, but that in his death Jerry Falwell finally knows what it really means to live in the saving Grace of Christ. I give thanks and express joy that this soul - who I have always believed to be tortured and dealing with his own set of demons - finally knows the magnitude, breadth, and depth of God's saving reach to humanity, and joy that he his now rejoicing with me in that knowledge. The only regret, then, that I now have is that he didn't have the opportunity to proclaim that Good News in this world and this life when he had the chance. But, never mind....he's doing it now! Thanks be to God!