A Patriot’s Final

It had to be hard.

But then he certainly had already learned what hard really meant.

I studiously avoid funerals and only attend those of beloved loved ones.

I close my eyes when passing a cemetery.

I don’t believe in the Irish tradition of a wake.

I cannot pretend to comprehend the anguish of planning your own funeral.

I do not deal well with the formalities of death despite my confident belief in eternity.

Yet for the past three days I have been literally glued to John McCain’s funeral.

At first I didn’t intend to do this, and then I realized it was a patriot’s final gift to the nation he served so long and so well.

I knew then it was mandatory, and the other patriots I had loved and respected and who had gone before me would have expected my attendance because this was not only a famous politician’s final public appearance, but his very public Profession of Faith. It was also a warrior’s last message to all of us who still enjoy America, the country he loved and served for a lifetime.

I looked around the vast Cathedral recognizing many famous faces, but soon became aware that the reason John McCain went though the emotional pain of planning his own funeral wasn’t for those crowded in the vast edifice.

No, he gave his last painful moments on earth to the American people. He believed it was important for us to understand the undying devotion he felt for the country he served, and more importantly, proclaim his belief in the Almighty.

And I believe he succeeded in that, his final goal.

As Americans watched and absorbed the exquisite pain of the nation’s final goodbye to a man most of us never met, we also, felt the love and pride a hero had in his country.

As we watched and listened to the moving tribute, we remembered our beloved America. Our country remains one of love, honor, service and valor, not the shattered one depicted in today’s lurid headlines. The Patriot’s final message to his native land was that we must always believe that.

I truly doubt that his final words were intended to be political as so many interpreted them today. It is difficult to agree that in his final dying moments the final message he left us should to be interpreted as vengeance or judgment. What I saw and heard in the National Cathedral was a belief in God and observance of His commandments.

I watched as John McCain completed his final mission this week and most of America listened to his final dying communique about love, faith, honor and integrity, and I truly hope that will be his epitaph not a tawdry political interpretation.