James Chapter 4

Rest in Peace

For those of you who were in a cave and didn't hear the news, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both died today. Let’s pray that God gives them eternal rest. The deaths of these two relatively young celebrities brought to mind this passage from James:

James Chapter 4, Verses 11-14

Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit"-- you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.

And this passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew Chapter 7, Verses 1-5

Jesus said to his disciples: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye."

News of celebrity deaths (especially when the celebrities are iconic) always gets tongues wagging and opinions flying. Today was no different, except for the vitriolic nature of most of the comments in particular when the discussion was on Michael Jackson.

My job today was to drive a crew of 7 (myself included) to a couple of towns in the foothills to get some trucks and trailers out of non-productive areas into the cities they will do more good. It required two trips.

We talked about business on the way up to get the trucks on the first “run”, so there was no inkling by any of us what was transpiring in the world. After we returned to Modesto the first time, one of the guys said, “Did you hear about Michael Jackson?” Immediately there was sniggling and snickering and exchanges of knowing glances as if to say, “Yeah, yeah. What’s the joke?” My employee told us it was no joke, that he heard on the radio that Michael was being rushed to the hospital in LA with a heart attack! Instead of gasps of surprise and grief or pleas to God for his recovery, there was a definite silence while we waited for the punch line—and everybody had one! (Except me. I like to think I’ve become more sensitive to Jesus’ admonition to love one another as He loves us). After a few of these insensitive comments about a fellow child of God, the conversation turned to other things—and the matter of Michael Jackson’s health was quickly forgotten. Until the next stop, a convenience store in San Andreas, where the news was on a TV that Michael had died. It was then that I felt a real remorse for not speaking up for him during the earlier conversation in the car--instead of just listening in silence.

There were 3 people behind the counter-- the clerk, a child of about 11 years old (I think he the son of the owner of the convenience store we were in) and myself. The clerk was unfamiliar with U-Haul procedure and wanted me to generate the paperwork for the truck transfers. Anyway, the clerk, who was apparently babysitting the 11-year-old asked him if he heard the news that Michael Jackson had died. He responded the way all of us should, and said, “Oh my God! How did it happen?” He was told that it was a heart attack. Then the clerk said, “Well, this is a good thing for his kids.” My jaw dropped to the floor. I said, “How can losing a loving parent be good for you?” She replied, “He treated them like freaks—covering their faces and never letting them out of his sight!” To which I replied, “It’s too bad more parents don’t show as much concern for the safety of their kids!” She replied to that statement with an icy cold silence. Then a customer chimed in. “Thank God a child molester is gone!” I couldn’t believe it! It was obvious the 11-year-old was a fan by his reaction to the news, but this moron blurts out something so offensive all I could do was say a silent prayer for him, and remind him that Michael had paid the legal price for his conviction for child molestation years ago, and any final judgment on his soul was in the hands of Jesus, now.

These were not the only insensitive comments I heard, but they were the worst. So on my way back to Stockton I said 3 Hail Mary’s—one for each of the poor souls who passed today, and one for the insensitivity of the world at large. Regardless of your feelings about either of these celebrities, they are still part of His Body and must be treated with dignity, even in death.

As I write this blog entry tonight, it occurs to me that three Hail Mary’s may not be sufficient. In fact a meditation on a single set of mysteries of the Holy Rosary may not be enough to soften the hearts of those who judge when they shouldn’t. So I think tonight I will say an entire Rosary of all 4 sets of mysteries and trust in Our Lord’s mercy that both of these souls will rest in His warm embrace.

A bit of good news today was the report on Catholic radio that Farrah Fawcett was able to receive the Last Rites. Of course she has known for at least a couple of months that her death was imminent. Thank God He gave her the time to get her spiritual needs in order.

It also brought home to me the last line of James’ exhortation, above. Life is fleeting and we might not all have the notice Ms. Fawcett had—so it’s off to reconciliation for me the first chance I get. It’s too late this evening—it will have to wait until tomorrow, with my hope that it is God’s will that nothing will happen to me tonight.