John McCain, Good Bye

A long time ago, when I was in the midst of my training to become a hospital chaplain, I was called to be with a family that had decided to remove life support from their too-young daughter/sister/wife. The woman was in her late thirties, and when I arrived, her husband said to me, "We want you to help us give her back to God." I spent time with this family and listened as they told me about their beloved. We prayed together in thanksgiving for her life and for what she had meant to each of them. We asked God to comfort the family. We asked God to open his arms and welcome his daughter into his presence. We gave her back to God.

I thought that was a beautiful concept. We often hear the words "going home" used at the time of death for African-Americans. "Going home." "Give back to God."

For many years, I served my home church as an assisting minister. This often involved participating in funerals, either reading lessons or prayers. At the end of each service, the pastor and I would go to the pall-draped casket, put our hands on the top and read the commendation. I came to think of this as giving him or her back to God.

Today I was able to watch most of John McCain's funeral. It was a moving tribute to an extraordinary  man. I loved the eulogies, the music, and the pageantry of the National Cathedral. And at the very end, when it was time for the commendation, I watched with tears in my eyes as the Bishop and the Canon and the pastor put their hands on the casket and gave him back to God.