Andrew Gerns on Tim Russert

My Episcopal Cafe colleague (and fellow politcal junkie), the Rev. Andrew Gerns, has a post about the death of Tim Russert that is a must read:

But there is another lesson. Ironically, it is a lesson that may get lost in the hoopla around his death. It is a lesson that all of us--we who preach and celebrate sacraments, we who take part in the councils of the church, we who follow the ups and downs of the Anglican/Episcopal battles in blogs and interest groups--can profit from.

The lesson is this. Faith in Jesus Christ and grounded in the Church makes a real difference in this world, in this life, right now. Russert was a man of faith. It did not make him less worldly. Faith did not make him more partisan. Faith did not make him smug or self-righteous. Faith made him who he was. His faith in Jesus Christ and his life in the Church made him better.

And a better Tim Russert made for a better world.

At the end of day, a better you and a better me, grounded in faith and company of faithful people, makes for a better world.

He defined himself as a Catholic Christian. He said about his parents that their faith did not cause them "to wave around their rosaries" but that it give them hope and a sense of belonging to God. Their faith made them better.

That is why he spoke at Notre Dame to the sex abuse scandals of his Church. The abuse was at once a violation of the person and dignity of the victims, a violation of sacred trust, and a violation of the meaning, source, and goal of the life of faith. Knowing what a life grounded in faith can be, he knew how utterly ruinous such crimes could be. He urged his Church to take it on before his Church could bring itself to.

At the end of the day, it is all about this. Faith defines us. Faith guides us. Faith teaches us. Faith helps us care for other. Faith makes us better. Tim Russert was, by his own account, a person of faith.

Judging from the response to his death, everyone around him saw that.

The lesson is this: if Tim Russert is made better by his faith, so are we. He teaches us that politics is important, but what really matters is a gracious manner and generous heart. He taught that work is important, but what really matters is an unshakable hope, the ability to call out the best in others. He was famous, but he taught us that what is really important is compassion for the poor, the hurt, the lonely and the outcast.

Politics is important. Even church politics. But if at the end of the day, the fruits of faith are not there, what good is it? What earthly good can we in the church possibly be if people aren't living a life of faith that makes them better, more hopeful, more caring people?

We pray for Tim Russert and his family and friends in the grief. May God's holy angels surround them with God's love and peace. May Tim's soul and the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. May he and all who have died in Christ rise in glory at his glorious and triumphant return.

Read it all here.