Whither Thou Goest

Ruth Graham died today.

For one who has a wish and hope for, but sceptical faith in, an afterlife characterized by absence of conflict, I am moved to say that I hope Ruth gets the reward she and Billy believed in.

Clearly, she was an exemplary wife, if and when viewed within the patriarchal model of their times, the society and culture within which they comfortably lived. I am insistent that one be judged within one's own time.

The Yahoo eulogy meant a lot to me.

Why?

Perhaps it's because Billy Graham addressed the Amherst College students, including me, in Johnson Chapel in the late 1950's, because of which I claim, clearly undeservedly, the privilege of reflected glory.

Or perhaps it's because my memory, not especially reliable now, reminds me that Billy preached to the congregation of the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta in the 70's, including me, a member of that congregation and present that evening. I'm not sure, but I think Ruth was with him then, and I want to claim that I met her there.

So what about glory; what is it, and who is eligible or deserves it, whatever it is? In the world of our minds it conveys the connotation of the genuine. Authentic glory accrues to one who least expects it, and in fact assumes that the wanting of it precludes it.