A Lesson From Micah (6:8 New English Bible) God has told you what is good; and what is it that the Lord asks of you? Only to act justly, to love loyalty, to walk wisely before your God. Remarks of John Hampton Stennis My sister, Margaret Jane, and I as we grew up in Kemper County during the 1940's were required to memorize passages. My mother handled the Bible; my father taught us patriotic sayings and poems. Among the first was the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Dad taught from the small plaque of the flag and the pledge (two fewer stars and two fewer words, but for him no different meaning) that I now hold. We were in the midst of World War II. He illustrated the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance by Judge Learned Hands' address at "I Am An American Day," entitled "The Spirit of Liberty": "The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten; that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest." Our Dad's patriotism did not consist of short and frenzied outbursts of emotion, but in the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. My father's oldest sister, Aunt Janie, had given him a copy of One Hundred and One Famous Poems With a Prose Supplement. We learned almost all these poems and many others, I shall share a few lines from some. "BE STRONG," MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK BE STRONG! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift; Shun not the struggle-face it' 'tis God's gift. "A PSALM OF LIFE," HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!— And the grave is not its goal Let us then be up and doing, "ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCH-YARD," THOMAS GRAY Let not ambition mock their useful toil, The paths of glory lead but to the grave. Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page, The applause of list'ning senates to command, Their lot forbade; nor circumscribed alone Their growing virtues, but their crimes confined; "THE MAN WITH THE HOE," EDWIN MARKHAM God made man in his own image, in the image of God made He him.-Genesis. Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans And on his back the burden of the world. Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow? Whose breath blew out the light within this brain? There is no shape more terrible than this— More tongued with censure of the world's blind greed— O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, "ULYSSES," ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON Come, my friends, "Tis not too late to seek a newer world. . To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. From an unknown poem about a young boy who watched his father go to the field behind a mule-drawn plow at sunrise and return at dusk: I believe my father had a pact with God To guide his plow and keep his furrow straight. Homily By The Reverend Jerry Allan McBride When all is said and done, the most important words that will be said about JOHN CORNELIUS STENNIS will not be that he was a great statesman and United States Senator. He was certainly all of that; but he was so much more. In all of the ways by which we measure value in our society and our world, the person and spirit of this man transcended common worth. For the measure of JOHN STENNIS is found in his character and dignity. To his wife, he was a devoted husband and partner. To his children and grandchildren he was a loving father and grandfather and a wise teacher. To his friends he was a man whose friendship could always be counted on. To his country he was a leader who found his "power" only in the commitment to service. And to his State he was a shining example for the very best that is in all of us. Above all, JOHN STENNIS was a man of faith. He spent his life in ministry that was just as dedicated as if he had donned the clerical robes of a minister in his beloved DeKalb Presbyterian Church. JOHN STENNIS believed that success was ultimately measured in terms of how faithful he was to the trust that the people had placed in him. And by all accounts, the trust of the people was never betrayed, and although he rose to the highest levels of political power, he never forgot who sent him, and what his mission was. I was so very touched when I walked into the Senator's home. It is a true monument to the goodness of JOHN STENNIS and his family. The simplicity of this great man's surroundings spoke of an inner wisdom and a real sense of what is ultimately important; and what is not. JOHN STENNIS never forgot where he came from and subsequently he never forgot who he was. The great prophet of social justice in the eighth century B.C., Micah, asks the question, "What is it that the Lord asks of you?" And the answer, "to act justly, to love loyally, and to walk wisely before our God," describes the life of this true servant of the people. So we gather today for all of the reasons that people come together at a time like this. We gather to celebrate the long and meaningful life of JOHN STENNIS, and we gather to mourn. Both are a part of the cycle of creation. This great man meant so much to so many, and even though I did not know him personally, he knew me. And he knew all of the people who farmed the land, and worked the hills, and built the towns and cities of this our beloved State. JOHN STENNIS knew all Mississippians, and all Americans, and for that matter all people everywhere, and he left us such a legacy, and an example of how to live life as a public servant and a citizen of the world. In the cynical, egocentric, and violent world in which we live, it is important that we follow the good example that JOHN STENNIS has left us. He was so many things. He was ever a gentleman who never forgot that integrity was the only way to fully honor the trust of the people. He was a man of civility who never forgot that there is a right and a wrong way for men and women to disagree, and then come to a solution that will benefit the common good. Above all, JOHN CORNELIUS STENNIS was a man who, when he saw injustice would have no part of it, and he called us all to a higher standard of fairness and justice. He was a man who believed that service meant giving to others rather than gathering for himself. In his campaign literature for the 1947 senatorial race, JOHN STENNIS stated what would be the standard for his life and his public service when he wrote: "I want to go to Washington as the free and unfettered servant of the great body of the people who actually carry the burden of everyday life. I want to plow a straight furrow right down to the end of my row. This is my political religion and I have lived by it too long to abandon it now. I base my appeal to you on this simple creed, and with it I shall rise and fall." |