TIM RUSSERT ON FRIDAY THE 13th

“...this night thy soul shall be required of thee..." (from Luke 12:20)

Wow.  Tim Russert dead.

In the words of WTKK’s Jay Severin I’ve discovered I really AM one of  “the best and brightest” when it comes to news and current events because I’ve been really surprised that when I’ve asked a few folks, “Did you hear Tim Russert died?” their response has been, “Who’s he?!”

I certainly know that Tim Russert was a major fixture on NBC and a phenomenally gifted commentator and communicator.  One of the frustrations of being a pastor is that I DON’T usually get to watch the “Sunday talking heads shows” because they happen on Sunday morning.  Almost every week, however, when my wife and I pull out of the church parking lot around 12:35 p.m. on Sunday, the radio goes on to WTKK and I’m glued to Tim Russert and “Meet the Press”.  I also heard the “informal” Tim Russert many times on Don Imus’ radio show talking about his beloved Dad “Big Russ”.  Thus, this happening on Father’s Day Weekend is, well, unbelievable!

On Friday nights I teach a Bible study at church.  Tonight, my wife was not home, but I got take-out Chinese food for my 24-year-old son Jon, my 21-year-old daughter Rachel and me.  As we sat down to eat I flipped on WTKK and Jay Severin was going on and on about Tim Russert.  At first, I thought he was just doing a commercial for “Meet the Press”.  Then he sounded really morbid, and I just couldn’t understand it.  Out loud I said, “Boy, why is he talking all about Tim Russert, I hope he didn’t DIE or something!”  No sooner were the words out of my mouth than Jay announced Russert had died.

Tim Russert died of a heart attack at 58, and as far as I can tell this was completely unexpected.  Russert was a Type A, overweight 58-year-old and I’m a SORT OF Type A, overweight 53-year-old.  That’s kind of an uncomfortable feeling.

I’m REALLY not superstitious, but today IS Friday the 13th.  Well, yes, if it had been the 12th or the 14th, Tim Russert still would have died.  I just wish it hadn’t been on Friday the 13th because that will feed the stupid beliefs of all of the superstitious; AND it will be so hard on his family on Father’s Day!

When I started the blog in early 2006 I did not want it to be all Hell fire and brimstone sermonizing, all postings about Christ’s soon coming, and all that kind of stuff.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I believe in all that stuff.  I just know that average secular Joes and Marys get really turned off by the wall-to-wall sermonizing of many evangelicals.  So, I wrote about my favorite soft drinks, and the New England Patriots, and collectible Massachusetts license plates, and all sorts of stuff.  Lately I’ve been thinking about the blog and realizing that in the past four months I’ve done a lot more “preaching” and a lot less talking about restaurants I like or T.V. weathermen or the grass seed that will give you the greenest lawn.  I had actually decided that for the next stretch of postings I’d go with much more “light” stuff.  There’s a comical post about cars and computers that will appear sometime on Saturday, for instance.  But this Tim Russert thing just throws me back in the pulpit again!

Folks, I AM an evangelical and I’m telling you as so many of my fellow evangelicals have said, “There’s a heaven to gain and a hell to shun!”  Where did Tim Russert stand spiritually?  I have absolutely no idea of his spirituality or lack thereof.  I HOPE he had a strong personal commitment to God and His Holy Word.  

“Here today and gone tomorrow”.  That’s Tim Russert.  Funny, I don’t know why but this week I was thinking about John Ritter and how he dropped dead at 55.  Maybe it IS the bit that I’m 53 and overweight and haven’t had a physical in a long time.  I don’t know.  But this stuff of people just dropping dead IS hard to take.  Why is Walter Cronkite still alive at 90-plus?  Why is Andy Rooney still giving those Commentaries on “60 Minutes” at 89?  Why (to use a Howie Carr line) will 58-year-old Tim Russert “not be down for breakfast”?

It’s all in God’s hands.
Well, spiritually speaking I’M in God’s hands.  Are you?