Son
of a Sharecropper Eulogized by Presidents! The Axios
headline told the story. I did not know a lot about Elijah E. Cummings, but in
his death, I became aware of his greatness in the eyes of many. I watched most
of his funeral. He died early, only 68. He represented his home city of
Baltimore with pride and they returned the love. The day before, he had lain in
state in the rotunda of the Capital, only the second Representative granted
that privilege.
Former
presidents, a former vice president, former members of the cabinet, senators
and representatives from both sides of the aisle, state and local dignitaries,
and religious leaders of many faiths filled the 4000 seat New Psalmist Baptist
Church in Baltimore with an overflow crowd. You knew a giant had passed.
President
Clinton spoke words from the Book of Isaiah: “When
the Lord asked, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?' Isaiah said, 'Here
am I, Lord. Send me.' Elijah Cummings spent a whole life saying, 'Send me.' An
entire lifetime...”
Family,
friends and staff members told of how Cummings helped young people with sage
advice, served those in need in his community, and fought for the betterment of
the downtrodden. President Obama used the parable of the sower, suggesting that
Representative Cummings exemplified the idea that good seed sown on good soil
will produce good results. He said that Cummings proved that being kind to
others, being polite toward others, and being respectful of others were not
signs of weakness, but of strength. The Speaker of the House called him the
North Star of his caucus. Without really knowing the man, the funeral left you
wishing you had known Cummings, wishing that everyone could have someone like
him as a mentor, a visionary, and a moral compass.
For a couple of hours last week, we heard about goodness, kindness, humility, and
results. We saw battling members of Congress sit side by side to honor one of
their own. If they could do it that day, and the day before in the rotunda, why
can’t they behave that way on a regular basis? Why can’t they behave that way
this week, and next, and the next?
The
funeral service was for Elijah E. Cummings, but it was meant for us as well to
show us what greatness really could be if we put good seed in good soil. It
drew a sharp distinction between that and seed sown in the thicket that is so
much of today’s state of affairs.
His
contemporaries remembered him as Matthew would have described him, a “good and
faithful servant.”
