Lying in State, A Friend of Sinners

Today Reverend Billy Graham arrived in Washington one final time. He will lie in state in the United States Capitol’s Rotunda today and tomorrow. Only the fourth citizen to do so, it is a fitting tribute for this honorable and beloved man of God—“America’s Pastor.”

From his rise to fame during a Los Angeles evangelistic crusade when William Randolph Hearst famously instructed his reporter to “Puff Graham,” he nevertheless remained a man who deeply cared for all people, regardless of their station in life.

That was illustrated with unexpected poignancy during the service in the Capitol earlier today. As the military honor guard moved away from his casket, I was struck by its simplicity, a “mere” wooden cross affixed to its top. The cross remained his focal point to the end. I later heard the commentator remark that the casket was made by inmates at a Louisiana prison. Even in death, Billy Graham continued to preach the enduring truth that Jesus Christ is the Friend of Sinners. Moreover, he considered himself just one of the many.

A prayer at the close of the service paid him perhaps the most significant homage, at least for his family: it was that Billy Graham lived a “scandal free life,” characterized by conduct that was above reproach. What a challenge that leaves, not only to the government representatives assembled there, but to each of us. May we all work, both in public and—more importantly-- in private, to live in humility and truth, and to do that as honestly and as honorably as we are able before God, and before each other.