We have just posted a new sermon on the Keep Believing website called It's the Faith, Brother. Here's how the sermon begins:
“It’s the faith, Brother.”
That’s what Tim Russert said to Jon Meacham when he invited him to appear on Meet the Press to debate noted atheist Christopher Hitchens. He told Meacham he had a “great deal” for him.
“You gotta come down and defend the faith, Brother.” He wanted Meacham, an Episcopalian, to defend the Christian faith against the sulfuric criticism of Christopher Hitchens. Even though he was a devout Catholic (a fact he never tried to hide), Russert as moderator couldn’t take sides so he wanted Meacham to take up the cause.
“It’s the faith, Brother.”
That’s a good statement any way you look at it, and it gains new poignancy after the sudden death of Tim Russert last Friday afternoon. Later that day Howard Fineman of Newsweek magazine made this observation during a television interview:
"Tim Russert Did Not Pursue False Gods, He Pursued the Real One”
That’s as fine a tribute as you are likely to find, and not just about a public figure.
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