Loudon United Methodist Church

Did you know that the casket of Abraham Lincoln was opened following his burial? This was not the work of grave robbers or desecrators, or even for scientific inquiry as to the cause of the president’s death. His casket was opened on April 14, 1887 (the 22nd anniversary of his assassination), to prove that the late president was dead and that his body was in his casket. Rumors had circulated across the country that Lincoln’s casket was empty, many believing that he had never died; and so a small group of witnesses were assembled who would view the body and testify that Lincoln’s body was indeed in his casket. Fifteen years later (September of 1901), over the strong objections of the late president’s son Robert Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s casket was opened again in order to quell the same rumors. This time a group of 23 persons viewed the president’s remains confirming that President Lincoln was dead and his body was in the casket. To insure that the remains would never be disturbed again, Robert Lincoln had his father’s coffin buried ten feet below the floor of his monument and enshrouded within 4.000 pounds of concrete. It seems exceedingly cruel that Lincoln’s casket had to be disturbed twice to stop rumors, but rumors are cruel. Rumors destroy reputations and shatter lives. Rumors die an exceedingly slow death. Rumors don’t just create problems in the society around us; they cause problems inside the church as well. I’ve seen it too many times in too many churches. I believe God calls us as his people to deal with this problem at a higher level than the society around us. James offers a strong warning about the tongue because our words can do great good or great harm (James 3:1-12). If Jesus warned his followers that we will be held accountable for every useless word we say (Matthew 12:36), how much more will we have to answer for any destructive words we use. As Christians we are called to build one another up (not to tear one another down) and so I believe we are held to a higher standard than making sure information is true before passing it on. Before we pass on a story or information about someone else, we should pause long enough to ask ourselves if what we are about to say is good, kind, and builds up the reputation of the person involved. If the information is not good or kind, we should just keep that damaging information to ourselves regardless of how true we may think it to be (except in those rare instances when it is necessary to share negative information to protect someone from harm). Grace and Peace, Rev. Walt