I have young sons, actually too young to speak to with any deep insight regarding a matter like death, but, I've thought, what would I say to my sons about Ted Kennedy? Understand that I disagree with him deeply on a political level and I think that, in his personal life, at least in his younger days, he was a very immoral man (as were his brothers). Here are some key prisms with which to think of Ted Kennedy.
He was, as a human being, one of God's image bearers. Flawed, yes, but an image bearer nonetheless. At one point in his life, he wanted to be president, indeed it seemed he was destined to be president. After he failed in his pursuit in 1980, he set him mind to being a great senator and, in that endeavor, he succeeded. He had a personal wit and magnetism that made him a natural born leader and endeared him to others on a personal basis--even to his political opponents. While his public speeches were often strident, in private he sought compromises and forged agreements between opposing sides. He was among the most liberal senators of his time in a time when liberalism was in decline, yet he was one of the most influential men of his generation. I think he demonstrated a personal touch that is the mark of a godly person. For my sons, this is a quality to be emulated.
Though gifted in many ways, at a critical moment of life he squandered his opportunity and it could not be recovered. First, John was president, then Robert ran. Both were cut down by assasins. Ted was the heir apparent. He had it all. He had the wit, the looks, the charm, the necessary support to become president. In 1962, President Kennedy had challenged the nation to send a man to the moon. In 1969, the nation met the challenge with the Apollo 11 landing. This was a quintessential Kennedy moment and Ted Kennedy should have been there to reflect in the glory of what had been accomplished. This would have set him up as the inevitable Democratic nominee to challenge Nixon in 1972; a scenario that was Nixon's greatest fear. But where was Kennedy? Nowhere to be found. Just weeks before, he had driven the car in which Mary Jo Kopechne lost her life at Chappaquiddick. This episode forever dogged him and it cost him the nomination in 1980 when he finally decided to run for president.
Judge not that you be not judged. Kennedy may have been a murderer and there is no doubt that he was an adulterer. He may also have repented of these before God. I do not know. Only he knew what happened for certain at Chappaquick. As for adultery, late in life it appears that he married and was faithful to his wife. I have also read that he apologized to his first wife for the way he treated her. I have not killed anyone or committed adultery, but, by the standard Jesus set, all of us are guilty before God of these things. None of us stand justified before God on our own merits. I pray that Ted Kennedy trusted Christ and is experiencing his grace in its fullness now.
