Even the smallish streamlined golden casket looks frail sitting atop a skinny cart with small casters…and even here we still gawk.
We are to blame. We are the producer…the mother. We gave birth to him but now we don’t want the credit.
We watched with horror the transformation of a child – the fear, the thrill, the repulsion, and the tragedy. Doesn’t matter if he’s black or white. And there it was…the black/white man…shocking…scary. The black community was incensed the white community was repulsed…and the song came.
He is our “product”. We had him. We made him. We couldn’t help but push him away watching from a distance – he entertained us and at the same time scared us. We longed to be him but hated him.
We turned our backs but he was ours.
He turned his – living in seclusion. His was an isolated life – not normal. He watched us from behind umbrellas, filtered masks, and strange makeup. Neverland became never again – it sits empty.
And the trouble came. Reality twisted into fantasy. He said “I’m glad I’m thought of as a human being not a personality” was he really? We ask, who was the man behind the mask what is that image in the mirror? He is us. We made him.
And now we sit indifferent, in shock, and for some in sadness. We made him. Our culture is to blame. And now as a Christian I feel a bit sad, confused, empty, and hurt. Does it matter if he is dead? It should. I recall the scripture at this time…it is not God’s will for any man to parish but to have eternal life. I can’t say for sure if MJ is in heaven and to my knowledge he was not a professing Christian. What I do know is that often times the world reminds the church of what it should be doing. And in the words of MJ’s song “heal the world and make it a better place” we need do just that. I am one Christian who wants to show God’s love to humanity and yes-even MJ. If nothing else another soul is lost - is that worth a “Christian” tear?
