The Faith of Mr. Rogers, Week 9

This year I've been going through a new book, "The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers." Written by Amy Hollingsworth, a minister and friend of Fred Rogers, it chronicles nine simple lessons she learned about faith from him. I've read it through a couple times, and have been looking at it with my Sunday School Group. Over the next few weeks, I'll be offering short reflections on what I've learned from each segment.

We reach the final week of Mr. Rogers lessons on faith. This final chapter is about Heaven. And, of course, you can't talk about Heaven without thinking about how you get there, which makes it a little tough.

It seems fitting that we get to this chapter on this day, a week after Easter. Easter is a date where we celebrate and proudly declare that death is not the end, and that was the truth for Fred Rogers and his ministry, too. And though all the hope of Christianity is built on this idea, we often don’t like to talk or think about death. In fact, Amy begins the chapter telling a story about a painting her father gave her that she found beautiful, yet hid away in her attic for a decade because she didn’t want to think about a time when her father would no longer be there. While we know that death isn’t the end for believers, it can still be difficult and painful.

We don't like to think about our own mortality, or the mortality of others. We know what the hope for Heaven is for all believers, but it still feels natural to grieve the loss of those that we miss. That isn't wrong. Death, though merely a part of the journey in our faith, is painful for those left behind. We remember those we've lost, and we don't like to think about a time when we'll be here on earth and those we love won't be with us. And yet, we know there is hope we'll see them again and that death is not the end. And I thought this chapter walked the fine line of balancing both those ideas.

Fred had a specific vision of what he thought Heaven would be. I’d wager we all do. And society does as well. We hear songs talking about “golden streets” and we read verses about no more tears. We have television shows that paint it as a utopia, and all believers have some kind of way they try to think about Heaven. For Fred, it seemed to be a place to finally understand the unexplainable in this time and place, and that really resonates with me. Fred said, “Frankly, I think that after we die, we have this wide understanding of what is real. And we’ll probably say, ‘Ah, that’s what it was all about.’”

One of my favorite verses to turn to when I struggle with this world and the pain we sometimes see in this world is 1 Corinthians 13:12. It reads: "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." For me it's a reminder that in this time and place, we can't see the fullness of God's grace or His plan for the world. But it's also a reminder that there will be a time and place when those things we have to accept by faith in this time and place will come into a new view. I think, seeing that quote from Fred, he felt that way, too. And I hope that he's experiencing that fullness right now.

This journey with Fred Rogers has been all about how we see ourselves and other, how that inspires our actions and how that can change the world. Amy ends the final chapter with a question she asked Fred about what he would say if he had one last broadcast to give. His response: “Well, I would want (those) who were listening to somehow know they had unique value, that there isn’t anybody in the whole world exactly like them and that there never has been and there never will be. And that they are loved by the Person who created them in a unique way.” Fred thought if people could really know and feel that, then they would be able to appreciate that about their neighbors as well, and it would change the way they lived their lives and interacted with others in this world. Fred Rogers mission was to help people feel loved and to help them realize it was there responsibility to help others feel loved, too.

For me, this has been a beautiful and challenging journey. In 2018 my favorite film of the year, and one of my favorite of the decade, was the documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" It shared Fred's story and his mission, including interviews with those whose life he touched. It was inspiring and moving. So, too, was experiencing this book.

It has challenged me to think about myself and my neighbor differently, and I hope it will change the way I live going forward. That was Fred's hope for everyone who interacted with him or his show. It was his mission, and it was one he served every day of his life. That is his legacy, and it's a legacy that continues to touch our lives more than a decade after his death. I hope this journey has been inspiring for you, too.