President Barack Obama gave a eulogy at the funeral of Reverend and Senator Clementa Pinckney on Friday in Charleston, South Carolina.
Pinckney, who was among eight others killed at a shooting during a Wednesday night Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Epsicopal Church, was a "man of God," and a "man who believed in things not seen," President Obama said, as he began the eulogy quoting from Hebrews 11. Pinckney was the former senior pastor of Emanuel AME Church, and was a Senator of South Carolina.
President Obama said though he did not know Rev. Pinckney well, he remembers "his graciousness, his smile, his reassuring baritone, his deceptive sense of humor -- all qualities that helped him wear so effortlessly a heavy burden of expectation."
"He was in the pulpit by 13, pastor by 18, public servant by 23," President Obama went on. "He did not exhibit any of the cockiness of youth, nor youth's insecurities; instead, he set an example worthy of his position, wise beyond his years, in his speech, in his conduct, in his love, faith, and purity."
"Clem was often asked why he chose to be a pastor and a public servant. But the person who asked probably didn't know the history of the AME church. As our brothers and sisters in the AME church know, we don't make those distinctions. 'Our calling,' Clem once said, 'is not just within the walls of the congregation, but ... the life and community in which our congregation resides.'"
Pinckney and eight other members of Emanuel AME church were shot and killed by a stranger who asked to join the Bible study group, sat in the study group for an hour, and then opened fire. A suspect named Dylann Roof was arrested the next morning. Reports say that Roof wanted to start another race war in the country, and an online manifesto that was attributed to him said he wanted to "kill black people," along with other supremacist sayings.
The killer's act was "an act that he presumed would incite fear and recrimination; violence and suspicion," Obama said.
"Oh, but God works in mysterious ways. God has different ideas ... The alleged killer could have never anticipated the way the families of the fallen would respond when they saw him in court -- in the midst of unspeakable grief, with words of forgiveness. He couldn't imagine that," he continued, referring to the forgiveness that the families of the shooting victims offered to the suspect in court.
"Blinded by hatred, he failed to comprehend what Reverend Pinckney so well understood -- the power of God's grace."
"According to the Christian tradition, grace is not earned," Obama continued. "Grace is not merited. It's not something we deserve. Rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of God -- as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. Grace."
"If we can find that grace, anything is possible. If we can tap that grace, everything can change."
