That the verse was a comment on the things God had done for Israel; some modern translations are on the order of, “See what God has done.”
From what I’ve read, Morse and I wouldn’t have seen eye to eye on religious matters, but I’ve been thinking that the message he tapped out to Baltimore is more relevant now than ever.
This comes to mind, for example, when I’m preparing to conduct a wake service.
Like anyone else who performs this ministry, I often did not know the person who died. And while my responsibility is principally to reflect on the Scripture readings, I like to include something that sheds light on the life of the deceased person so that the ritual is not wholly impersonal.
Every instance of bereavement is unique, of course, but I think it is true more often than not that mourners are comforted by knowing that the life of the person they have lost is valued.
And so, since I started conducting vigil services 30 years ago, I have made a practice of asking questions about the person who has died. Often my pastor, other parishioners, or the funeral director are helpful, and sometimes it’s necessary to arrive early for the service and try to spend a few minutes with a member of the family.
But now the Internet has added a resource that was unheard of when I was ordained and for many years thereafter – the funeral home’s website. That’s a valuable tool because it almost immediately makes available an obituary that frequently includes personal information provided by family members, but also because it offers an opportunity for family members, friends, and co-workers to post comments.
Recently, for example, I conducted a vigil service for a man who had a graduate degree and who had had a long career in corporate finance. But the folks who posted comments on the website, without exception, emphatically remarked that this man’s family had been the center of his life – that that was the characteristic that first came to their minds when they thought of him.
Those comments made it possible for me, with only a few words, to mention the premium the Church places on the family and to acknowledge how important this man’s devotion to his family had been – not only to his spouse and children and grandchild, but to the wider community that is enriched and strengthened by the presence of a loving household.
So digital communication and the Internet in particular has become a useful tool not only in education and business but in ministry.
And whom do we have to thank for that?
Well, Samuel Morse, for one, a pioneer in transforming long-distance communication from a dream to a reality. And we have to thank all the other thinkers and scientists and technicians who carried that reality from the clicking key of the 19th century to the megabits of the 21st.
But like our ancestors who made the first stone tools 2.6 million years ago, the digital tool makers are using the materials and physical laws that ultimately come from only one source.
We owe plenty to Samuel Morse and his successors, but when we consider the technology we use that our parents never dreamed of, how can we help but ask: “What hath God wrought?”
Charles Paolino is a member of the RENEW staff and a permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Metuchen.
