LL Cool J acts as chaplain at Grammys

At a time when the music industry was mourning the loss of Whitney Houston, rapper LL Cool J acted as an impromptu chaplain to those at the Grammys and millions of viewers.   As the Grammys opened, many viewers were wondering how the Grammys would incorporate the tragic loss of Houston’s death.

LL opened with these words:

“Tonight, we ask ourselves: How do we speak to this time, to this day? There is no way around this – we’ve had a death in our family. And so at least, for me… the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman that we loved, for a fallen sister, Whitney Houston.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for sharing our sister Whitney with us. Today our thoughts are with her mother, her daughter and all of her loved ones. And although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit and to have her lasting legacy of music to cherish and share forever. Amen.

That said, welcome to the 54th Grammy Awards.

I was really hoping that someone would pray, and LL seemed like the natural choice. Though I was a little disappointed with the brevity, the rapper was able to make it a prayer that was specific and addressed the lament of Houston’s passing.  Beginning with “Heavenly Father” invokes a type of Christian phasing that is common to many churches.

As I watched, the camera panned to the audience at the Grammys.  Many had their heads down, eyes closed, embracing the one next to them, one gentleman had his face in his hands, and many concluded the prayer with “Amen”. Though many Christians might have questions about the audience’s religion, this was a moment that shows that our country is still a very religious one despite any notions of a “war on religion”.

LL Cool J’s chaplain like response was very appropriate. In an age when so many are worrying about offending others with public prayers that do not jive with everyone’s faith, this was a time in which someone had the courage to pray.  I felt that LL’s prayer was authentic and heartfelt. It was not a glamorous moment to “wear religion on his sleeve”. It was clear that the rapper’s response was personal and his prayer was his own choice, not a producer’s.

Sure, this wasn’t a come-to-Jesus-moment for millions, but it was an opportunity for people to be comforted in a time of grief. It’s little things like these that are doorways to reaching out without beating people with Bibles.