Tag: violence

Please Speak Up

I know I am not on your radar screen.
Or your email distribution lists.
Or your social media feeds.
Even if I was I am not important enough or influential enough to catch your attention.
But I am a Christian.
And, a pastor.
I have been both most of my life.
And, I have done and do my best to take the Bible seriously and to follow in the way and the spirit of Jesus.

We differ on many issues.
Abortion.
The death penalty.
The way we treat immigrants.
Our fellow Christians and community members who are LGBTQ.
Even on how we read and understand the Bible.
I get that.
I don’t know what to do about that other than to live out the values of my faith in the best way I know how.
But….
And, here is my question.
How do we understand and live the statement of Jesus:
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.

You were at the White House dinner the other evening.
I was not.
The President said that if those who were more liberal than you were elected violence would be the result. He and others are now walking back on that statement trying to say, “This is what the President really meant…” What I need to hear from you is not your trying to explain what the President meant or did not mean when he said that. What I need to hear from you is that violence as a way to resolve issues is not a part of the values of our faith. Whether is the violence of those associated with the antifa movement or the violence of the KKK and white supremists movement or the violence of those whose response to anything which threatens them is to pick up their gun. I need to you stand up and to speak up and to say, “This is wrong. This is not who we are or who we are called to be as People of Faith.”

But, you are not saying that are you?
Here is the price we will both pay.
Those outside the Christian community who are trying to understand who we are and what we value and if and how that might fit in their lives;
Those who look at the violence on the left and the violence on the right and turn their back on both;
All those people are going to hear your silence and never hear my voice and turn away.
Forever.

Violence

As Jesus came near Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you had only recognized the things that make for peace! But, now they are hidden from your eyes.”
– Luke 19: 41-42

A bomb explodes in Brussels.
Like it exploded in…
Paris, and
Aleppo, and
Ankara, and
Oklahoma City, and
Selma, Alabama.
Killing many.
And maiming more.
The innocent.
The passer-by.
The mother on her way to work.
The father saying good-bye to his children.
My mind searches for a reason
In a desperate, but futile effort
To make sense of the senseless.
And, my heart breaks.

Heartbroken

The news today is heartbreaking.
I am heartbroken.
And for as sad and angry and despairing as I feel, I can’t imagine what it must be like for my African-American sisters and brothers. Nine people killed as they gathered for prayer at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina and we still refuse to have thoughtful and meaningful conversations about race and guns and violence in our country.
On one hand what can one say in the face of such violence and hatred.
On the other hand those of us who are trying to find a way forward…
Find some way forward…
Need to find the words and the courage to say, even shout, enough is enough.

As I went for a walk this morning to think and to pray, I found myself remembering these words from of William Stringfellow which I will use as we begin our worship this Sunday. Maybe they will help me find a better way to live tomorrow than I have done today.

In the face of death, live humanly.
In the middle of chaos, celebrate the Word.
Amidst Babel, speak the truth.
Confront the noise and verbiage and falsehood of death with the truth and potency and efficacy of the Word of God. Know the Word, teach the Word, nurture the Word, preach the Word, define the Word, incarnate the Word, do the Word, live the Word. And more than that, in the Word of God, expose death and all death’s works and wiles, rebuke lies, cast out demons, exorcise, cleanse the possessed, raise those who are dead in mind and conscience.

Safe Places

Instead of a sermon/message this Sunday morning, our congregation will have a conversation. Or, at least start one.
A conversation about…
Violence.
And guns.
And the meaning of the 2nd Amendment.
About assault weapons.
And hand guns.
And high capacity magazine clips.
And, I hope…
A conversation about what it takes to create safe places;
For our children and for our youth and for our households.

I find myself wondering…
How much of the violence that we hear about on the news;
From Aurora to Sandy Hook to the streets of Chicago;
Has to do with alienation and a sense of hopelessness?
Has to do with individuals just not caring anymore?
Or, about pain crying out for attention in the most destructive way possible?

Yes, our elected officials and law enforcement officers and mental health professionals all have an critical role to play in our continued efforts to minimize violence and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who cannot use them safely and properly.
But places like this…
Churches, synagogues, mosques…
Communities of faith of whatever size or shape or brand…
Also have a role to play that has something to do with hope and purpose and making a positive difference. And something to do with a sense of community which is something that many have lost over the last number of years.

I don’t know how the conversation will go on Sunday.
I just know it is an important conversation to begin.
I don’t know what we need to do more of to create safe places.
I just know it is important that we begin.

Tags

Several things I believe: