It’s now been three days since the school shooting in Parkland, FL. As many of you know, I have strong feelings on matters that affect our community, but I intentionally leave myself open so I can hear, observe, and learn from all sides.
Yet, here we are dealing with another mass shooting at a school. Once again, everyone in our nation is united on one claim … that this must never happen again. Unfortunately, we know the drill. People gather in like-minded groups to talk about the problems of our society. Politicians posture and continue to spew rhetoric that conveys outrage yet tends to support the party line. We’re hearing endless news reports and pundits fill the airwaves with their analysis and theories. I’ve spent a fair amount of time reading and researching the many truth claims that are being made and find that even these “truths” are skewed.
People speak indignantly in favor of gun-owner rights and say things like: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” They speak about 2nd amendment rights. People rise up equally indignantly in challenge against gun-owner rights. People argue the statistics and what they mean.
And there it is … the line is drawn.
In a few days’ time, the indignation we feel will have faded, the news cycle will have moved on, and the politicians will go on to posture about something else. Nothing significant will have been done to address mental illness, gun control, and the mistrust of the media and law enforcement. Why? Because we will have separated ourselves into camps and we will have entrenched ourselves in our positions such that we can no longer interact with someone with another point of view. But remember … we’re still united in the claim that this must never happen again. Yet, there are 17 lives that are gone from us. And oh what a hole they leave in the lives around them.
We are untied in the claim that this must never happen again, but those of us who are Christian are also united in our care and concern for the least of these (Matt 25).
What does a Christian do? We have to be careful here. We can shape our answer in such a way that further entrenches us and supports our philosophical or political position. We also have to resist the temptation to say that the “Christian” position is aligned with a specific philosophical or political position. Truly, the message of Christ challenges us all. The themes that I hear from the Bible that apply deal with concern for the least of these (see Matthew 25), hospitality, community, working together for the common good, working out deep differences through conversation and prayer (Acts 15).
If you think about it, taking up positions and entrenching ourselves in our ideologies is a defensive posture. I have to ask: “Defensive against what?” It seems to me that many of us mis-identify the enemy. We take up positions against each other as if this were a civil war instead of uniting, even in our diversity, against our common enemy (the image below is 50 years after the Civil War – Union and Confederate veterans reconcile). Our enemy is not each other or our differences. Our enemy is the continued violence and divisive behavior and rhetoric that tears us apart.
As Christians, I feel that our call is to use our wisdom, our gifts, and our prayer together. If you are a gun-rights advocate … ok … use what you know and value about guns to ensure that guns don’t get into the wrong hands (the reality is that regulation already exists, but the question is where the line is). I am not interested in removing all guns from the face of the earth, but guns are being used to hurt and kill people. If you are a mental health advocate … ok … use what you know. Is there a way we can care for the people who are hurting and who are mentally ill? If you feel that social ills or family structure issues are to blame … ok … these are longer-term concerns and take a long time to address, but start somewhere. We don’t have the luxury of time to find the perfect solution. Can we work together as a community? Can we resist behavior and rhetoric that brings out the worst in ourselves and others? Can we bring the best of ourselves to bear on reducing or eradicating this kind of terror from among us?
Let us pray. O God of hope, help us open ourselves up to those with differing views for the greater good of our community. Work through us to protect our children, comfort those who grieve, and care for the mentally ill, lonely, and despondent. In your holy name we pray. Amen!
Epicurious Lutheran 