As I was driving home from our synod assembly in
Springfield, MA I was listening to the news about the shootings at the Pulse
nightclub in Orlando, FL. At the time I
was listening, details were still a bit hazy.
Authorities knew that the shooter had pledged allegiance to ISIS. President Obama had labeled the tragedy both
an act of hate and an act of terror.
At one
point as I was driving through some side roads in western Massachusetts I
looked up to see the confederate flag flying over a household. At least in the south, one can claim an
historical justification for flying the stars and bars (not a great
justification, but a justification nonetheless). In the north the confederate flag seems to
say, “I’m good with hate. I want you to
fear me a little because I am comfortable with hate.”
As I
thought about that confederate flag, I thought about how it incorporates
elements of the national flag though arranged differently. It has stars and stripes. It is red, white and blue. Although it draws from good source material,
it represents something very different, a painful history of slavery and
racism.
This is
the nature of hate, to take good source material and twist it into shapes and
symbols that confuse and distort the original.
The Ku Klux Klan sets a cross ablaze and a symbol of hope and life becomes
a symbol of fear and intimidation. A
young man listens to messages of hate and a religion that is centered on
striving for wholeness and peace becomes an excuse to kill the innocent. It is no wonder that there is a debate about
how to label this extremism. Most Muslims
don’t want their faith associated with ISIS any more than I want my Christian
beliefs associated with the KKK.
But now
his excuse for bloodshed will become an excuse for others. Some will use the Pulse as an excuse to hate
Muslims. Some will use this tragedy as
an excuse to put up walls of separation.
Some will use these shootings as an excuse to put more guns on the
street. Some will even find a way to use
this hatred as an affirmation of their belief that God hates the LGBTQ
community.
It is
tempting to segue into using tragedy as an excuse for good, but that never
seems to do justice to the tragedy itself.
Over 100 people, all children of God, dead and wounded, are not an excuse for action, good or bad. Responding to Orlando requires us first to
sit with the tragedy, to mourn for the dead, to pray for the families, to care
for those who are wounded, grieving and afraid, and finally to look at
ourselves and acknowledge the attitudes we tolerate that allow hate to grow:
irrational fears of those who are different, intentional ignorance of other
faiths, scripture used primarily as a litmus test to determine who is in and
who is out.
After
we acknowledge the pain and its impact, then we can respond with greater
love. The shootings in Orlando are a
terrible symbol of the fact that we have not yet lived into the reign of God,
that holy mountain where they will not hurt or destroy; that holy city where
weeping and crying and pain will be no more.
Yet as church we are called together in Christ to live toward God’s
vision of loving peace. We are called to
go out with good news that God’s love is for all: male and female, straight and
queer, regardless of race, class or culture.
God is in love with Muslims and Christians and Jews and Hindus and
Buddhists and Wiccans and a list of faiths too long for this entry but also
includes atheists and agnostics. God is
in love with people whose sexuality might make me blush. God is in love with those who struggle with
mental illness. God is in love with
every person who is different by anyone else’s definition of difference.
May that love be our guide as we go about the world. May that love be our message in the face of fear, hate and bigotry. May that love be the means to put an end to tragedies with names like the Pulse, Emanuel AME Church and Sandy Hook Elementary. May the love of God that surrounds Orlando be comfort to the mourning, healing to the wounded, and peace to all who are afraid.
Pastor,
ReplyDeleteAs I read this article this morning I was reminded of some of our past conversations and wonder if you agree at all with the author's premise.
http://thefederalist.com/2016/07/05/why-owning-guns-is-an-act-of-love/
Ken
Sorry for the delay. I don't check my comments enough. I think the author makes an interesting argument for gun ownership as a sign of patriotic love and especially as a sign of full inclusion in American society. At the same time, the Christian vision is one of turning swords in plowshares (and guns into something else). From that perspective gun ownership is a concession of living in an imperfect world. I think where I would challenge the author would be going a little further into the power and number of guns owned. In his argument, does an AR-15 show more love than a single-shot .22 rifle or a common handgun? I can understand a hunter owning several rifles of different types. I can understand a homeowner owning a gun for a sense of protection. But at what point can we say a gun is too powerful to be on the streets? At what point can we tell someone, "Maybe you have enough guns."
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