A Note from Pastor Zack | September 6, 2024
Lord Help Us
I tried to write some comforting texts this Thursday morning to our students and teachers in the church. Sadly, I’ve done this before and never very well. In my opinion, no one has ever been able to cobble together perfect words to bring comfort in the face of such tragedies. Polished pastors and politicians say words but the raw feeling of loss and loaded statements do not magically take away the pain. Lord, help us.
I said I was praying for them as they go off to school with the heavy weight of what happened at Apalachee on their minds. I reminded them that we love and care about them. I offered a short, inadequate theological statement about “human sin and brokenness being very real”. I ended with words about healing; starting with us, one-on-one, sowing seeds of hope. Jesus wants more peace on earth than meanness toward each other. How are we able to accomplish such a task?
We are more angry with each other today than ever before. People regularly get thrown out of restaurants, hospitals, and airplanes because of bad behavior and rudeness that, I think, leads us to more and more evil actions toward one another. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Men I find to be a sort of being very badly constructed, as they are generally more easily provoked than reconciled, more disposed to do mischief to each other than to make reparation, and much more easily deceived than undeceived.” That was over 200 years ago.
Today I think we are more lonely, alienated, agitated, and easily provoked to violence than ever before. We are “slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to anger” to paraphrase James 1:19. With powerful weapons readily available, we can inflict great harm on more people that ever before. Domestic violence, road rage, and mass shootings are all part of this natural tendency to give into our sinful selves, rather than aspire to more holy virtues. Do you remember holy virtues like patience, forgiveness, kindness, and self-control? Where do we teach these virtues beyond a short sermon on a Sunday morning?
I hate that mass shootings are routine in the news, stirring us up when it’s close by. We begin this tragic cycle with heavy hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Voices will urge us not to be political and others to be more political. Then voices advocate less guns or more guns or fewer types of certain guns in public debates. Some voices will speak of better mental healthcare and spiritual care needs in our communities. Money will be spent on more security. A word about security. I’m grateful for our school leaders who work hard to keep our students safe. I’m thankful for the Sheriff’s department working hard to keep our students safe. I believe the Apalachee High School shooting could have been much worse had there not been smart people thinking proactively about student safety.
How much more can we do? I don’t want everyday at school to look like TSA security lines at the airport. What can we do to work on keeping our children safe? I’ll have to look closer to home for at least part of the solution. As Christians, we can start with our relationship with God. We believe we are all created in the image of God, but know we are broken. The cycle of violence we hit each other with is timeless. We are naturally suspicious of each other, hurtful, and selfish. We call it sin. We believe Jesus can redeem our brokenness by having faith in Him and accepting his Lordship over us. Lordship is more than a slogan; it’s a way of life. “Love God and Love neighbors” shouldn’t just be a nice scripture verse, but instead a daily checklist for our character and virtues. What have we done to show the love of God and neighbor today? When we fail to show that love, what have we done to repent and find our way back to peace?
Let us resolve to be more civil and patient with one another. By our words and example, let us be more kind and loving toward one another—family and strangers alike. Christian virtue is not dead. Let’s strive to do better. Dare I say, our children’s safety and
the safety of everyone in the world depends on it.
Peace,
zack@madisonfumc.com
