Pastor’s Blog – February 2011

In January we witnessed another chapter in what has become an all too common story within our nation’s geographical, social, and political boundaries. Once again, much of the nation was plunged into a season of mourning, grief, fear, and bewilderment, as a congresswoman, staff members, and bystanders were gunned down in the middle of a public forum.

Many players took center stage in this tragic drama: a mentally ill shooter, innocent victims, a nine year old child. But out of the Arizona tragedy, I learned the most from Daniel Hernandez, the young aid who offered himself as a shield and immediate caregiver to the fallen congresswomen. He has been deemed a hero by many, certainly a courageous quick-thinker by most. Whether or not this will be his only fifteen minutes of fame remains to be seen. I hope not, because it is young people like him who will impact of country for the positive in the years to come. He has no axe to grind, no desire to make more of himself for his own gain or satisfaction. At the memorial service in Tucson, he refused the moniker of hero, and humbly gave deference to the many others who were involved. He refused to make it about him, or any agenda other than the need for healing. Daniel had the maturity to recognize the situation for what it was. Jesus must have smiled.

Yes, Daniel Hernandez could have grandstanded there at that memorial service, and taken his newfound forum into the world of political and social agendas, but he left that to the TV and Radio talk hosts, those who have large audiences and larger egos, who within hours were re-engaged in partisan finger wagging and blame-laying. It appears that the most important thing here wasn’t the lives lost, the horror of public violence, but the opportunity to use this for political or ideological gain. So, the right called the shooter a left-winger, and the left call him a right-winger. All sides offered their opinions on gun control and tongue control. Even as the President delivered one of the most moving, healing and on-target speeches I have been privileged to witness, there were those poised to attempt to ridicule and undermine his words and efforts, exposing themselves for the unchristian political opportunists that they are. Nothing is more unsettling for me as a Christian than to hear many of these ideologues spouting the “God” word, even as they lay waste to all that Jesus taught. Nothing separates the teachings of Jesus more from our cultural, institutional Christianity than hearing the “God” word invoked across our political debates.

Often events like the Arizona shootings remind us (or should) that our Christian faith is not an argument to be won, but a life to be lived and shared, a witness to be given. Those who take up the cross (remember, that is what Jesus demands) are called to be healers (see the gospels), soft spoken (see Proverbs) and compassionate (read the Psalms), concerned chiefly with justice for all wholeness of spirit (read the whole darn Bible!). As has been the case through most of the church’s history, a meditation on the Sermon on the Mount is always in order. We can find it in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5. Happy reading!

Continued Blessings for the New Year,
Pastor John