When I first graduated college, I was a reporter. I worked for a small weekly newspaper making an incredibly low amount of money, but I was getting paid to write and that was exciting. It didn't take long, though, for me to realize that writing for a newspaper was not where God was calling me to be. I was a reporter for seven months before I quit and entered the seminary in Princeton. It took a long time after quitting for me to be able to read the news again because I had such a bad taste in my mouth.
I do read the news now, and there are times when I read an article and my heart just feels sad. Tonight I read an article and saw a video clip about it and my heart was sad. My heart was sad and sick all at the same time. It was a news article about a man who, following the termination of his wife's job, went to the school board meeting, told everyone but the six male school board members to get out of the room, and he opened fire. By what can only be described as the grace of God, the man missed every single school board member, even though he was standing at close range. After being wounded by a security officer, he took his own life.
Now, as a reporter I had to cover school board meetings so I know emotions can run high. I've seen some very ugly arguments between school board members and fitful parents. I would not like to be the reporter covering the man in Florida with the gun because I wouldn't know where to even begin reporting on it. What has happened to our society that people are pushed so far over the brink of chaos that something like this even happens? I've been reading less and less of the news lately because I'm sick to death of hearing politicians fight about how to fix the economy. I realize that it's a big job and I can respect that. But at what point can we down here on the ground expect our country's leaders to stop their petty partisan bickering and start acting on their promises and their pledges? At what point can we on the ground expect that our country's finances will fund important things like job programs? How exactly did America get to the point where we are so far in debt that we have people all over the country on the brink of starvation because they can't pay their bills or buy food due to unemployment?
This edge-living -- and I don't mean living on the edge to the glory of spontaneity, but rather living on the edge between sanity and insanity -- is this our new reality? I love this country and all the freedom it gives me, but I have to admit that sometimes I'm not sure I really know what we stand for anymore. We're doing some great things, and we have some awesome programs in place that really help people, and I get that. But I think there are some areas in which we have lost our muchness.
I'm praying tonight. I'm praying for the man that was so angry and pushed so far off the edge that he had to take his own life after attempting to take the lives of others. I'm praying for the school board members who have to live with the reality of their own mortality in a way that I'm sure none of them have ever faced before. I'm praying for the family of the deceased gunman who now have to hear their loved one referred to as "the gunman." How quickly roles and titles can change in the face of emotional chaos. I'm praying for the families of the school board members, that they may find ways to be supportive and loving to people that have experienced something horrible. I'm praying for all those around the country who are finding themselves teetering on that same edge between sanity and doing something irrational.
I don't know how economics work, but I know they are very complicated and I can appreciate that. But if we're learning anything, it's that we're learning to be aware of how fragile the human makeup really is. We're learning to be aware that if all we ever do is talk about change, nothing is actually going to change. It's not enough to say things have to get better. We have to find ways to start making them better.
I don't usually write politically-charged blogs, but this article really bothered me tonight. It makes me wonder what's happened to us as a nation. What can we do to gain back our muchness (quoting from Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland")? And more importantly I guess is how we face the reality that this problem of people who do things like the man who brought a gun to the school board meeting is not a new problem. It's a problem that's been in our country and in our world since the fall in Genesis 3.
In this advent season, we talk about peace on earth and goodwill towards human beings. Let's find ways to make this not just a nice sentiment, but a reality. God is watching over all of us, and praise God that the school board walked out of there with their lives. Praise God that there are so many people in this country working on ways to bring peace on earth and goodwill towards all human beings with energy and creativity. My Christmas wish this year is that we move closer towards a point where we stop needing natural disasters, personal tragedies, and outright chaos to remind us how connected we are as people.
Peace to you,
Pastor Becki
No comments:
Post a Comment