How
can we help? What can we do? What should we say? These are just a few of the questions
surrounding the shooting at the club in Orlando this past weekend. As we gathered for worship, the details of
the shooting were still very fuzzy when our Chalice Bearers added the shooting
to our Prayers of the People.
Predictably, in the immediate aftermath and especially in an election
year, people are wrestling for control of the narrative. Some have tried to make the story all about
gun control; others have tried to make the story all about homophobia; others
have tried to make the story all about the Islamic threat to our country and
our values; others have tried to blame law enforcement for a dereliction of
duty; still others have waded into the discussion with the unhelpful wisdom
that this was God’s continuing judgment on our nation. Perhaps you have even read a few more tag
lines in your Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Forty-nine lives were snuffed out; fifty-three individuals suffered
injuries during the shooting; families are grieving; so does our Lord.
Now, less than thirty-six hours from the
horrific event of early Sunday morning, we are learning that the situation is
far more complex than pundits would want.
Yes, the shooter was a Muslim; but he does not seem to have gone to
Mosque very often. Yes, he targeted a
bar frequented by the Orlando GLBTQI community, but, according to reports, he
seems to have frequented the bar for over three years. Some patrons knew him by name. Some knew that he had “good days” and “bad
days” and to stay away from him on those good days. He was married and had a child. He seems to have caused enough concern in the
minds of others that he was reported as a threat to the welfare and safety of
others. He was interviewed and
investigated by the FBI. He had the
funds a legal right to purchase an expensive weapon, but it seems to have been
a Sig Sauer MCX rather than the reported AR-15.
One witness describes his laughter while shooting as “not human” and
“maniacal”. If we have discovered so
much about the conflicting backstory of these events in less than two full
days, imagine what we will know by this time next week? Next month?
Still, forty-nine lives were snuffed out; fifty-three individuals
suffered injuries during the shooting; families are grieving; so does our Lord.
In their efforts to take control of the
narrative, opposing sides are using the forty-nine and fifty-three for their
own purposes. And there begins our first
response in Nashville. Pray for the
forty-nine individuals whose lives were cut short. Pray for the fifty-three individuals whose
easiest injuries from which to recover will be the bullet wounds. The survivor guilt and screams of others, and
the picture of the dead seared into their minds, will be far more challenging
and will linger far longer than the physical scars. Pray for the one, the shooter, the
perpetrator of evil. Pray for the loved
ones of all those involved. Pray for the
first responders, who waded into danger to save lives. Pray for the surgeons and nurses in the
emergency room, whose expertise ensured that the number of deaths was not
higher. Pray for the mental health
professionals and pastors who will come along later to help all affected deal
with the aftermath. Pray for those who
would use the deaths of forty-nine individuals and the wounds of fifty-three more
for political points, one-upsmanship, and any other silly games. Pray that whatever failures in the system
that may have contributed to this senseless tragedy come to light, that future
events might be prevented. And pray that
our brothers and sisters who are involved in any associated ministry are
empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak God’s mourning and God’s redemptive power
into such evil. Pray especially for our
brother and sister Episcopalians in the diocese of Central Florida. They will be the primary witnesses to God’s
mourning heart and His redemptive power in their community as their lives
return to the new normal following a collective trauma. Forty-nine lives were snuffed out; fifty-three
individuals suffered injuries during the shooting; families are grieving; so
does our Lord—that is their new normal.
If we are doing our jobs as disciples of
our Lord Christ, people at work and in our social circles will no doubt look to
us and ask us for answers. Do not be
surprised. Do not be afraid. Do not expect to have all the answers. Darkness tried hard to eclipse the light; it
is only natural that people will be drawn to His light living in you! You may not know the right answers to all the
questions, but you do know the One who does.
Pray. He will give you the words
of comfort and hope. Forty-nine lives
were snuffed out; fifty-three individuals suffered injuries during the
shooting; families are grieving; so is our Lord.
I would encourage all Adventers to resist
the temptation to wade into the discussions the pundits would like us to
have. Those discussions seek only to
divide and to scare and to narrate a story for the benefit of an election. They do not seek to mourn the loss of life;
they do not seek to acknowledge or to mourn the pain suffered by those who survived; they do not
seek to bring healing; and they certainly do not speak to the power of God to
defeat all evil. It was precisely for
events such as these and for the individuals in Orlando that He came down,
died, and was raised again. You and I
are called to speak to the Truth of God, to His Gospel, to His glorious
brilliance, and to the Hope He gives each of us, no matter our circumstances
and no matter how dark the evil.
In time, I am sure our brothers and
sisters in Central Florida will give us more ways to help. For now, pray, answer the questions of those
who engage you, and remember that forty-nine lives were snuffed out;
fifty-three individuals suffered injuries; families are grieving; and so is our
Lord.
Peace,
Brian†
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