Gratitude, Self-examination, Trust

Upon hearing of the Pauls Valley High School incident last week, the first thing I did was call around to the parents of all of our FPC youth to check up on them. I am, along with everyone in the community, grateful that none of them and none of any of the kids at PVHS were hurt, physically. I pray that any psychological trauma might also be minimal for them and the entire Pauls Valley community. We are all grateful for the heroism of Kirk Moore and the others who ended this event at great risk to themselves. We all pray for Coach Moore's ongoing recovery and are grateful that his injuries were not worse. I personally am also grateful that Victor Hawkins was not injured or killed in this incident. I understand that at age 20, the media will insist on calling him a "man," but I also know that 20-year-olds have a lot of development to go yet, and that he is much closer to being one of the kids in school than to being a full adult in society. I know that we all need care and nurture throughout our lives and I pray that whatever was on his mind that sent him to his old high school with violent intent will also heal with time and perspective.

In the face of such an event, people always want to make sense of it. We want to know motives of the assailant. We want to know if anything else could be done by responsible people who were in charge of his development: parents, teachers, educational specialists, social workers. We want to know if school security could be improved by procedures or technology. Our minds race to "solve" a problem. I'm not so sure that these instincts are really helpful.

"At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices." This is in the middle of the Gospel of Luke--Chapter 13. We want to understand things theologically, and the unasked question here is directly addressed by Jesus in his response: "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?" Are the wicked punished? Are the righteous rewarded? Surely that's how it's supposed to be, isn't it? And if it isn't then the next leader will be charged to fix it. The scandal, of course, is that Pilate is the oppressor, not the righteous one here. These Galileans must have been really bad if Pilate is the one causing them harm. If the system is the problem then what hope do we have?

Jesus volunteers another example. Eighteen persons were killed in a construction accident when the tower of Siloam fell on them. They were not punished by a wicked oppressor; they were righteous contributors to society. Why did THEY have to die? There is evil in the world, like Pilate. There are accidents that we cannot remotely call evil. There are natural disasters, as we in tornado alley can attest.

In these cases, Jesus says not to look for blame, not to look for sin. Don't look at either the assailant or the security systems. Don't let your mind wander to other people looking for someone to blame. Neither can we blame God. When a tornado strikes our neighbor's house, we must not talk about how blessed we are, which implies that our neighbor was not. We must not talk about our righteousness or their wickedness. God is not punishing them. Jesus says to mind your own business. No, they were not worse sinners, "but unless YOU repent, you will all perish as they did."

This leads us to SELF-examination. Instead of looking at THEM, we must look at ourselves. What part did WE have in gutting school psychological resources to help kids. What part did WE have in setting up systems of isolation for our kids? What part did WE have in promoting the glorification of violence? Maybe nothing; maybe we have much to repent for. Either way, we should mind our own business as we work to follow Jesus, the prince of peace and lord of love.

The next story is about a woman who was set free from her bondage after 18 years of being bent over. In that story, it seems to me that there is a theme of shame in the story. The synagogue leaders were trying to shame Jesus for healing on the sabbath. Maybe they had been wielding shame as a tool of oppression, and maybe THAT's why the woman was bent over--from the weight of the shame they put on her. Jesus set her free from her bondage, and as he was telling them this and calling them hypocrites, THEY were the ones put to shame. Repent or perish, indeed.

Finally, Jesus teaches parables about the kingdom: the mustard seed, yeast that makes bread fluffy and yummy, the narrow door. Over in Matthew, Jesus says, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains, but here in Luke it's about the kingdom, not about faith. Faith is a funny word in Greek. We contemporary North American Christians hear the English word: "believe." In the original Greek it was as much about trust. Instead of "If you have belief the size of a mustard seed," try saying "If you have trust the size of a mustard seed."

Where do we spend our faith in our work for the kingdom? Do we claim the promise of faith to protect us from tragedy? Or do we claim the promise of faith to help bring about the kingdom? If you have trust the size of a mustard seed, then you can be confident that your work for a beloved community will not go in vain. Kids will be safe and cared for, resources will be abundantly available. Anger and cutoff relationships will be healed long before we need protection from tragedy. Evil will be cut off in the world before it begins. Accidents and natural disasters might still happen, and when they do, we WILL be blessed because we have an opportunity to serve our neighbor and minister to them and care for them.

We who trust in the Lord give God credit for all good things. We are grateful that ALL the kids of PVHS are safe, including Victor Hawkins. We are grateful that Kirk Moore and the office staff are heroes. We are grateful that we can come together as a community and minister to each other and care for each other and show our love to each other. We are grateful that we can trust God to help us and strengthen us as we work for the kingdom.

Blessings,

Chas