We are reeling, again, stunned once more from the senseless
murders of 19 fourth grade children and their two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. We
have seen their faces and recalled their names. We have watched the videos of
their family and friends embraced in grief, weeping. And, as a nation, this week we mourn with
them as they bury their dead.
Like everyone else, I am disturbed. I am reminded of the killings at Sutherland
Springs 5 years ago. The pastor’s 14 year old daughter dying on the floor, the
Associate Pastor, Brian Holcombe, struck down as he stood up to preach, a 1
year old baby, 14 children, a 77 year old and others, massacred in a matter of
minutes. It is not like we have not been
here before. We have witnessed this scene too many times,
I have been disturbed and grieved over a lifetime of
senseless violence. The first I remember was a sniper atop the University of
Texas tower in 1966, killing 13. Others
stand out: the gunman that opened fire at First Baptist Daingerfield, Texas in
1980 and left 5 dead, including a 7 year old girl; The Oklahoma City bombing;
West Paducah KY High School; Columbine High School; the Amish school in
Pennsylvania; the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, CO; Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Connecticut; the gay
nightclub shooting in Orlando. These are just the horrific events that I
remember. There are others alongside senseless killings every day reported in
local news across the country.
Like everyone else, it leaves me reeling with
questions. Why does God allow innocent
people to die? Why does evil and
violence strike at such random and senseless moments? How can people be so deranged and cruel? I wish there were no guns, no violence, no killing,
and no war. I wish there were no deranged people.
The best insight I find is in the symbol that dominates the
landscape at Uvalde: crosses erected at Robb Elementary; crosses in the
churches and the cemeteries. To remove all violence from our world, God would
have to remove our human capacity for good and evil. Instead, God chooses the Cross. The Cross is the
ultimate expression of innocent suffering and torture. When Jesus endured the
Cross, He took the sins of our violent world upon Himself.
The Cross is not an afterthought. It is not a footnote. The Cross on which Jesus died is the focal
point of history. It is the place where God’s love meets our agony, our grief
and confusion in a violent world. He
took our violence upon Himself and conquered it in the resurrection.
According to the theologian N.T Wright, the day Jesus was
crucified is “the day the revolution began.” This is the reason crosses are raised above
the rooftops, erected on hillsides, planted as grave markers and worn around our
necks. Violence will not prevail. Evil
will be conquered. The revolution has begun. Another Kingdom is coming. (Romans
8:31-39).
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