Jesus’
embrace and endorsement of peaceful co-existence with creation and all its
inhabitants never really gained a lot of traction. And maybe he knew that it wouldn’t. Matthew,
Mark, and John record Jesus’ telling his disciples that before his coming again
in judgment there would be wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against
nation, famine, and earthquakes. It’s a little like he sighed deeply and said, “Guys, maybe it’s too much to ask but I’d
like to see you give this living in peace thing a try.” James and John, whom Jesus called “sons of
thunder,” must have thought, “Jesus,
we’re never going to pass this course.” Maybe Jesus made it too hard. In
the Sermon on the Mount, he said that just being angry with a brother is enough
to make you liable for judgment. That’s extreme. And there was that mention of
lusting in your heart being the same as adultery. Whew! We are all in trouble
plenty. And Jesus was known to fire a few shots across the bow now and then to
get somebody’s attention. I am pretty sure that he gave Simon Peter a Tony
Dinozzo dope slap when he stood in Jesus’ way. And he used a whip on the
moneychangers. He was also quite rude to his mother Mary on several occasions.
So much for a meek, mild, and respectful Jesus. But his point about peace
making is well taken. We need to treat each other as children of God, whether
we like each other or not. We need to love each other even as Jesus loves us. We
need to keep the peace even when whacking someone with a stout stick is easier and
quicker. Jesus was man enough to know how so very hard that would be for some
of us. And he promised to give us the stuff to do it.
There has been
so much analysis of the mass shooting in the Colorado theater. Theories abound
as to why James Holmes would want to murder so many innocent people and then attempt
to kill first responders when they went to search his apartment. He seemed like
the average bright guy—camp counselor, brilliant student, kind of a loner. And
he also appears to have been totally consumed by a murderous rage. We can be
sure that he will be examined by the best forensic shrinks in the land, his
background checked by law enforcement agencies at every level, and his motives,
values, and goals questioned by media pundits. But even then we may never know
precisely why he committed such a horrible act. At least he does not seem to
have been motivated by religious zeal.
Meanwhile,
people are memorializing the site of the shooting; they debate gun control
laws; decry the level of violence in our culture. I have my own ideas about gun
control and the interpretation of the second amendment but this is not the
forum to get into that discussion. There’s not much debate about the level of violence
in our culture. It’s way high. Sometimes I struggle with Jesus’ teachings about
turning the other cheek and carrying the soldier’s pack a second mile. When I
am feeling attacked and especially when I am forced into a corner, I sort of
forget what Jesus said about peace making and instead remember what Sam
Fullerton said. Sam was my dad and he carried a knife. Later in his life when he
grew more afraid, he carried a handgun. He was a take no prisoners kind of guy.
As far as I
know, nobody had attacked or backed James Holmes into a corner. I am guessing
that his demons were fear and loathing. Or maybe he just felt powerless in the
face of something larger than himself. Powerlessness, impotence, is often the
flip side of rage. But then we will probably never know about what drove James
Holmes to maim and kill. I imagine that when Jesus heard the semi automatic
rounds explode and felt the life force leave those theater patrons, he was
startled . . . but not surprised. And
even before the SWAT teams moved in to apprehend the shooter, treat the wounded
and restore order, Jesus was there among the carnage, sighing deeply and
shaking his head, and saying to God and to all creation, “How long, O God, how long?”
