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One Sunday afternoon, I was birthday and Christmas shopping with my young niece and two nephews.  We were in the Super Target, where I had worn a path in the aisles where Barbie paraphernalia and Lego truck models were stacked to the ceilings.  That’s when it happened.  The text alert of a major national news story beeped on my phone.

I quickly glanced at it and then saw the words “church shooting”, “20+ dead in Texas”.  I tried not to be distracted, because being with the youngest members of my family is precious to me.

But I could not focus.  When we got in the car, I called Eric and asked him to have the TV on so that the minute I got home after dropping off the kids, I could watch.  I know that the news captivated many people, especially clergy.

My clergy colleagues and I are very aware that a church shooting could happen to us.  We often have conversations and even continuing education training and discussions about what to do if a shooter comes into the church while we are leading worship.  Since 1980 when Father Oscar Romero was murdered as he presided over communion in El Salvador… and as recently as July this year, my colleagues and I are reminded of our vulnerability.  We know in our experience and in our hearts that should it happen; our own lives are likely to be lost.  It is the people in the pews we want to protect.

So I’m especially grateful that you showed up this morning.  It was an act of courage that I don’t take for granted.  You see, my guess is that the statistics will show church attendance takes a nosedive in the U.S. after each horrific shooting.

The Reformed theologian Karl Barth said that people come to church on the Sabbath with only one questions in their minds:  Is it true? 

  • The creative power of God. Is it true?
  • The loving inclusive actions of Jesus. Is it true?
  • The comforting presence of the Spirit of God. Is it true?
  • Can the universe and all that is holy really be trusted?  Can it be true?

Going to church is actually a counter cultural action.  Not just today or after a church shooting.  Attending church and following Jesus has been counter cultural since Jesus walked the roads of Jerusalem.

Sure, people get shot at concerts, in schools, at work, at the movie theater, at a bar, and other public places.  It seems you can’t even get out of bed without taking a chance of being a victim of someone’s ugliness.  Just watch Dateline or 20/20 (which stream 24/7 now!) if you need a reminder!  But going to church is different than going to those other places.  By attending church, you are taking a counter cultural stand.

You are refusing to get caught up in the culture of fear that says:

  • This world is hopeless
  • People are crazy; you never know who is going to pull out a gun and start shooting
  • You’re not safe anywhere
  • Hate is taking over our country

You are refusing to give in to dangerous rhetoric:

  • Trust no one
  • All Muslims are terrorists
  • We need to keep the immigrants out of our country
  • We can’t do anything about gun control or mental illness –it’s a hopeless mess
  • The “other” is our enemy

You are taking a stand for open mindedness and love that says:

  • I refuse to live my life in fear
  • I am unwilling to be a cynical bystander
  • I do not believe in hating my neighbor who is different from me
  • I will treat others with dignity and respect
  • I believe in inherent goodness even though bad things may happen
  • There is reason to hope
  • I am here to build community one person at a time
  • Love is greater than fear. “Yes.  It’s true.”

Cocooning has been a response of our culture to trauma.  We look to home as our haven – our safe place to huddle.  Historically, this is a new kind of response to human heartache.  We go inside when it is too tough and scary outside.  We put a shell of safety around ourselves and our families so that we are not at the mercy of a mean, unpredictable world.  “Cocooning is about insulation and avoidance, peace and protection, coziness and control” according to the Popcorn Report.

Cocooning is not what Jesus ever advised.  He didn’t say, “Chuck it.  The world is going to hell in a hand basket and you need to stay home and be safe.  Avoid the chaos.  Shelter yourself from possible harm.”  Instead, he said, in our scriptural text for today from the Gospel of Luke:

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”   Luke 6:37-38

If I were to name a New Testament 10 commandments, this would be it.  I’ve used bold face type in your bulletin to demonstrate what these commandments might look like.

This message was counter-cultural in Jesus’ time.  It literally cost him his life.  I believe it is as counter-cultural today as it was then.  The cost may or may not be our literal lives.  But there is a cost.  I spoke to a young man not long ago who decided that what he believed was so important and that there were principles so dear to him that he would associate with people who disagreed, but that they were no longer his close friends.  He said he simply could not socialize with people who did not share those values.  The values he was speaking about were these preached by Jesus.

We are wired for contact.  Just as relationships can hurt us most deeply, it is only through relationship that we can be most fully healed.  It’s not easy to know what this looks like — can I trust casual acquaintances with my hurt?  While my family has the capacity to hurt me deeply, can they also be the source of healing?  How long until this friend walks away?  Does communal prayer help or trivialize?

Seeking out shelter in one another requires tremendous courage, but it is a matter of life or paralysis.  When we are hurt, it is important for us to offer hospitality to others.  This goes against our human instinct, especially in pain.  But it is what is most helpful.

When we are most afraid, we need each other.  That’s why coming to church is counter cultural.  When we ask those questions about whether the good news is too good to be true, we are being counter cultural.  We come to church because we hope that it is true.  We can live without an explanation to all of our questions, but we need to know that love will win in the end.  Is it true?  Yes.  Yes, it is.  It is true because - God willing - we will participate in making it true.  By getting up and being counter cultural – today, and tomorrow, and the next day.  We will love our enemies and bless those who curse us.  We will treat one another as we want to be treated.  We will give and forgive and we will not judge and then we will love and love and love again.  Yes.  It’s true.

 

Resources Used:

        Popcorn, Faith.  “The Popcorn Report”.  HarperCollins.  1991.
        Wilson, Lorna.  “Ten Things I’ve Learned About Trauma”.   Oct. 6, 2016.