Holy Week - for Peace’s Sake

I can’t remember my exact feeling after Monday’s shooting at the Nashville school. My heart was a web of sadness for families and communities, horror that gun violence in schools is still frequent, heartbreak about the connection to a transgender young adult, and wonder about other violent deaths ignored for the sake of this one. 

But I can’t forget my outrage at the Christmas picture of their congressman, his family posed with assault rifles.  A picture I can’t unsee, how was it possibly related to Christ?

As Christians prepare for Holy Week, remembering an act of torture and violence that crucially shapes our faith, we can’t forget that the cross is God’s ultimate “no” to the power of violence. God subverts torture and murder by exposing them for what they are: ugly, repulsive, horrific, heart-breaking - the worst we humans do to each other. We remember what happened to Jesus on Good Friday so that we might never repeat it. We let our hearts be broken, as God’s heart surely was and is, to become people who ensure this thing never happens again.

This Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the path that led him to his own violent death. May we also commit to remaining horrified at the violent deaths of our time, to working for Jesus’ sake and for the sake of common sense safety for all who are vulnerable, especially children, who had his special blessing.

For peace’s sake,

Laura