After a tension-filled week in Kenosha, the underage boy who acted as a vigilante, wielding a weapon of war without a badge of authority, was acquitted of all counts against him, including weapons charges. In the midst of sometimes violent protests, he made the situation far more dangerous. But he was not the only one.
This country has more guns than people and there are people who think they can use their guns as they see fit. The tragedy of this Kenosha killings goes far beyond the deaths of the two men killed; it goes to the heart of what is happening in our Nation.
Our Nation has been transformed from a place where one group of people held most, if not all, of the power, whether legitimate or not. Those feeling displaced have acted much in the same way as the Know-Nothings of the 1850s – with violence. As a Nation we must overcome the internecine war if we are to survive as a society.
Prayer for the Day
In humility we come to you, O God, asking for forgiveness of our sins,
For we are complicit in the violence that consumes or Nation;
More concerned with our comfort than with confronting injustice,
We shrug our shoulders, shake our heads, and go to the next news story,
Empower us to break the bonds of hate and anger,
Forgive our desire to say that it all happens someplace else,
In name of the One who came to share your peace,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The “pursuit of truth” rightly implies that a gap exists between ourselves and truth. But what’s hidden and evasive? Is it we or truth? Maybe it is we who evade truth’s quest for us.
William Sloane Coffin, American preacher and activist (1924-2006)
Moral judgment is not a matter of decisions made once and for all, but of keeping your eye on distinctions. …moral judgments are slow, specific, and seldom absolute.
Susan Neiman, American moral philosopher from Moral Clarity
Who rises up or me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
If the Lord had not been my help, I would have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your kindness, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my inward being.
Can wicked rulers be allied with ou, those who contrive mischief by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent.
Psalm 94: 16-21