" But I tell you to love your enemies, and pray for those that persecute you"
- Jesus (Matt. 5:44)
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."
- Paul (Rom. 12:14)
Violence and death seem to be everywhere these days, or at least it feels like that to me. 2015 has opened with the national and international news being filled with ISIS beheadings, terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, the "war" on terrorism, and the residual coverage of Ferguson and Eric Garner. The local news in Anchorage hasn't been any better. Daily it seems the we hear of a new shooting or murder in the city. In fact after 2014 being the lowest year for murder in Alaska's largest city in 20 years
(1), 2015 started with 31 firearm incidents with "credible evidence," 11 shootings, and 4 murders (all in one week) in January
(2). As of this writing the city has seen 10 homicides this year after a total of 13 last year
(3). It has been a violent year around the world, and close to home.
How do we respond to all this violence and death? It is a question I have been asking myself a lot in recent weeks. I have watched online where the typical (maybe even the prevailing) response seems to be the establishment of blame. I have overheard the citizens of my city recoil in shock that the gunfire has erupted in their neighborhood. I have noticed the tendency to quickly dismiss the departed as drug dealers, gang members, terrorists, targets, or Muslims. In each case the "othering" of the victims and/or those doing the shooting has left me feeling empty. The reactions that support the idea of redemptive violence do nothing to fill the void. The trite dismissal of those departed as getting what they deserve only makes the chasm in my soul larger.
I grew up in a world were I was taught to be "pro-life." In the context of that upbringing this meant believing that life starts at conception and that no baby should be aborted - something I still believe. Also while I was growing up I was taught that we didn't just kill animals unless it was for population control (deer) or they were raised for the purpose of food (cows, chickens, etc.). I was taught that all life sacred and not disposable. However, when I think back to those formative years, and reflect on what I'm hearing now, it seems that those of us who would say we are "pro-life" often value life more in some circumstances than others. It appears to me that if you are a fetus the value on your life is high, but if your a 14 year old kid shot in a drug deal your life is less valuable or even expendable. If you are a person of authority (solider/police officer) your life is deemed more important than others. I get the feeling that if your a Christian your life is somehow more valuable than a Muslim. It appears to me that we are often/always ranking the value of other peoples lives. What changed since conception? Does personal choice, circumstance, beliefs, or position change the value of ones life?
How should we be responding to the violence in our world and our city? Is the biblical response distancing ourselves from those involved based on proximity, perceived guilt, difference in beliefs or color - in short their "otherness."? Is the righteous response more violence, with the hope that it will bring about an end? Is the correct response to just continue on like nothing has happened? How do we live a life, and faith, that is holistically pro-life?
In Genesis 4 we read about the murder of Able by Cain. A couple things in that passage cause me to wonder about our response. First of all God does not kill Cain. Cain is punished, but God does not enter into redemptive violence. Furthermore, God marks Cain so that no one else will kill him for his sins either. God does not see the answer to Abel's murder to be more violence. Second, Abel's blood cries out from the ground and God hears it. How often are those that are killed in war, in terrorism, in a parking lot in our city just a news story to us? Who often do we see the death around us as a statistic? Do we stop to hear the blood of those slain crying out to God, and to us, from the ground?
Around the globe and around my city there is blood crying out to us from the ground. What is it saying? How do we bear witness to those departed? How do we honor life, and life lost? Can we choose to mourn those who have died without establishing blame...just mourn that a human life - a life created by God in in His image - that has ended? When was the last time we stopped in our Sunday worship services, or in our daily lives, to pray for the people we often think of as crime statistics? Can we open up our eyes and hearts to bear witness to the violence around us? Can we pray for the victims
and the perpetrators? Can we cry out to God to make it stop?
Joel K
"War what is it good for? Absolutely nothing"
- Edwin Starr
(1) - http://www.adn.com/article/20150103/anchorage-sees-13-homicides-2014-fewest-2-decades
(2) - http://www.adn.com/article/20150129/spike-violent-crime-be-met-police-shakedowns
(3) - Number based on a search of http://www.raidsonline.com linked from the Anchorage Police Department website.
