Shine

This morning has dawned with news that one Boston Marathon bomber has been killed and police are in pursuit of a second suspect in Watertown, Massachusetts. Law enforcement officials have been aided in their search by eyewitness accounts as well as pictures and videos taken by people in the crowd at the Marathon on Monday. There has been a continuing dialogue in our contemporary society pertaining to privacy issues around such images in the normal context of daily life. This pervasive voyeurism that seems to threaten personal privacy seems now to have been instrumental in providing clues that helped identify these terrorists. While there is still much to be uncovered, it is truly amazing that so much is known so soon after Monday's tragic events and that information from common, everyday sources has made such a difference.

Awareness is an important strategy in response to terrorism. Most likely you have noticed the electronic message boards along major thoroughfares, in airports, and other public places encouraging passersby to take notice of suspicious persons and circumstances that could lead to terrorist activity, and to report those suspicions to proper authorities. Initial reports this morning seem to indicate that one or both of these Boston suspects may have lived among the people they sought to terrorize for some time without drawing attention to themselves or their cause. In this context, fear and paranoia can motivate a particular kind of panic that paralyzes individuals and communities, painting broad strokes of suspicion that can unfairly accuse and condemn.

The human suffering created by these heinous acts of violence should preclude simple statements of response. Lives have been irrevocably affected and we disrespect that pain and struggle with rushed and thoughtless judgments. This morning, officials in the Boston area are asking for cooperation from local residents and that cooperation will hopefully play a significant role in bringing about the capture of the second suspect. If anything, these events remind us of the significance of community where various points of view can be voiced and respected, threats responsibly addressed, opportunities equally offered, and grief broadly embraced and shared. As a person of faith I experience this community within the context of relationship with the living Christ and with a body of believers who share that same relationship. We do not, however, exist in isolation, but are called to live within a greater community where others may not share those same values. We are to be purveyors of light and hope whose strength comes not from the fear and anxiety created by the uncertain circumstances of life, but from the One whose promised presence empowers courage for the living of these days.

I John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." In these challenging days, may God empower you and me to be "...children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world." (Philippians 2:15B)

By God's grace, may it be so.

Jim Abernathy