All of God's Creation

We awakened this morning to the news of another mass shooting in the United States. Nine people were killed while attending a Bible study at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C.  Some are noting the significance of this horrific event as a hate crime, while others highlight the fact that it took place in a church.  For some it is another opportunity to tout the need for gun control while others cite this as yet another example of how armed citizens could have responded in a moment like this to prevent such tragedies.  Some will see this as another example of the devaluing of African-American lives.  I suppose there is some truth in each of these arguments, and yet, there is always more at work than just what is seen on the surface. We tend to pick and choose our rallying points in the aftermath of such tragedy, but in the end, the devastation is the same; nine lives lost...Cynthia Hurd, 54, Susie Jackson, 87, Ethel Lance, 70, Tywanza Sanders, 26, Myra Thompson, 59, Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, 49, Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74, and Rev. Sharonda Singelton, 45.

 

Black lives are important, as are those of every race, ethnicity, religious, political, or ideological perspective.  To value every life is more than simple tolerance..it is to recognize the wonder of God's creation, all of God's creation.  Then, it is to realize that the way we treat others does make a difference. 

 

Prayer is the greatest gift I can offer the people of Emmanuel AME Church and the city of Charleston tonight.  But tomorrow, I can view my neighbor, my co-worker, my classmate with different eyes.  I can look for ways to reach across the barriers that divide and risk myself in valuing others as God does. It isn't easy work.  There are great challenges that persist, but if I claim faith in the One whose sacrificial way included loving, serving, and forgiving others, regardless, then I must walk and live that way as well.

 

Pray for the members and friends of Emmanuel AME church and for the people of Charleston.  Pray for your friends, neighbors, co-workers and classmates.  Pray for leaders in small towns and big cities, churches, synagogues, mosques, and houses of worship.  Pray that the Creator God will be at work, even in the midst of such trying times, reminding us of our need for Him and for one another.

 

I will talk about these and other things Sunday morning in my message based on Job 38:1-11.  In the midst of his questions, Job found he ultimately had to trust God.  In the midst of our questions and heartache, we would do well to do the same.

 

Jim Abernathy