Let’s talk about gun violence.
My Chickadees, the Bible says the enemy comes but to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10); and the most profound, vivid, sobering display of this reality is when a life is snuffed out by gun violence.
June 30, 2019 was a beautiful, sunny Sunday and the oldest choir in our church was celebrating their 146th anniversary. A group of us disbursed after mass to have lunch at one of the local restaurants in the neighborhood before the concert. Having dined sufficiently, we leisurely strolled back to church when we were all startled by what sounded like gunfire. As some in our group continued to make their way back to the church, the reality of what just occurred left them horrified and deeply saddened, as they witnessed the body of a young man lying in the alley adjacent to the church. Those of us who had already entered the church were told to take shelter – the area was now a crime scene. In the midst of a beautiful sunny day, and across the yard from the oldest black Catholic Church in the Washington metropolitan area, a body laid lifeless in an alley. My heart sank as I thought about another life senselessly extinguished through gun violence.
God cannot be pleased with what just occurred, as the enemy brought his legacy of killing, stealing, and destroying right to the back door of the house of God. This brazen, bold, and callous act of violence was not even executed under the cover of night. It occurred in broad daylight and a few yards from the doors of the church.
The images of the events seared my brain: his body lying under a blue tarp and swarms of police and crime scene detectives, all attempting to re-create what happened as they gathered evidence. The thought that flooded my mind was that this was somebody’s son, somebody’s brother, or perhaps somebody’s father, who fell prey to the violence that plagues the streets every day in our inner cities. All too often, we see black and brown bodies lying lifeless to the power and the prompting of the enemy who comes to kill, steal, and destroy the temple of God. Bodies that were created to worship Him, as we had just heard in our sermon that morning, lay victim to the evil of the enemy through gun violence.
I don’t know the circumstances surrounding this young man’s death, but I don’t need to know the circumstances in order to feel compassion for him and all the lives his life touched. As a child of God, we belong to the family of God – which includes every person on the planet – whether they know it or not. As I reflected upon the murder of this young man, I was reminded of the story of Cain and Abel. No matter where Cain ran, he could not escape the presence and sight of God, who not only saw what he did, but told Cain that the blood of his brother Abel was crying out to Him (Genesis 4:10).
Death through gun violence has become so commonplace that unless it is on a mass level, or in some quiet suburban area, it does not even make the local television news. Another body bites the dust and life goes on as the world turns and we resume with business as usual.
I am writing this message with a heavy heart for my brother in Christ who laid lifeless under that tarp on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. My hope and prayer is that we can all come together as children of the most high God and proclaim that enough is enough. I wonder what would happen if we, the children after God’s heart, would put on the armor of God and fight the good fight of faith, believing that together, with the power of an all mighty God, we can win back our homes, our streets, our communities, and our country from gun violence which has taken and destroyed the lives of too many children of God.
My challenge to myself and all of you my Chickadees, is to remember that as children of God, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty, through God to the pulling down of strongholds,” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Gun violence has become a stronghold, but there is nothing too hard for God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 states, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
Let’s ask God to heal our land and guide us and use us as His instruments of peace to take a stand against Satan stealing another life to gun violence.
Peace and blessings,
Gail