Gun Violence, Gospel Values

Sermon for Sunday, September 30, 2012

First Presbyterian Church ▪ Lake Crystal, Minnesota

Rev. Randal K. Lubbers, Pastor & Teacher

Gun Violence, Gospel Values

Mark 9:30-50

I wonder how Jesus felt about telling his disciples, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” I don’t know for sure, but it seems to me this maybe wasn’t a sermon Jesus wanted to preach.

And yet the gospel of Mark has Jesus offering this difficult teaching to his disciples not once or twice but three times in the course of just three chapters as the focus of Jesus ministry moves from teaching and healing ministries in Galilee towards Jerusalem and the cross.

Each time Jesus predicts his death, the disciples clearly prove they just don’t get it. The first time, Peter quickly pulls him aside—Peter grabs Jesus and tries to set him straight. Jesus responds by confronting Peter in front of all the rest: “Peter, don’t be thinking you should lead me—you need to follow me. And right now you have no idea how God works.”

It comes as no surprise, then, the second time around, when no one dares ask him to explain further. It’s just not a message they want to hear any more about. Not long after, it’s fairly obvious they’ve put it all out of their minds, too. “What were you arguing about on the road,” Jesus asks, once they’ve settled in for the evening.

Silence.

“Hmm? You don’t remember? It must have been something important—you guys sounded pretty intense.”

More silence.

I wonder if Peter, usually so confident, might have stammered, “Uh—um—oh, you tell him Andrew….” And Andrew points to John who points to James who points to another and then another…

And finally Jesus—like the father who already knows his son broke the vase filled with flowers while playing catch inside instead of out in the yard—Jesus saves them from having to say it themselves:  “I know, I know, you were arguing about who should be the greatest.”

Can’t you almost hear Jesus sigh? He gathers the disciples in a circle:  “OK. Let me explain again what cross-formed living looks like:  Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."  Then the little boy who broke the vase wanders in and Jesus takes him in his arms, hugs him, and says to the Twelve, "Whoever embraces a child like this little guy embraces me, and even more—embraces God who sent me.”

      

Before those words even have a chance to sink in, the disciple John tries changing the subject: He says, “Master, we saw somebody driving out evil spirits in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he’s not one who follows us.”   

But Jesus’ message is expansive and inclusive—whoever, yes, whoever embraces the humblest child embraces me and embraces God who sent me—but John seems to want to nail Jesus down on the details.  Jesus tells him, “Whoever isn’t against us is in fact on our side.” In other words, the way of the cross is both counterintuitive (being the last of all and servant of all) and – at the same time – open to all who embrace a child like this. Indeed, Jesus tells his disciples, even the one who does nothing but offer a simple cup of cold water to you in my name, because you are followers of me, will most certainly be rewarded.   

Again, I wonder how Jesus felt about telling his disciples, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the power of men, and they will murder him, and three days after his death, he will rise again.” Was this really something Jesus was all fired up to tell his disciples? Or was he heart heavy, conflicted, and sad?  

And, if so, might I be so bold as to draw a comparison with this sermon? Because, truth be told, it is with some degree of fear and trepidation that I venture to talk about gun violence today. Talking about gospel values—that seems safe. But if I talk about gun violence and the specifics of our denomination’s position on gun control—well, frankly, I might find myself caught in the crosshairs, right? 

So, let me procrastinate a bit longer, if I may. And get back to the gospel lesson for today:

This whole passage that we heard today might be titled, “Jesus Redefines Power; Jesus Redefines Greatness.” The disciples envisioned a Messiah who would turn the world upside down—and that’s exactly what Jesus does, but not in the way the disciples were thinking. They thought he would take control, put the Romans in their place, fix things right here and right now and right away. They thought Jesus would be a strong and powerful king—a king greater than King David—a warrior no one would dare oppose.

The disciples’ vision is the same sort of longing we hear today, sometimes, don’t you think? But the disciples values weren’t in line with Jesus’ values, with gospel values. “Do you want to be the greatest?” Jesus asks, “OK then, instead of striving for first place, I want you to put yourself in last place: be last of all and slave to all.

Now that’s not going to win Jesus any elections. But this is the counterintuitive truth of the gospel: Be servant of all. Give up trying to woo the favor of the rich. Instead, embrace the humblest. Receive the simple gift of a cup of water with gratitude and joy.

Embrace the child. Embrace the child. Which means, as Jesus explains, don’t you DARE put up stumbling blocks in the path of children—don’t put boulders in their way, don’t allow them to be tripped up, don’t allow their faith to be disturbed-- And, doggone it, to the one who would allow these humblest children of mine to be tripped up, it would be better for him if he were to be thrown into the ocean with a millstone tied around his neck.

I can’t imagine Jesus laughing here.

I can’t imagine this was a sermon Jesus wanted to preach.

And yet, preach it I must. I need to talk with you about gun violence. I need to preach this to all of you—to both responsible gun owners and hunters who understand the importance of teaching and practicing gun safety, and you who would just rather not touch or even see a gun close by—to both advocates of stronger gun controls and advocates for fewer restrictions—to all of you, I need to talk about the reality of gun violence in our nation.

First, the facts and figures: In an average year, 100,000 people will be shot by guns in our nation. That’s about 10 shootings every hour, 24/7, or one every six minutes. In average year, about 30,000 shooting deaths—just over half of those are suicides—and over 2,000 of the suicides are young people between the ages of 10 and 24. Not all the shootings are just one at a time, as we are well aware after the tragedy in Minneapolis this week—mass shootings have escalated, especially over the last 10 or 15 years.

A report in the London newspaper THE TELEGRAPH, not long after the recent massacre in a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, says, “At least 28 mass killings have now occurred in the United States since two teenagers went on a rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in April of 1999, killing 12 of their fellow students and a teacher…”

Lest we forget, I offer this partial listing—it’s only eight years of history, beginning in the year Carolyn and the kids and I moved here. Now that doesn’t seem so long ago, does it? But here’s some of what has happened since then:

November 2004 - in Birchwood, Wisconsin, a hunter killed six other hunters and wounded two others after an argument.

March 2005 - a man opened fire at a church service in Brookfield, Wisconsin, killing seven people.

October 2006 - a truck driver killed five schoolgirls and seriously wounded six others in an Amish school in Pennsylvania before taking his own life.

April 2007 – a student shot and killed 32 people and wounded 15 others at Virginia Tech before shooting himself, making it the deadliest mass shooting in the United States after 2000.

August 2007 – Four dead at Delaware State University

December 2007 - Nine killed in a shopping center in Omaha, Nebraska; six more—a whole family—on Christmas Eve in Carnation, Washington.

Four mass shootings in 2008. (1) a shooter who is still at large tied up and shot six women at a suburban clothing store in Chicago, leaving five of them dead and the remaining one injured. (2) a man opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, killing five students and wounding 16 others before laying down his weapon and surrendering (3) a mentally ill man who was released from jail one month earlier shot eight people in Alger, Washington, leaving six of them dead and the rest two wounded. (4) a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit opened fire at a family Christmas party in Covina, California, then set fire on the house and killed himself. Police later found nine people dead in the debris of the house.

Seven mass shootings in 2009 & 2010 including 13 dead and 42 wounded at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas.  And then in 2011, a gunman opened fire at a public gathering outside a grocery in Tucson, Arizona, killing six people including a 9-year-old girl and wounding at least 12 others. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured with a gunshot to the head. And in 2012, twelve killed and 58 injured at the theatre in Aurora, Colorado

And that’s where the list ends. But, after the list was compiled, there was the shooting a temple in Wisconsin killing six, injuring three. 

And just this week, six killed, including the gunman in Minneapolis. Reports say the gunman was brought into the front office at the end of the work day to be terminated; he then took out a 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol and just began shooting.

And, then, yes, one more—not a mass shooting but yet so very heartbreaking:  Just three days ago in Connecticut, a popular fifth-grade teacher fatally shot a masked, knife-wielding prowler outside his home, only to discover he had killed his 15-year old son.

This is the reality—gun violence is pervasive in our nation: it is part of our fabric of life: it permeates our games and sports, our entertainment, even our language.

Have you seen the top selling video games recently? The best seller this year is popular, as one reviewer explains, the players can customize their weapons with different scopes, mods, barrels, and ammo types. There are 25 weapon mods total — five per weapon type — and each of them will have multiple power levels to collect. Players have more options for moving around the battlefield than ever before…. Players can also blind-fire their weapons from covered positions, and have opportunities to shoot selected armor pieces and limbs off enemies.

And what about TV?

The Parents Television Council reports… that the connection between media violence and aggressive and violent behavior in real life has been so well documented, that for many, the question is settled. In fact, a position paper by the American Psychiatric Association on media violence begins by declaring: "The debate is over." [5] According to Jeffrey McIntyre, legislative and federal affairs officer for the American Psychological Association, "To argue against it is like arguing against gravity."

The cumulative impact of 25 hours of television a week means that by the time an average child leaves elementary school, he or she will have witnessed 8,000 murders and over 100,000 other acts of violence. By the time that child is 18 years-of-age; he or she will witness… 40,000 murders. And “Reality TV” now includes shows such as Sons of Guns.

And even our language:  Stick to your guns, Bite the bullet, Pull the trigger, and hundreds of other unconscious figures of speech.  In football, the offensive might be in the “shotgun” formation or the “pistol” set; in volleyball when the spiker hits winner it’s called a “kill” shot; newly-elected politicians are called the “young guns;” and a preacher preaches too long might find herself “under the gun.”

The 219^th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church adopted the resolution, “Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call,” in exercise of its responsibility to help the whole church address matters of social righteousness. It is a policy statement of our church, recommended for consideration and study by sessions… and for all us to consider for prayerful study, dialogue, and action.

Regarding this resolution, Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, writes, “Preventing gun violence is sometimes a quite controversial matter as it can be associated with efforts to ban certain weapons, ammunition, or recreational use of guns. This resolution presents a different approach, one focused on preventing illegal guns from getting into the wrong hands, especially in our cities. As a Tennessean raised with hunting as part of my culture, I appreciate the difference in strategy though some new regulation is still recommended….”

The Presbyterian Church is not alone in speaking out—the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Episcopal Church, the Reformed Church in America, the Mennonites, and many others have spoken out officially and have started working together

·         to challenge a culture that accommodates and even cultivates violence and fear,

·         to challenge the proliferation of assault weapons that go beyond the legitimate needs of hunters and gun collectors,

·         to lament and grieve and say THIS MUST STOP regarding the number of gun-related deaths in our country—many, many times that of any other Western nation.

There are 100,000 people shot in our nation each year. Most tragically, 21,000 are children and teens. More than 3,000 kids are killed—that’s 9 children a day—and 2.225 of these children were murdered. About 800 kids 19 and under pick up a gun… and end their own lives… in our nation… every year.

All told, EVERY YEAR is 9/11 for our children.

This, my sisters and brothers, is not the way it’s supposed to be. It is NOT what God has in mind for our world.

And so I call you…

To weep with those who weep;

To pray;

To offer comfort and care to those affected by gun violence;

To speak the truth; to break the silence:  “We cannot say, peace, peace, when there is no peace.”

To take a look at our church’s resolution, “Gun Violence, Gospel Values,” to read it, study it, consider it, pray over it; to boldly lead, when God calls you to lead, and whether a servant-leader or a minister behind the scenes, to work to CHANGE a culture based on idols and built on fear; and to work towards building a peaceful future.

And, do not doubt that a peaceful future is possible—it is! Who would have thought that a black Baptist preacher from a South where blacks weren’t allowed to eat at the same lunch counter as whites… would bring about equal protection under the law, voting reforms, and desegregated schools? And Martin Luther King, Jr. did all of that while following the way of the one who says, “If you want to be first, put yourself in last place and offer yourself as servant of all.  

Do not doubt the power of radical good news!

And finally, don’t think of doing these things only when it seems like it might do some good. Keep the faith and keep hope alive by doing these things even when it seems like it won’t do have any effect on anything at all. For even a cup of cold water offered to those who lift up the name of Jesus Christ in the midst of a violent world—even a cup of cold water will not go unnoticed or unrewarded by God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.