I happened to glance down at my phone during worship. The CNN updated that lit my screen chilled my bones to the core, sunk my heart, and literally almost made me get sick. It was short, 9 words, but those 9 words changed everything.
“50 dead and 53 injured in night club shooting.”
You see, I am part of a minority of people who have experienced a mass shooting first hand- but that minority is growing at an alarming and abhorrent rate. I will not stand on top of a soap box today and try and get everyone to agree with me about gun control or terrorism- because that is NOT what today is for. It is not a day to have a political or ideological agenda, or to over-spiritualize recovery and callously throw around Christian cliches.
Today is for lamentation and grief.
Today, we grieve for the FIFTY people who were killed. People who had family, friends, coworkers, and other loved ones. FIFTY is no small number. Take the time to literally count the cost of this tragedy. Count to fifty slowly and for each number acknowledge the gravity that it represents one person killed in Orlando.
Today, we grieve for the already marginalized and vulnerable community, LGTBQ+, that has been violently violated. And today, we love them. We don’t forget that we have brothers and sisters that sit in the pews beside us that this affects on a deeply personal level. We recognize that what affects one part of the body, impacts the rest. Today, we value and love our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters.
Today we grieve for the city of Orlando. A city shaken. We come along side them in their grief, and petition and intercede for them in prayer. Lord, in your mercy. There is a long and painful road ahead as people heal (both physically and mentally), forgive, seek justice, and lament. We pray for the private citizens who need comfort. We pray for the local church, as they are the “first responders.” We pray that they could be a powerful, incarnational presence of peace, comfort, goodness, sovereignty, and power in a city that has been shaken to its core by an abhorrent act of violence. That they would love their city well in the coming months.
Today, we recognize that simply because the shooter identified himself as an Islamic man, this does not justify Islamophobia.
Our fear does not justify Islamophobia.
Our trauma does not justify Islamophobia.
Our heartbreak does not justify Islamophobia.
The season of life I am currently in has given me the opportunity to interact with and get to know many people of the Islamic faith. I assure you that today, they grieve with us, and are deeply saddened as we are by the events in Orlando. Today, we acknowledge that many people may try to us the events of June 12, 2016 to pit to already vulnerable and marginalized communities (LGBTQ+ and Muslims) against each other. Look. Be aware. Don’t let it happen.
Today, we must stand together against the wave of prejudice, hatred, and violence sweeping the nation. Our lamentation is not a passive thing, but rather a catalyst to speak out, advocate, and fight for our brothers and sisters whose voices have been silenced or oppressed.
Today, we pray. We plead for the lives of those still on the operating table or hospitalized. We pray that the doctors have steady hands, and make good judgments on treatment. We plead the redeeming blood of Christ to cover the whole thing. We pray against the formation of bigoted ideology. We pray the peace of Christ over the city of Orlando, over our nation. We pray that the sovereignty, goodness, and power of the Father prevails. We beg for comfort. We ask for the wisdom to discern when to speak, when to advocate- and the courage to do it. We are thankful for the actions of the officers, who prevented even more bloodshed. We are grateful for the Medical professionals- EMTs, paramedics, nurses, surgeons, doctors, radiologists and others- who lovingly and efficiently cared for the victims. We pray that anger, bitterness, and hatred would not run rampant, but rather that people would find it in their hearts to respond with love and forgiveness. We pray for God to end all violence against those who are marginalized, and we remember that the same God we pray to is the very one who calls us to be advocates, who calls us to be active participants in cultivating a more just, loving world.
Today, we love. We love the communities affected by the Orlando shooting. We love the LGBTQ+. We love our Islamic neighbors. We love the city. Less love, which manifests as hatred, ignorance, and bigotry, is never the answer. The answer will never be less love, but always more love. If we can learn to love “the other,” then we have a hope to cling to.
Finally- today we recognize that God is grieving alongside us. That he has deep and abiding love for every person involved. That his heart is for us, not against us.
9 words changed everything. It is not those literal 9 words, but what they represent- the many different communities represented within them, the responses of different people, the lives lost, the violence.
Everything is different, but will anything actually change? Let us not be passive bystanders or participants. Let the events of June 12 be a catalytic moment to propel the church deeper into love and advocation.
Please recognize that today is a day for grieving, and loving. If you disagree with what I have written, that’s ok- but comments that are hateful or argumentative will be deleted. If you wish to have further conversation with me, you may email me in private. Regardless of what your thoughts are, I love you too, and value hearing what you have to say- but a public platform is not the place to have that conversation.
If you want to read the blog I wrote a year ago, before I even launched on the race, about the shooting at my school, I’ll link it here.
