| It has become easy over the years to grow accustomed to gun violence and mass murders. When four people are killed in a single incident as they were Friday it doesn’t make much of a headline even locally.
Lose 10 in a grocery store in New York, I thought it might reignite the ‘what can we do’ discussion. But it seemed not. I do wonder what if 10 white people had been killed while attending a play on Broadway, might more of a fuss have been raised than 10 people of color shopping at a food desert in Buffalo?
While the numbers vary, all agree that over 80% of Americans favor extended background checks. And how is it that at 18 a person can buy a weapon of mass destruction but cannot rent a car or buy a beer? 25 percent of all gun killings are done by men between the age of 18-21. It is no joke to say at the national level many politicians are bought and paid for by the gun lobby. I wonder how we can get sane gun legislation until we get big money out of politics.
Like many of you I could go on and on and if you are reading this, chances are you are fairly informed of all the mixed messages swirling around as to what went wrong with the police response in Uvalde. The official story has changed by some accounts 12 times. Honestly, I do not fault that, the fog of war and the “need” to get the story out RIGHT now creates that.
One thing is now clear – 19 men (and women?) in full swat gear waited one hour before entering the room where the young man had committed most of his murders and was holed up. One hour and nineteen minutes. And yet many so called ‘prominent’ politicians are saying, “clearly this shows us what we need to do is arm the teachers”. If in the heat of the moment 19 highly trained police officers waited to sort things out while a young man in full body armor was inside, what could we ever reasonably expect a lone teacher to do?
To continue to offer only thoughts and prayers by those who by their action could effect change….. seems hypocritical at best. Our hearts beat and break for all effected by gun violence. Be it Buffalo, Uvalde or Big Rapids, Michigan to name just a few.
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Tomorrow, in addition to sharing our grief, we will look at the iconic passage where Moses hears the voice of God say to him, “I have set before you life and death – choose life.”
As always you can also watch the service from the safety and convenience of your home. The zoom link is below.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84392973177
All of our Sunday services use the same zoom meeting so in case you are ever looking for the zoom information you can keep this handy and / or you can head over to our web page at www.McHenryFUMC.org where it is also listed.
Enjoy this fantastic day and stay safe and courageous as followers of Jesus.
Pastor Kurt |
