Reflections Special Edition Sutherland Springs: When Violence Strikes
We are reeling, again, stunned once more from the senseless murders of 19 fourth grade children and their two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. We have seen their faces and recalled their names. We have watched the videos of their family and friends embraced in grief, weeping. And, as a nation, this week we mourn with them as they bury their dead.
Like everyone else, I am disturbed. I am reminded of the killings at Sutherland Springs 5 years ago. The pastor's 14 year old daughter dying on the floor, the Associate Pastor, Brian Holcombe, struck down as he stood up to preach, a 1 year old baby, 14 children, a 77 year old and others, massacred in a matter of minutes. It is not like we have not been here before. We have witnessed this scene too many times,
I have been disturbed and grieved over a lifetime of senseless violence. The first I remember was a sniper atop the University of Texas tower in 1966, killing 13. Others stand out: the gunman that opened fire at First Baptist Daingerfield, Texas in 1980 and left 5 dead, including a 7 year old girl; The Oklahoma City bombing; West Paducah KY High School; Columbine High School; the Amish school in Pennsylvania; the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, CO; Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut; the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando. These are just the horrific events that I remember. There are others alongside senseless killings every day reported in local news across the country.
Like everyone else, it leaves me reeling with questions. Why does God allow innocent people to die? Why does evil and violence strike at such random and senseless moments? How can people be so deranged and cruel? I wish there were no guns, no violence, no killing, and no war. I wish there were no deranged people.
The best insight I find is in the symbol that dominates the landscape at Uvalde: crosses erected at Robb Elementary; crosses in the churches and the cemeteries. To remove all violence from our world, God would have to remove our human capacity for good and evil. Instead, God chooses the Cross. The
Cross is the ultimate expression of innocent suffering and torture. When Jesus endured the Cross, He took the sins of our violent world upon Himself.
The Cross is not an afterthought. It is not a footnote. The Cross on which Jesus died is the focal point of history. It is the place where God's love meets our agony, our grief and confusion in a violent world. He took our violence upon Himself and conquered it in the resurrection.
According to the theologian N.T Wright, the day Jesus was crucified is “the day the revolution began.” This is the reason crosses are raised above the rooftops, erected on hillsides, planted as grave markers and worn around our necks. Violence will not prevail. Evil will be conquered. The revolution has begun. Another Kingdom is coming. (Romans 8:31-39).
Bill Tinsley reflects on current events and life experience from a faith perspective. His books are available at www.tinsleycenter.com. Email bill@tinsleycenter.com