You can listen to this week’s Devotional here
Author: Bob von Trebra
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10b
Shootings have recently been in the news again. Another shooting in a school in Georgia, and seemingly random shootings along a highway in Kentucky. It is sad this has become a regular part of our daily lives. It may be even more sad that we don’t seem to have the political will to take steps to prevent at least some of these tragedies. As citizens, I believe we should do what we can to reduce the amount of gun violence in our country.
But I believe gun violence is a sign of a deeper, spiritual sickness in this country. It is a sickness that sees no value in life – the lives of victims, who are often just random people in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even the lives of the people who do the shooting. It seems to me that many of those who carry out these acts of violence fully expect to be taken into custody and spend many years in prison, or to be killed themselves.
In some ways, this sickness has always infected humanity. Some groups of people have always seen others as less-than-human, whose lives are of no concern. The biblical story of Exodus says the Egyptians came to view the Hebrews that way; their only value was as laborers for the Egyptian rulers. In this country, the lives of Black enslaved persons from Africa, Indigenous persons, and recent immigrants have been of little concern to the majority population in power. Depression and mental illness have led to people taking their own lives because they could not see a hopeful future for life. In some cases, they did it because they believed it would protect their loved ones from shame. It never does.
But those who plan and carry out these recent mass shootings seem to have no regard for human life whatsoever.
I don’t know how to heal this kind of spiritual sickness. Legislation and laws may reduce the number of casualties, but they don’t cure the disease. Maybe someday research into the complexities of the human brain might find a cause, and ways to restore health, but for now, brain science still seems to be in its infancy.
But I believe that Jesus came to show us that life matters – to him, and to God. Life in abundance. Not just in some heaven after we die, but here and now, on earth. This life. Life so abundant it can even transcend death. That is one of the ways Jesus came to save us.
I don’t know how to make everyone see this, and believe it. But I believe it is the calling of the Church to proclaim this good news. And it is the calling of those who follow Jesus to find that abundant life and live it. Life is a miracle – a gift. Even in the face of difficulty and pain, and powers that would deny it.
I am nearing the completion of my two-year ministry as Interim Pastor at First Plymouth Congregational UCC in Englewood. One of the final educational programs I offered was a Confirmation class for several youth in the church. This was not a regular offering of the church, but a class the youth actually requested where they could learn what the Christian faith is all about. Maybe they are looking for abundant life. I told them what I believe – that the Christian faith offers one of the best ways to overcome soul-sickness and human violence that threaten our very survival. That is why I went into the ministry, and why I came out of retirement to share that message with a community I care about.