I
have a fantasy that one day I will write a perfectly “safe” sermon. By “safe
sermon,” I mean one that ruffles no feathers, makes everybody feel good and
happy, and perhaps most importantly, makes me popular. Even preachers want to
be popular!
I
thought for a time that today might be the day. Fr. Richard asked me to preach
on this date, I said “sure,” and shortly thereafter checked the Gospel lesson,
as is my custom. Right away, I thought, “Cool! I get to preach again about the
baptism of Jesus.”
So
my plan was to remind you that I had preached on our Lord’s baptism just a few
weeks ago, then announce a pop quiz over that sermon… as an appropriate Lent
One discipline, of course. After teasing you with that for a moment, I would
relent and simply review that handy mnemonic of our baptismal covenant I
included in that sermon.
You
remember:
1. Go to church.
2. Be good.
3. Tell others.
4. Love everybody.
5. Seek justice.
Then,
after that review, and with our baptismal covenant in mind, I would turn to the
question that came up at Theology on Tuesdays this month. For those of you who
were not there: We had an interesting, wide-ranging discussion following up on
Fr. Micheal’s annual meeting sermons about why we are here, what we come to
Grace for, and what kind of healing force we want Grace to be in our community.
That
discussion culminated in someone—I don’t remember who—but someone asked, “So what can we
do?”
This
deacon’s heart just about went into orbit.
So
I was going to use today’s sermon to give you a list—a partial list to be sure,
but a list nevertheless—of ministries… Well.., make that a list of ways God is already at work in this community that you
could become a part of.
Habitat
for Humanity would be high on the list. I am delighted that the director of
Habitat is coming next Sunday to speak to you, and sorry I won’t be here to
hear him.
I
was going to tell you about a wonderful ministry that transforms the lives of
girls and young women who struggle with unplanned pregnancy, addiction, eating
disorders, sex trafficking…. You name it, they struggle with it. It’s called
Mercy Multiplied and I will put some info about how you can check it out in
Grace Notes for next Sunday.
I
was going to talk about what I do in my not-so-spare time, the ministry that
called me to the diaconate: the work of Northern & Central Louisiana
Interfaith. But you and I can talk one-on-one or in small groups about that
anytime.
So
I had this fun, informative sermon planned for today.
Then
Wednesday happened. You know, 17 dead teenagers. In a school. In Florida. Not
that far from here. Not that far from the Pulse night club massacre. Not that
far in time or space from blood in the streets of Las Vegas. Or Sandy Hook. Or
Columbine, for that matter.
I
still thought for a while I would write that other sermon. And then, along
about Friday evening when I got serious about writing, I re-learned something
I’ve actually known for some time: If I can’t write, I’m trying to write the
wrong thing.
Try
as I might, I could not write that sermon. Or, as we might say in Louisiana,
that dog just would not hunt.
So
now I am left with saying what is on my heart and my mind as I survey the
carnage of gun-violence victims before us.. and behind us.. and all around us.
But
before I do, I am compelled to declare—and this feels incredibly peculiar, but
for some reason it seems important to say: I am a gun owner. I know how to use
the guns I own. I have used every one of them.. to shoot targets, to shoot trap,
and to hunt and kill game of various kinds. I intend to continue to own those guns.
So
what I am about to say in no way conflicts with gun ownership and the safe,
sensible use of guns for entertainment and hunting by mentally competent,
upstanding citizens.
But
my days of silence in the face of specious, politically driven arguments about
how we can’t fix this problem because of our “rights” are over.
So
do not tell me that “guns don’t kill people, people do,” because you know as
well as I do that people with guns kill people—and more of them in a shorter
period of time at a greater distance than virtually any other way. And if they
have an assault rifle, make that quantumly more, faster, easier.
Don’t
tell me how Timothy McVay did it with fertilizer… unless you want to be
reminded that today, you can’t walk into a fertilizer store and purchase large
quantities of that fertilizer without equal quantities of documentation–who you
are and why you need it–because somehow, miraculously, we knew how to fix that.
Don’t
tell me about shoe bombs on airplanes because today we all line up at the
security check point and dutifully take off our shoes… because of one shoe bomb
taken onto an airplane.. that turned out to be a dud.
Don’t
talk to me about how we must interpret the 2nd Amendment in the
broadest, most absolutist way possible. We don’t treat any other amendment to
our constitution in that way. We cherish the 1st Amendment as well,
but... when was the last time you saw a cigarette ad on television?
Don’t
talk to me about how the first regulation is a slippery slope to taking away
everyone’s guns. Nonsense! We have a long and proud history in this country of
debate between pro-regulators and anti-regulators, and what comes out of it is
a slightly meandering but mostly middle-of-the-road path that makes nobody
completely happy but keeps us out of the trenches on both sides. We do it with
driving. We do it with hunting. We do it with television and business practices
and meat products in our grocery stores. We can do it with guns.
How
about the argument that no law or regulation will keep guns out of the hands of
criminals? That no matter what laws or regulations we enact, the wrong people
will still get their hands on guns? Sure. That’s true. But that’s an argument
for having no laws of any kind. Because no laws are perfect. No laws are perfect preventers of the
crimes they address.
And
what if, with reasonable, thoughtful laws and regulations, we cut the number of
gun deaths… by half? Maybe by only a quarter? Maybe by ONE? Jesus said he would
go to the ends of the earth for one of us! Is that not worth it?
Maybe
before we answer, we ought to go face-to-face with the screaming mother of a
dead teenager. Maybe we ought to look at our own children and grandchildren
before we answer.
And,
finally, don’t tell me the problem is mental illness. Every other country in
the world has mental illness at about the same rate we do. No other country in
the world tolerates the level of gun-wrought carnage that we do.
Some
time in the last 48 hours, Bishop Jake published his words on this issue, and
one thing he said spoke especially powerfully to me. He said, “My prayers are hollow,
even false, if I do not act.”
I
don’t know if you needed to hear this sermon today. I know I needed to preach
it. Certainly, I know none of you contributes to or promotes gun violence. But
as Fr. Michael preached two weeks ago, we’re either hurting or we’re healing.
There’s no neutral ground on this issue.
We
must demand change. Our legislators are too beholden to powerful, moneyed
interests to do this on our own. We must demand it. And if we don’t, we are
complicit. The blood of future victims will be on our hands.
Please
pray with me: God forgive our past inaction. God help us find the courage to
act, to hold ourselves and our leaders accountable. In your Holy Name…
AMEN.
