This is a letter that I sent to my two, small UMC congregations. I do not know if similar letters are being sent elsewhere, and I make no claim that they should. But this was from my heart... (Edited to note that the poem I open with is from a liturgy and not my own)
We live with the aftershocks of fear:
Our heart and strength failing;
Our tears the rivers through which we run
To you, O God.
We find our desires
Rubbed against the unknown
Of terror on every side —
And as a maiden watches for her mistress —
We focus our eyes, steadfast, on you.
Come to our aid and help us.
Where we are fractured and frayed, repair us.
Where we are weary, uphold us.
In the tidal waves of memory
And dust and damage,
Be the sea of grace on which we
Walk on water to you.
Be the last word of hope
And the first sound of joy.
While we live with these aftershocks,
Be our firm foundation.
"Aftershocks" Copyright © 2006 The Rev. Dr. Valerie Bridgeman Davis. All Rights Reserved.
The world is rightly reeling from the terrorist attack in Norway. As time goes on, we will pick apart motive and method, point fingers, and seek to reassure ourselves that this is the isolated act of a “lone wolf.” It is a terrible tragedy, but it has nothing to do with us.
This attitude is harmful and blind. The perpetrator of this act claims the name of Christian, as we do. It is comforting to invoke the “No True Scotsman” fallacy and deny that he is a Christian, because he acts in such a way that we do not believe Christians should. In our immediate and heartfelt repudiation of this act of violence and terror, we may find ourselves feeling defensive, wishing that no one was linking the terms “Christian” and “terrorist.” But burying our heads in the sand will not adequately address the fact that this is indeed the case.
Our response must not be one of simply distancing this man from our faith, but living our faith in such a way that there will no longer be actions such as this. We have no control over what other Christians, other denominations, even other Methodists believe, say or do. We have some measure of control over how we respond and are in relationship with others. To answer such hatred and violence, we respond with love and peace. We stand firm against attitudes and systems of blind nationalism, prejudice, and injustice and seek to dismantle them and diminish their influence throughout the world. We do not preach hatred such as this, but I am ashamed when such hatred is preached. And make no mistake, my brothers and sisters...such hatred is preached often and loudly in our country. We may not be responsible for this one man’s actions, but it is clear that we must be more intentional and responsible for our own.
This is a time of great sadness and loss. May it also be a time of reflection and honest assessment of our context and our response. God be always with us. Amen.