Making spiritual sense of mass shootings
Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and
his brother Philip tetrarch of the regionof Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and
Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John
went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the
words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare
the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and
every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made
straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation
of God.”
Let me ask
you a question: how do you feel these days? I don’t know about you, but after
hearing about the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California last Wednesday, I
felt like someone has just punched me in the stomach. Again. And my stomach has
been in knots ever since. And apparently, I’m not alone in feeling like this.
On December 3, the New York Times asked its subscribers this question, “Do you
worry about mass shootings?” Here are a few of the responses. 26 year-old Damien said, “Anytime a colleague
or friend is let go from a job, I’m afraid they are going to come back into my
office and shoot up the entire office.” Ever feel like that? 17 year-old Andrew
answered, “I am tired of being scared. I want to go to college next year and
feel safe, but I don’t.” Any young people feel that way? A proactive professor
said, “I am a teacher. I constantly rehearse in my mind what steps I would take
to protect me and my kids from a shooter.” And 58 year-old Paula said, “I think
about it anytime we are in public, particularly in crowds. I no longer feel
safe anywhere.” Do any of these comments capture how you feel these days?
And then a
really low blow came when the New York Daily News – a liberal leaning paper –
touted the headline, “God Isn’t Fixing This.” God isn’t fixing this. Basically,
they were accusing conservative politicians of hiding behind pious platitudes –
like “let’s pray about this” – instead of enacting tighter gun legislation. But
however off the mark that headline was, haven’t you also sometimes wondered,
“Why DOESN’T God fix this??” And to top it all off, we’re in the middle of
Advent, a time of hope and joy and especially peace! But peace is the last
thing we feel. I don’t know about you, but it sure doesn’t feel much like
Christmas time to me. Does it to you?
In the
gospel reading today we see John announcing the coming of Christ to begin his
public ministry, and those days didn’t feel very “Christmasy” either. The
gospel begins by introducing the key characters who would play pivotal roles in
the birth and death of John and Jesus. We hear about Caesar, who took the
world-wide census, and about Pontius Pilate, who washed his hands of guilt.
There’s Herod who would have John beheaded in prison, and Anna and Caiaphas who
conspired to crucify Christ. In other words, the first time Christ came into
the world, there was corruption and greed in government from top to bottom, and
I’m sure many people felt exactly the same as those subscribers to the New York
Times; people were scared. And one or two pundits in Palestine in the first
century surely must have said, “God isn’t fixing this!”
But John the
Baptist came to preach a different message. He said, “Every valley shall be
filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall
be made straight and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the
salvation of our God.” That is, in spite of the worst that the world can throw
at us, God’s plans and purposes will not be thwarted. You see, John’s message
rang through the mountains of the Middle East and boldly proclaimed, “GOD IS
FIXING THIS!” Or, as our Evangelical friends like to say, “When you’re down to
nothing, God is up to something!” In other words, God’s plans always prevail,
but they do so often in humble and hidden and hum-drum ways, and you need the
eyes of faith to see them. Otherwise, all you see are terrorists and mass
shootings.
I’m a big
fan of the sit-com called “Seinfeld.” Now, that show is not fit for most of
you, so you should not watch it! Only priests can watch it. (Just kidding.)
Arguably one of the best episodes ever was when Kramer saves a lady’s pinky toe
after it’s been run over by a street-cleaner, then he fights off a mugger on a
bus, and then actually drives the bus to the hospital. In the middle of his
story, Kramer dramatically declares, “Jerry, the bus was outta control!” Remember that line? You know, a lot of people may feel that way
today, thinking, “Our country is out of control!” or “Our world is out of
control!” But do you know what I always tell people who feel like their life is
out of control? I remind them, “The Holy Spirit is still driving the bus.” The
Holy Spirit is still driving the bus. Why do I say that? Because when the Holy
Spirit is driving the bus, John’s prophecy comes true: “The winding roads shall
be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the
salvation of our God.” In other words, when the Holy Spirit drives the bus, it
doesn’t get out of control, because the Spirit’s driving makes the road
straight and smooth.
May I share
with you a few places where I see the Holy Spirit driving the bus? Well, 2,000
years ago, the Spirit was driving the bus when a baby was born in Bethlehem,
and Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem. Yes, he was driving back then. But
I see the Spirit driving the bus today too in a pope who preaches love for the
poor. I see the Spirit driving the bus in husbands and wives who forgive each
other and try to save their marriages. I see the Spirit driving the bus in
young people thinking about becoming a priest or nun. I see the Spirit driving
the bus in parents who make sacrifices to send their children to Catholic
schools. I see the Spirit driving the bus when a mother chooses to keep her
baby rather than get an abortion. I see the Spirit driving the bus when
Catholics choose to go to Mass instead of staying home and watching football or
go hunting. I see the Spirit driving the bus in a teenage girl who asked for a
priest to come see her in a mental hospital, and now comes to Mass every
Sunday.
You see, it
takes the eyes of faith to see how the Spirit is driving the bus. If you look
through the eyes of faith, you’ll see how “God is fixing this.” Otherwise,
you’ll just dramatically declare, “Jerry, the bus is outta control!” What do
you see?
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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