And am now awoken to the same world that I fell asleep in, and it makes me sad. A young man has lost his life. Was it criminal? I don't know. Was it a crime? Yes, as it always is when anyone's life is taken. There are voices that scream, "Justice!' while others are screaming, 'Injustice!' while still others are screaming, 'Just another day in paradise!' And it makes me wonder why anyone would risk life and jail to come into our world. And it makes me wonder why so many want so many others out of our world.
Michael Brown is gone. Trayvon Martin is gone. Thousands upon thousands of our children are gone. Black. White. Gay. Straight. Nothing will change that, not convictions, not indictments, not sentences, not electric chairs. But that doesn't need to be the last word. And it hardly ever is, instead the next word is the previous word and the word before that...VIOLENCE.
Another young man of color has lost his life and that is tragic. Another child of our world is gone and that is tragic enough. It was by the hand of law enforcement and that is tragic. But however the violence claimed another life is tragic enough. There has to be a point where all those of sound mind and sound body start screaming, 'ENOUGH!' doesn't there? Enough violence. Enough hatred. Enough mistrust. Enough pain. Enough!
It's not now, but it could've been. Maybe it will be the next life lost, or the next, or the next, or...
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Ghandi
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus
There are too many voices that are silent today. Voices that have spoken their last and it is up to those of us who remain to raise our voices for them. I pray for the family of Michael Brown and I pray for the families of all those who have lost their sons and their daughters, their brothers and their sisters, their husbands and their wives to violence.
On their loss I swear that I will not add to the lost voices.
On their loss I swear that I will do my best to raise my child to love all and have malice toward none.
On their loss I swear that I will raise my voice in the places where theirs cannot be heard.
On their loss I swear that I will preach love from my mouth and my fingers.
On their loss I swear that I will love a little more each day in hopes that love may be maximized and hate may be minimized.
Peace and Love,
Pastor K
No comments:
Post a Comment