The American Babylonian Captivity
Don’t forget to Spring Ahead this weekend!
Here is a link to this week’s readings.
The school shooting in Parkland, Florida left 17 people dead and 14 injured, mostly teenagers. Again, the nation is mourning, and families and friends are devastated. After the violence at Sandy Hook, when our collective outrage was palpable, we were sure that our leaders would address the problem with a heightened sense of urgency. Instead, they offered thoughts and prayers, and then effectively did nothing more. Many of us became increasingly jaded about a two-party system that, even in the wake of such an excruciating tragedy, could not come together to confront the violence.
Perhaps the United States is in a Babylonian moment. Our sins have led us here: sins against social justice and solidarity, sins of increasing lack of empathy, sins of selfish individualism, and sins of idolatry. Perhaps we, like ancient Israel, “have added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations.” I don’t mean this in a simplistic way. I am not claiming that God sends killers as punishment for our sins. I don’t mean that shootings happen because we supposedly “kicked God out of the schools.” And I don’t mean that death and devastation are in any way part of God’s plan. What I do mean is that all sin is social. While the blame for the individual shootings remains squarely with the perpetrator(s), we would be foolish not to examine the socio-cultural milieu that has given rise to such violence. It might be that God has sent us prophets before, whom we have not been willing to hear. Have we, as a society, “mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets” as they did in ancient Israel?
After a half century of Babylonian captivity, in 538 B.C., God delivered the Chosen People back to Jerusalem, the City of Shalom, the City of Peace. Thus, “the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation…: ‘Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!’” What is significant here is that God inspired not a Jew, but a foreigner. God’s words of hope, liberation, and salvation did not come through an expected channel, such as a Jewish priest or prophet, but through a foreign king.
In our current situation, God’s prophetic message again seems to come from an unexpected quarter. Student survivors of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School—especially Cameron Kasky, Alfonso Calderon, Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg, Sarah Chadwick, and Emma González—began the Never Again movement, attempting to channel the personal and national outrage into effective activism that might finally get us beyond our national impasse and catatonic politics. They dare to believe that their school shooting could be the last, that something will finally be done to prevent these tragedies, that violence should never become the norm. In taking on the behemoth NRA and its stranglehold on our Second Amendment politics, the students demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the nature of the problem. Democracy itself has been held captive by special interests. Although an overwhelming majority of Americans favors reasonable gun reforms, the NRA has “owned” politicians as easily as anyone can own an AR-15, as survivor Sarah Chadwick suggested. There is room for policy debate, and the Second Amendment should continue to protect the rights of lawful gun owners, but democracy must be untied from its straightjacket so that this honest debate can proceed and reforms be initiated. Already, the students are making a serious impact, as Florida officials defied the NRA and passed a gun reform bill. (As expected, the NRA is now suing).
In addition to addressing policy, though, we, as a society, must also address social sin. We need a collective examination of conscience. Guns should not be idols, and it is highly questionable whether we should be blessing AR-15’s as sacred objects. I suspect that is sacrilege. The myth of rugged individualism, so contrary to Scripture, demands to be challenged and dismantled as well. We need one another. We must reclaim a sense of the common good and solidarity. Those who are most needy have the greatest claim on our care and compassion. Competition, in moderation, is a fine motivator and a generator of progress, but it must not derail our ability to be caring and cooperative people first and foremost. Furthermore, we should reject toxic models of masculinity and a cultural atmosphere that turns bullying and violence into entertainment. Such cultural perversions are both un-Christian and unhealthy. These are not excuses to deflect blame away from individuals who perpetrate acts of violence, but rather, a Christian imperative to evangelize the culture.
In the young people from Stoneman High School, God may be speaking a prophetic word. If we listen, we may hear God calling us to reject violence at its roots and to have hope for salvation. We may hear God demanding repentance and greater conversion, and comforting us with the hope that we will finally return to The City of Peace after our long captivity in Babylon.
Photo credit: https://www.listland.com/10-reasons-u-s-many-mass-shootings/
