Monday, June 13, 2016

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord, the bringer of healing and health.

Through the thin wall of my 'academic bubble' at Luther Seminary, the news of the violence in Orlando broke. My classmates and I and were just beginning to read the assigned material for our course on the Psalms, which begins today (Monday). One scholar defines a theme of the psalms as a 'move from disorientation to orientation.' The people of Israel were disoriented.

By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 
(Psalm 137:1)

They were no longer in the familiarity and safety of their homes in Zion. They had been moved to a new land - Babylon. They were disoriented, unable to find 'home base.' The themes of the psalms often speak of being in a strange place. This place isn't always a place on the map. The disorientation can be spiritual or emotional.

Regardless of who they are, when sister kills sister and brother kills brother, it is disorienting. Certainly, we have lost our way. All disregard for human life is disorienting. Some of you have kindly reached out to me, as this act of violence hits closer to home. I have to admit that, as a gay person, I can't help but imagine myself in the group of people who were targeted. With regard to my sexuality, my marriage, and my lifestyle, I have become lulled into a place of safety in our wonderful Bloomington and Trinity Church. Clearly, this is not the case in all places and with all people. So, to put it simply, I am disoriented. My center is wobbly and I find myself wondering about many things that I can't yet find the words to articulate. So, I rely on trust.

I trust in the God who reaches into our world, even in the midst of crisis, to surround the sad and suffering with people who will help them and love them and hold them up. I trust in the God who reaches into our world, even when we are angry and lost, to guide us into conversation and holy action. I trust in the God who is the shepherd, even to scattering sheep. I trust in Jesus who stood face to face with conflict in the hopes of bringing about a new kingdom.

What can you and I do to bring about this new kingdom? What can we do to be honest about our prejudices and create safe places to look at them? What can Trinity do to facilitate holy conversations of justice and hope? What can we do to help a disoriented people find their center - their Lord? This is our work together.

For now, though, we pray . . .
We pray for an end to senseless killing and violence.
We pray for the repose of the souls of those who were killed.
We pray for comfort and strength for those who were wounded - and for their doctors, nurses, and families, and caregivers.
We pray for those who have lost daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, friends and colleagues.
We pray for those who wish us ill.
And, when we have come back to a more centered place, we pray for insight and wisdom to be Christ's hands and heart and voice in the world.

May the Lord bless us and keep us . . . all of us.
Charlie+