Embody Hope

Dear friends,

I am writing this on Sunday, July 14, not yet 24 hours after the assassination attempt on our former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania—less than an hour from where I grew up.  My heart aches for all the victims of this horrific political violence:  Donald Trump; the two shooting victims who are in critical condition; the man killed in the shooting; the troubled 20-year-old who fired the shots; the shocked and traumatized rally attendees; all who love and care for those folks, especially their families; and us—all Americans as we try desperately to navigate the perilous waters of these hate-filled times. 

As I was working on this article, a kind gentleman came into my office to thank St. Andrew’s for our hospitality to his group, the Tidewater German-American Society, which was meeting in the parish hall.  He held my hand and said, “Pray for our country.”  I said, “I am, and I will.”  After telling me that he is Catholic, he said he’s been thinking about Our Lady of Fatima (the Virgin Mary), who appeared to three children several times in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, always on the 13^th of the month.  Making a connection to the assassination attempt, he said, “Yesterday was the 13^th.”

I stereotypically envision the Virgin Mary as a sweet young mother, clad in blue, bending tenderly over the baby Jesus.  What would she think of yesterday’s events? I mused.  And then I remembered Mary’s encounter with faithful old Simeon in the Temple (Luke 2: 25-35). After blessing the family, Simeon says to Mary:  This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul too.

The inner thoughts of many will be revealed.  That’s been happening a lot in our country over the past few years—especially on social media—and frighteningly many of those thoughts are ugly.  When we fail to carry out our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being, our thoughts turn ugly—and sometimes murderous.

A sword will pierce your own soul too.  That’s how I feel—and maybe you, too.  Our souls have been pierced, once again, by gun violence.  As I write this, we don’t yet know exactly what motivated the young shooter, but we can be sure that the toxic political atmosphere in our nation helped stoke the fire of his grievance and anger.

John preached today about hope—and specifically about the Christian’s call to maintain and proclaim hope because of our sure and certain hope of resurrection, our trust in the ultimate victory of God’s saving power.  Our soul-pierced world desperately needs hope, desperately needs for the revealing of inner thoughts to unveil not contempt but peace and compassion. 

That work begins with us.  You and I cannot fix the large-scale hatreds and violence in our world, but we can embody hope in our small corners of that world, in Jesus’ name.  2000 years ago, a tiny band of 11 men did just that.  Jesus invites us to do the same.  May we have the courage and grace to respond: to seek and serve Christ in all persons, even—and especially—in these fractious times.

I am so grateful that we are companions on this journey of faith, and I pray for God’s blessings on us all.  --Anne