Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!

The events of last week were terrifying. Not just the public murder of a 31-year-old man on a college campus, but in the horrifying response to it. That so many young people were there, filming it, uploading their own videos, and then millions of people were watching the horror right then and there. The public trauma is beyond calculation.

And then, instead of visiting that trauma to heal it, leaders goose-stepped for righteous vindication, both decrying any response they deemed negative while calling for the public execution of the murderer. It is ironic that they would martyr the one who martyred the man.

This is not a reflection of partisan values, but our common Christian faith. We cannot ascribe goodness to any act of violence. And this speaks for both the murderer and the actions of the state, including law enforcement and the carceral system.

This weekend, the young man’s funeral was well attended and full of political influencers. And, while many spoke of the glory of God and of the young man and of the political causes they valued, it is an appropriate time to remind one another that funerals, like weddings, baptisms, confirmations, and ordinations, are worship services. Their place is not only to honor the dead, but to orient ourselves with God and our neighbors to be beacons of love, sojourners on the Way, champions of redemption, bearers of the Holy Spirit who bring good news to the suffering.

This funeral seemed more spectacle than worshipful, which is a real shame. Let us not be so calloused by it that we lose sight of what any act of worship is supposed to be about. God’s love and our sharing it.

With love,
Drew+

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This reflection was written for our church blog. The original may be found here.