The Recurrence of Curves

The Recurrence of Curves

(“Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.” Isaiah 60:18)

I wandered into the
silence of violence,
the recurrence of curves.
I heard people speak to thousands about
heaven and hell in an
isolated haven where love was offered
as a plate of hors d’oeuvres.

I heard the word exclaimed from the balcony behind me,
and lived to see the crumbling of cathedrals.
I walked around every block and preached in
neighborhood parks
the almost-good-enough
but
often-not-quite
good news (those who never raised their hands
might eternally scorch their feet.)

I circled enhanced audio that improved the tone
of the scrambled message I’d learned.
It was always love, but often-not-quite
love. It was always sung in the key
the chosen few knew. Once or twice
a bluebird flew the coop,
but usually everyone remembered the tune.

Yet I had, subconsciously, quieted the song that was
ever-love. My circle was too small for my heart to inhabit
and make room for other residents, natives or civilians.
But my heart made no distinctions; but my circle
made no exceptions to the rule; until my circle was
broken when my own pain broke through.

Pain, sadness, I am done with the madness that defines differences
and rallies behind nations that have not learned that
when someone turns their back on you; everyone knows.
So I stayed facing the sun though I preferred the clouded corner
where no one would see me weep over weaknesses I thought
were drawn outside the lines.

And today, though some stand opposite the sun from me,
we still see, though some forget, the same blaze without regret,
the same consuming love that, now and not yet,
draws, full-orbed, every agitation and argument,
every skirmish and squabble, into the orbit of mercy
and defeats, by dying, the technologies of death.

When Silence Speaks (a meditation on Holy Week and the "March for our Lives")

"When Silence Speaks"

“The Son of Man will be handed over to people, and they will kill him. After three days, he will rise from the dead.” Mark 9:31

Emma Gonzalez stood on the stage before 80,000 people last Saturday on the Washington Mall. A Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, she has become one of the most prominent voices in the #NeverAgain movement. The day was electric. But, not for the words, nor the rhetoric, but for a stunning silence of nearly four minutes as she stood grieving behind the microphones.

“Six minutes and about 20 seconds," she said. "In a little over 6 minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured and everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered."

"Everyone who was there understands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands. For us, long, tearful, chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing. No one understood the extent of what had happened."

She repeated the names of the 17 students and faculty that had died and the things they would never do again. Then, she stood silent. Tears rolled down her cheeks while the crowd broke out in isolated chants. But, mostly there was silence.

The “moment of silence” we often call for to respect the fallen usually lasts no more than 30 seconds. But there, among a crowd that had come together to march for their lives, the silence hovered like a cloud for over four minutes. The chants faded. The murmuring of casual movement ceased. All that was left was the air between the sea of humans and an 18-year-old girl bravely honoring her friends and crying to be heard; a silence that must be heard.

After 4 minutes and 25 seconds, a timer went off. "Since the time that I came out here," she said, "it has been 6 minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape and walk free for an hour before arrest."

On a Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem another crowd had gathered. The man people called the Messiah was being crucified. Strangely, he had stayed mostly silent during the mock trial performed by the state and religious leaders. Jesus knew what was coming and had made it clear to His disciples on more than one occasion.

“The Son of Man will be handed over to the people, and they will kill him. After three days, he will rise from the dead.” Then, silence. His followers had no idea what Jesus meant and were afraid to ask him.

And I wonder if we struggle with what He meant as well. We call this week “Holy”. We attend church on Easter, wear new clothes, enjoy brunches and happily celebrate the Risen King. But we cannot understand the resurrection of Christ apart from the agony of Friday and the silence of the tomb.

Ms. Gonzalez and her student friends have experienced the cycle of death and violence and now want something to be done. What if Jesus’ death was an invitation for us to give up that same cycle of violence and choose real life? What if these students are echoing what Jesus did on the cross as they “March for our Lives”?

Pastor and writer Brian Zahnd has said, "The cross is not where God inflicts violence on Jesus in order to vent his wrath; the cross is where God in Christ endures human inflicted violence and forgives it all." We who follow Jesus do well to remember how He “triumphed”. We cannot celebrate Resurrection without understanding the violence He willingly endured from humanity.

The cross with its seeming humiliation and defeat was actually God’s way of overcoming our nasty addiction to harm and violence. No warrior ever triumphed by being executed; but Jesus did. The tomb with its seeming silence and death was actually God’s statement that a new way was coming, and indeed, had already arrived.

When Jesus rose from the dead He invited us to lay down our arms, to say “no” to harmful words and actions, and to say “yes” to our lives, our new lives connected to Him. God refused to drop the “Mother of all Bombs” on the human race. Instead He sent His Beloved Son into enemy territory to absorb the hatred, violence and sin of us all, and return it fully forgiven.

That is enough to shut my own mouth for four minutes and consider: How shall I follow my Master’s way?

We Need You, Prince of Peace

“Ezra was determined to study the Lord’s Teachings, live by them, and teach their rules and regulations in Israel.” Ezra 7:10

Today 20 children were shot and killed by a crazed man in a Connecticut elementary school. They dead are primarily kindergarten students, plus the shootist’s mother who was a teacher at the school. Not a week before a man opened fire in a shopping mall, killing two and taking his own life as well. Nearly 10,000 were in the mall at the time of the shooting.

"Talking Shop"

“You talked only about violence and told nothing but lies; you sat around gossiping, ruining the reputation of your own relatives.” Psalm 50:19,20

The literal meaning of the two phrases in verse 19 is of great interest. The wicked are spoken of as “sending your tongue” out to do violence. They talk of violence, and violence alone.