The deaths of Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Deah Shaddy Barakat are an unspeakable tragedy. Whether officials eventually decide that they were murdered because they were Muslim, because they were faithful, or because of a parking spot, their generous and gracious lives have been brutally cut short. We will never know all the good they would have done.
We pray peace for all those impacted by this horrible act and pray that we as a society will deeply, fervently consider why we so often turn to violence.
Thank you Aleta for this public reminder of this tragedy. We prayed for this situation in our worship on Sunday. And yes, we need to do a lot more.
I asked people last week what it means to love our enemies – a text I decided to use for the last Sunday of Epiphany from Luke 6:27-39. The facebook request was boosted and so it got almost 6000 reads. I got a response from someone that said – I will not love anyone who does not love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I contrasted that with the words of a Muslim leader who spoke at an event for the 3 victims of this tragedy you name held at NC State who said something like: We will not hate those who did this, but rather we will respond with service and love.
I wonder how Christians have learned to be so narrow and so reactively violent.
OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH THE RALEIGH/WAKE COMMUNITY. WE MUST LEARN TO WORK AS A UNIT, WE ARE OUR BROTHERS KEEPER.
We pray and we consider but at the end of the day what do we, as people of faith and conscience, actually do about the violence, particularly gun violence, that claims 30,000 America lives every year? It often seems precious little.