Sad day

Dear Family,

I write this after another tragic event in our common story as a nation. Yesterday, for whatever reason, Nidal Malik Hasan walked into a staging area for soldier about to be deployed, and he began to shoot and kill his fellow soldiers. Thirteen children of grieving parents are left to ask the most obvious question, why? Why did their children have to die? How did this happen on an army base? And what do we do now? That child, that son or daughter, was our future, our heir, our own promise, and now the acts of one angry person stole that chapter from those grieving parents.

Whenever an event like this happens, it humbles me. It stops me in my tracks as we hear story after story of who this man is, and how there were signs that he might not be the most stable person around. And it makes us question why didn't someone do something, sooner. I dont know. I dont know. I wish i had a better answer, any answer, as to why a soldier, who enlisted to serve, was on his way to Iraq or Afghanistan, would do something so sinister, so evil as to open fire on unarmed and unexpecting soldiers. These men and women thought the war was overseas; they never expected it to be brought to them. And that's what Hasan did. He brought a war and war casualities to the homes of our sons and daughters in the military. His actions cause us all to grieve.

And here i sit, in my comfortable chair, in my warm office, overlooking the forest that has already succombed to the still of winter, and i can only imagine what those families are going through. I can't imagine. I can't know. And it isn't just the families of the victims, but what about the family of the shooter? He has parents. An aunt that was interviewed. And i am sure he has cousins and other family members that are left with a lot of questions as well. What do we do? How do we respond? How do we go on? Again, i dont know. I dont know. Does anyone?

As i sit and reflect on the horrors of yesterday, i have another nagging thought. What's going to happen to all the beautiful Muslim sisters and brothers who will, once again, be under the microscope because of the actions of one person? For those serving the military, will the doubts of their fellow service people cause them to look over their shoulders? For the Muslims, who go about life condemning violent acts like Hasan, will they be heard over the zealous rants of the few? Or will we, once again, see terrorist behind every Mosque attendee, behind every veiled face, or behind every Arabic sounding name? I hope not.

I hope that peace is still our rallying cry. I hope that our president does his job and condemns this evil act, offers support, love, prayers, and whatever is needed to help the families who trusted his military with their sons and daughters to cope, and i hope he reminds us that this was the solo act of one person, not the ideology of a religion or group of persons. Hasan acted alone. Period. Our president must stand up, offer condolences, promise justice, grant anger, empower healing, and help our enlisted sisters and brothers, whether Muslim, Jew, Christian, Athiest, or Pagan to know they are valued, as safe as they can be, and that their stories, no matter what happens to them, will never be silenced. If our president is to be the leader he promises to be, now is the time for him to stand up and show us what kind of leader he is. For him to drop the ball, now when we need some answers, shows lack of respect and ability to lead a country in desperate need of hope.

We may never know why Hasan did what he did, even if he is able to tell us. But we can rally around the families of those who lost a loved one yesterday or has lost a loved one in any violent act or any manner that robbed a parent of a child or a child of a parent, we can rally around them. Pray for them. Love them. Support them. Be Jesus to them. And above all be the church God created us to be. We may never stop senseless acts of violence, ever. But we can change how we respond. Now is the time for peace and justice not revenge and hate. Will you, the church, stand with me and love all people, pray for peace, fight for justice, and stand, with our crosses showing, for victims everywhere. I need you with me, so we can, with God's help, usher in His Kingdom. Our world needs it now more than ever. Amen.

Salaam Meleikum, Shalom, Peace,
jerry