Guns & Jesus

It becomes increasingly obscene to balance the American desire to cling to guns with the message of Christmas. We observe a holiday centered in the birth of a powerless and vulnerable child who lived a life of nonviolence. He chose weakness over power, love over force, sacrifice over self-will. How this life squares with the insistent demand to own weapons without restrictions is beyond me.

And while today’s church is obviously made up of human beings who live in the “real world” of the 21^st Century and not first century Palestine, trying to square the message of Christmas holiness with the “God-given” right to arm ourselves grows increasingly offensive.

We are confronted with two stories to live. There is the “American” story that offers violence, force and self-protection at all costs and that clamors for our rights as means to our salvation. And there is the story of Jesus Christ, one who was born in vulnerability and lived in trust. That story insists that ultimate victory belongs to “the lamb who was slain” by the violence of the world. That story insists that our responsibilities trump our rights, that community trumps self, and that forgiveness trumps retaliation.

Only one of these stories is true and worthy of our commitment. We cannot have it both ways.
 

Pastor Larry