NANCY HAUGHT
  • Sacred Strangers
  • My blog
  • About/Contact
  • My book
  • Archives

In search of safety

11/7/2017

0 Comments

 
I cannot imagine the grief of those who lost loved ones in last weekend’s shooting in a Texas church. And I am alarmed by this quotation from a Religion News Service story on church security.

The pastor of a Dallas Baptist megachurch (and a counselor to the president of the United States) said on television Sunday that “as many as half” the members of his church carry concealed weapons to worship services. A potential shooter in his congregation would be killed soon after he or she started firing, the Rev. Robert Jeffress said. He saw this as a good thing.

While that remark is disturbing on its own, here’s what is preoccupying me this morning: Jeffress went on to say, “This is the world we’re living in. We need to do everything we can to keep our parishioners safe.”

I am a mother and a grandmother with very dear relatives and friends. The idea of being safe appeals to me, and I long for safety to surround those I love. But I know safety is rare in this world. “The Bible tells me so,” to quote an old song.

In the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, God promised the Israelites safety if they followed divine instructions. They tried and failed. Over and over, they were attacked, killed and dispersed. Even the prophets of God, the ones who faithfully told the people what God wanted of them, were not safe. Their counterparts in the Christian Scriptures -- John the Baptist, St. Paul, Jesus, himself -- were not safe. All died violent deaths. I don’t remember Jesus ever talking about physical safety, his or anyone else’s.

So, why do we think that Christians are entitled to safety in a country where many of us argue that food, shelter and medicine are not entitlements, but the right to own a weapon is? It is tragic that people were killed in a church, especially if they expected to be safe inside its walls. But I am not at all sure that safety is something God promises.

 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture


    ​My book

    Sometimes our fear of strangers keeps us from becoming the people we want to be. "Sacred Strangers" is a guide to six Bible stories about outsiders who are holy examples for the rest of us. Published in October 2017.

    Order "Sacred Strangers" on Amazon or at Liturgical Press.

    Archives

    July 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Sacred Strangers
  • My blog
  • About/Contact
  • My book
  • Archives