I tend to have a hard time whenever highly controversial subjects come into the news- not necessarily due to the subjects themselves, but how they in turn trigger public responses. I believe that our responses to such events say far more about our society than any informative news report covering any groundbreaking event. Our behaviors and words following such announcements speak volumes to the capacity for morality of the human spirit.
While I am encouraged to see long overdue legal action providing some sense of closure following a horrendous tragedy, I am equally saddened by the subsequent outpouring of hatred on social media from the public. I think that often our sense of justice, one that I believe is informed and designed and instilled within us by a just God, is clouded by grief expressed through anger. That palpable grief-anger concoction yields a toxic hatred, one that we (falsely) believe is righteous.
To clarify- I will never suggest that this sort of anger is invalid. No, if anything, it is the most legitimate and justified, and I can never imagine the immense rage and disgust that is felt while watching these events unfold. I will never fully understand the heartache of those directly affected by these events. And I will never pretend like I do. Please. feel what you need to feel, and process what has happened to you in your own time and your own way. I will listen to you. I will respect your choice to remain silent or your choice to speak. I will never be a person that tells you to forgive and forget, or to let it go and move on. No. There are wrongs in this world that will never be righted this side of heaven. I grieve with you in the brokenness of the world, and my heart is deeply saddened by this tragedy and all of its consequences. I am angry for you and alongside you.
And yet, though our anger is legitimate and justified, hatred is not. Hatred is never right. Hatred is contradictory to humanity itself. No one hatred is more evil than another, because all hatred tears apart the seams of mankind. There is no such thing as righteous hatred. By hating the haters and the hated, by hating James Holmes, we surely become the monster we so desire to obliterate. And this sense of righteous hatred is incredibly isolating and ultimately self defeating.
As you "celebrate" this victory, please actively remember that grief is never done. Grief for the victims, grief for the survivors, grief for families and loved ones of those lost, grief for the atrocity, grief of memory, grief of consequences, and grief for James Holmes himself. As the verdict of the Aurora shootings is announced, please respond with grace and kindness. Do not let your passion for justice be fueled by the fire of hatred. Because James Holmes is a child of God, fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. The ground is equal at the foot of the cross, and that is no small pill to swallow. Let's continue to wrestle with God as we are confused by his abundant, all encompassing, perfect grace. I believe that He grieves with us, that He is angry alongside us, and that He hurts for us. I also believe that He is big enough to handle our righteous anger and big enough to handle our questions and big enough to love James Holmes.
While there is comfort in knowing that legal action has been taken, peace cannot come from a court room. I know that no verdict will ever be sufficient to serve justice- not completely. I pray that in this time that we seek the peace of God- peace that surpasses understanding. Peace that surpasses our deepest sorrows. Peace that surpasses the cruelty of this world. Peace that surpasses legal jurisdiction. Peace that surpasses 3 long years of waiting. Peace that surpasses severe mental illness. Peace that surpasses our capacity for hatred.
