What Do You Say at a Time Like This?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
February 10th 2008

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
"What Do You Say at A Time Like This?"
2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2; Ephesians 2: 14-22

What do you say at a time like this? The pain, the hurt, the shock and the need to make sense out of the chaos begs for some word. So we start this morning by naming the people who have died and will follow that with a moment of silence: Kenneth Yost, Bill Biggs, Connie Karr, Mike Lynch, Tom Ballman, and Charles Lee Thornton. (Time of Silence). At a time like this we offer prayers for Mike Swoboda who is fighting for his life, and for the continued healing of Todd Smith. At a time like this we stand with all of those who are grieving the loss of loved ones and the witnesses who will carry this experience for the rest of their lives. We need to offer prayers for those who are caught off guard by this horrific act and for those who believe this act was justified.
At a time like this, we must do more than stand in silence. We must speak a word. This tragedy is indeed about a man who had lost himself in rage. The man who is said to have had a smile for everyone was carrying around rage and anger that ended the lives of six people. This is a story about one man and his violent actions, but it is not a story which begins or ends there.
At a time like this, I want to be careful not to give the impression that there is a justification for such actions. To talk about the larger issues, I believe might sound like a justification, or a trivializing of the loss of life. There is a lot of pain and hurt that has impacted many people, including those in this room and in the presbytery. However, I believe if we tell this story as the actions of an angry black man, we cheapen the loss of life and perpetuate a deeply held racial stereotype. I believe to honor the lives lost and to be faithful to our God given calling for reconciliation, we must say something more.
The moment I heard of the tragic event, I began to search the newspapers and internet, and watched the television news programs. I needed to know why. I needed to know what would lead someone to pick up a gun and end the life of others. As I listened as carefully as I know how, I heard many things. These are some of the things I heard from people trying to make sense of this tragedy: I heard that this is just part of the troubled history of Kirkwood and Meacham Park. I have heard that the roots of this can be found in a number of incidents ranging from the handling of the annexation of Meacham Park, to the perception, that is too often confirmed by reality, that there are different rules for whites and black, and even more recently the handing down of the death sentence to Kevin Johnson who killed Sgt. Bill McEntee in 2005. But I have also heard many stories about a loving and idyllic community, lifelong committed public servants and active church members, caring police officers, loving partners, and councilmember’s at their wits end because a citizen had lost perspective.
These are the stories I have heard. I believe that there is truth in all these stories. I also believe that any explanation or any attempt to make sense of this horrible tragedy which ignores any of these stories will not honor the dead. Any attempt to minimize these stories will not bring about the reconciliation so desperately needed.
But, at a time like this, we must wait to talk about the work and process of reconciliation. There will be a time, soon, when we have to stop ignoring the reality of racism, and the ways in which we all are affected, in Kirkwood, in Saint Louis, in Missouri, and in the United States. We must hold close to our hearts the words of Paul. His call to reconciliation grounded in Jesus is our ministry. Jesus broke down the dividing walls of hostility, not simply to bring détente or order but to create a lasting shalom where black folks and white folks, poor folks and rich folks, residents of Meacham Park and Kirkwood can live in a just, and life-giving community where everyone is valued and treated with the dignity and recognition due to a child of God. Soon, this will be the work to which we will have to attend. I believe that if we do not, at some point, move to the work of reconciliation we will be here again. The names, the situations, and scenarios may change but if we do not fulfill the work or reconciliation we will find ourselves here again.
But for now, at a time like this, when we are preparing for funerals, we will pray for the loss of life. We pray for the places of pain, confusion, and for the voices of mourning and lamentation. We pray for compassion and for God’s healing for all. What do we say at a time like this? We show our longing for a day when death will be no more praying: Come Lord Jesus! Come Lord Jesus! Come Lord Jesus! Amen.