Forging Peace and Security
AM Psalm 33 • Ecclesiasticus 10:1-8,12-18 • James 5:7-10
PM Psalm 107:1-32 • Micah 4:1-5 • Revelation 21:1-7
I am writing this reflection on the morning after another shooting—another church shooting—in which three members of an Episcopal church in suburban Birmingham, Alabama were killed. Perhaps because I am in the same demographic as those who were attending a “Boomers Potluck,” this act of violence is particularly horrifying to me.
Of course, news of any violence is cause for alarm; and our news cycle has been filled with so much of it lately: ongoing war in Ukraine, mass murder at an elementary school in Texas, and countless other atrocities, including several other church shootings. But a seemingly random act of violence at a church that resembles St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville somehow brings the fear even closer to home.
The readings for today are specifically selected for Independence Day; Anglicans elsewhere in the world will have other appointed readings for July 4. I wonder what the Lectionary compilers thought might be relevant to what was essentially a declaration of war written 246 years ago. Tales of unjust kings, perhaps? Not even! The reading from Ecclesiasticus warns, “Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts…”(Ecc.10:20)
I decided to focus on a familiar passage from Micah: “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks…” instead. I recently learned about an organization based in Colorado that actually recycles guns into garden tools, taking their inspiration from this verse. The mission of RAWtools is to “disarm hearts and forge peace” by “teaching new ways to solve (our) problems through relationship, dialogue, and alternative means of justice.” (See www.rawtools.org for more info.)
In addition to Independence Day, Juneteenth and Pride Week are also celebrations of liberty and justice that are taking place as I prepare to submit this reflection. As the passage from Micah continues, “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore, but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid…” I pray that we all may find peace and freedom to live in our own gardens, schools, homes, churches, and streets without fear. AMEN.
Written by Shannon Dillard Mitchell
...who is eager to learn more about the Disarming Network and the work done by RAWtools to turn guns into garden tools.