Violent Moments in a Violent World
::
...the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter
of Jephthat the Gileadite... -- Judges 11:40
It is appropriate for people of faith to pause today and tomorrow in acknowledgment of the violence in our society and to pray for those who are victims of crime and for those who are perpetrators of it.
Tonight, May 19, at 6 p.m., Paul Everette Woodward will be executed. Tomorrow night, May 20, at 6 p.m., Gerald Holland will be executed. Woodward and Holland have been on death row for decades, found guilty of violent, unspeakable crimes.
The Bible contains some stories that are very difficult to read, stories that are realistic in depiction of the human condition in need of divine grace. The story of Jephthat's daughter, violent and unjust, is among the most difficult.
We grieve that we live in a world that is so infected with sin that we see its repercussions every day. We yearn for Christ's healing for our world.
People of faith are invited to gather in Smith Park in Jackson at 6 p.m. today and tomorrow -- or to pause wherever you find yourself at that time -- to pray for the cycle of violence and retribution to cease, to pray for victims of violence and for perpetrators, to pray for our society to grow in the capacity to move beyond retribution to reconciliation.
With gratitude for God's grace at work among us,
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward |
