Romans 12:10-13
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you lived and lived well.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today’s conversation is about how the United States, among all the world’s advanced countries, has the highest rate of gun violence, far beyond any other nation except those who are actively at war. There are no scriptures about gun violence in the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament, because there were no guns when those books were written. There were any numbers of wars fought with swords and spears and bow and arrow. In the first century there was a great deal of state sponsored violence meant to keep the Roman Empire entertained and under control. What we know of Jesus’ teachings were clearly nonviolent. His followers also found ways to resist empire without violence, even when their Jewish cousins staged armed insurrections in the second century. Paul’s guidance in today’s reading from Romans suggests ways that they lived together without violence, following very different values.
Talking about gun violence is a hot button issue, often framed in all-or-nothing terms. Should we have no guns? Should everyone be armed? It’s hard to have a conversation about how to keep innocent people safe from shootings and still allow for hunting sports that have been a part of our culture forever. Today’s speakers come from a group committed to helping us have that conversation in respectful and productive ways: Mom’s Demand Action for Sensible Gun Control. I want to introduce you to Cheryl Blller who is going to lead our conversation today.
Cheryl introduced herself as someone who came to Mom’s Demand Action after her nephew’s friends were killed and injured in a school shooting in Spokane, Washington. Most people involved in the conversation about gun laws that reduce the number of shootings in the United States have and “enough” moment when one more death pushes them to action. On average there are 120 deaths and 250+ injuries from firearms in the US every day.
Cheryl helped us join in conversation about the complexity of regulating guns to keep people safe and allowing gun sports which are important to many. There were many suggestions from the congregation of ways we could reduce gun violence. Then Cheryl shared with us two laws which would significantly decrease the number of deaths: background checks laws which closed the loopholes for small shops or private sales and red flag laws which allowed law enforcement to remove guns from someone who may be a threat to themselves or others until there can be a hearing to determine when it is safe to return them (if ever).
We started out saying that there isn’t a biblical position on gun control. There isn’t a single right, faith-filled answer to this situation. Even though the Bible doesn’t give us a clear answer about guns, it does show us that Jesus communities lived with respect and care for each other. They practiced the virtues Emerson mentioned: usefulness, honor, compassion, making a difference. They worked together to create the best possible situation while at the same time they lived under difficult circumstances. That might be the most important lesson for us as we wrestle with parts of our world that are broken and think about how to make them better. Respect, problem-solving, compromise – these are qualities our faith teaches us and we can use them to find a better way.