April_22_07 Gerber

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Sermon: God the Transformer

Scripture: Acts 9: 1-6

Reverend Larry Gerber

On Monday, a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, went on a shooting rampage and killed 32 people, all fellow students or teachers at the school. Cho Seung-Hui, the shooter, first killed two students in a university dormitory. About two hours later, he opened fire in a classroom building, killing an additional 30 people before finally turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.

The body count makes this the worst school shooting in the history of the United States.

Between the two shootings, Cho went to a nearby post office and mailed a package to NBC News containing photos, videos and an 1,800-word manifesto in which he expressed rage, resentment, hatred of the wealthy and a desire to get even, although much of what he said seems not tied to reality.

Although police responded to the first shooting, those killings were first thought to be a domestic dispute, and since the killer had apparently fled, no action was taken to secure the campus.

Law enforcement also responded quickly to the second shootings, but the murders there took place in rapid succession, and by the time police got into the building, the killer had finished his deadly shooting and had killed himself.

Everything that has since been learned about Cho indicates that he was mentally unbalanced. In fact, some of his teachers and fellow students had reported frightening or strange behavior on his part, and, at one point, he had been considered a suicide risk and had received some psychiatric care.

Because he had submitted to the mental health care voluntarily, there was nothing on his record to prevent him from purchasing two handguns legally, which he did. He used at least one of those guns the campus shootings.

The tragedy appears to be re-igniting the debate about gun control.

As of today, the university has not resumed classes. Students, their families, the faculty and the community are dealing with the shock and grief.

The Big Questions

1. Incidents such as the shootings at Virginia Tech remind us that there is no guaranteed protection against an individual with murderous intentions or irrational perceptions of life. We are all vulnerable. How should this fact affect people who put their faith in Christ?

2. We tolerate the portrayal of a lot of violence in our society -- in movies, television, video-games, rap music, etc. -- which may feed the imagination and power fantasies of people with certain mental disturbances. Are we right to tolerate it? Does it fill any real need in our socie ty?

3. Our society brands certain forms of violence as legitimate, such as in warfare and in protective measures. Can violence ever defeat evil? If so, how? If not, what can?

Are there any "lessons" to be learned from the Virginia Tech tragedy? If so, what are they?

Confronting the News with Scripture

Acts 9: 1-6

"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples."

Saul was doing what he had learned was right: kill all the Christians. Fortunately, Paul turned his life around as he was confronted by Jesus on the Damascus road. The question comes to mind: "Why doesn't God get everyone's attention before it is too late?"

This story does not compare to the incident at Virginia Tech, but it does hold some hope for future incidents.

Matthew 2:16

"When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under ..." (For context, read Matthew 2:1-18.)

This, of course, is from the narrative about Jesus' birth, when King Herod, known as "Herod the Great" to distinguish him from other rulers in the Bible who bore that name, ordered the slaughter of all the children two years old or younger in the Bethlehem area, hoping to kill the "child who had been born to be king" whom Herod assumed would be a threat to his position.

This account strikes us as the biblical story most similar to the Virginia Tech tragedy in that this Herod was known to be mentally unbalanced, obsessed with fear of losing his position and capable of seeing "enemies" anywhere. In fact, in his paranoia, he had one of his wives and three of his sons killed. His massacre of the infants was one of his last murderous acts before death overtook him. (The first-century Jewish historian Josephus tells of Herod's madness.)

Herod was able to express his insanity through murder because of his royal position of power. Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, had no such position, but his acquisition of a rapid-firing handgun put similar murderous power in his hands.

Genesis 6:13

"I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them ..." (For context, read 6:5-14.)

God told Noah that he had decided to destroy the earth with a great flood. In the verse above, God tells Noah why: because of the violence of humankind.

Job 24:2

"The wicked remove landmarks ..." (For context, read 24:1-12.)

Along with Job's complaints about his personal sufferings, he also has issues with the fact that God does not stop violent people from their misdeeds on earth. All of chapter 24 is an extended complaint about the harm the violent do.

The observation above that the "wicked remove landmarks" refers to what at first might seem like a nonviolent crime. Landmarks were the stone markers used in Job's day to designate the boundaries of a family's property. But Job rightly understood the removing of them as violence. In that agricultural society, land was a family heritage, and the theft of the boundary markers was an assault on social stability of the community.

Our society has landmarks too, standards that help us define the basis for a decent life together. One of those landmarks is "Thou shalt not kill." Crimes that we find most shocking are those where established standards are violently violated. Killings such as the one on the Virginia Tech campus shatter societal landmarks not only by taking lives, but also by killing indiscriminately, targeting people with whom the shooter has no personal disagreement. The perpetrator completely "removes" the societal landmark.

1 Samuel 17:45

"But David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts ...'" (For context, read 17:38-51.)

This is David's statement to the giant Philistine soldier, Goliath. By all appearances, David was overmatched, but with God's help, David prevailed in this one-on-one battle. David came in the name of the Lord, but he also brought his slingshot and some stones. David used violence against Goliath, killing him with a well-aimed stone. And his action of then cutting off Goliath's head with the giant's own sword cannot be described as less than violent either.

But David's confrontation of Goliath was a defensive action, meant to head off greater violence to the people of Israel, and it clearly had God's blessing.

Psalm 73:16-17

"But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end." (For context, read 73:1-20.)

Psalm 73 is a prayer for relief from evildoers. The earlier verses describe the gains many of the unrighteous seem to acquire. In the lines above, the psalmist confesses that he cannot make sense of all this, but then he goes into the sanctuary of God and there he gains a new perspective.

In times of terrible trouble, when we cannot make sense of the evil around us, going intentionally into the presence of God takes us to a place where we find what we need to go on.

In an essay on Foxnews.com about the Virginia Tech tragedy, Lauren Green, a religion correspondent for the FOX News Channel, writes: "So where is God? He is in the prayer vigils. He is in the rivers of tears flowing from everyone affected. He is in the community coming together to offer support to the families. He is at work in the love and strength people are offering each other. God is with us."

Questions for Further Discussion

1. There are Christian groups that reject all forms of violence, including that which is defensive. Even if you disagree with that position, what positive aspects can you see in it?

2. Would stricter gun control measures have prevented the Virginia Tech tragedy?

Since Cho was over 18, current privacy laws prevented the university from reporting Cho's mental problems to his parents. Should those laws be changed to allow such reporting?

Saul the murderer became Paul the spokesperson for Christianity. God got Paul's attention and Paul responded accordingly. Unfortunately this is not the case ever time. Since the beginning of time and in all walks of life through all generations there has been violence. Sometimes by people in power; sometimes by troubled individuals; sometimes out of hatred.

Through all of these tragedies God has been with us. He is with us now through the Risen Savior. He will not intervene as he created us with a free will, but He will be with us in every tragedy. In this complex society we need to focus more and more on the power of God and the power of prayer that allows healing and sustaining love.

Let us pray???.