A Time of Grieving

This has been a tough week.

On January 2nd, I wrote a prayer for peace for 2026. I reflected upon all the violence we saw in 2024, such as all the harm that was done to immigrants, the poor, and the hungry in our country. I reflected upon violence in other parts of the world as well, such as to the children of Gaza, the people of Ukraine, the bombing of foreign nations, and the killing of fishermen in the Caribbean.

So much. So much suffering. A lot of it if not conducted by our government, condoned by the administration and their followers.

My prayer was part lament and part petition, asking God for peace. Asking God to intervene. Asking for no more suffering.

I was going to publish it on January 3rd, but, instead, I woke up to the news of at least 100 Venezuelan’s dead, including civilians, and their president and his wife forcibly captured and taken to the US.

Then, on my birthday, a woman standing up for her neighbors, Renee Nicole Good, a white US citizen, was shot in the face by an ICE officer during ICE operations in Minneapolis. The administration was quick to victim-blame, saying she was trying to run over the officer, but witnesses and videos from the scene - which have gone viral - show otherwise. A video recently released of the victim show her calm and peaceful, telling the officer, "I'm not mad at you." Even if she was purposely blocking their actions to try to protect her immigrant neighbors, did she deserve to be shot in the face for that? Did she deserve to die?

If our government is shooting those who disagree with its actions, then we really are in trouble.

In case you haven't been paying attention - yes, we really are in trouble.

It continues to astound me how most of the country doesn’t seem to get that yet.

Here I was hoping that 2026 would be a new start. And yet one week in, and this is where we’re at.

What is the role of the believer during these dark times?

I keep thinking about Christians who live in countries that are antagonistic towards Christianity. Countries that are controlled by a state religion or a differing religion or where it is illegal to gather in the name of Jesus or to speak His name. How do they do it? How do they keep the faith when their brothers and sisters are being prosecuted and killed? How do they continue forward when to do so could mean they’re killed?

I remember learning in my early Christian history class how, during the first couple of centuries of the faith, Christians were routinely rounded up and dragged in to be tortured. If they refused to renounce Jesus, they were often killed in very violent and creative ways. But if they agreed to renounce their faith and sign an oath of loyalty to the emperor and his gods, then they were allowed to live.

After that emperor was no longer in power, the persecution stopped. The church questioned what to do with the believers who had signed the oath to the emperor. Many had felt signing the oath was the only way to survive, which it likely was, but in their hearts, they still believed in Jesus and still wanted to be part of the church.

Some in the church said they shouldn't be allowed back into the community. They were traitors to the faith. They remembered Jesus' words when He said, "If you deny me before man, I also will deny you before God." Others argued a counterpoint, noting that under such extreme circumstances, grace should be extended. Even if they swore an oath to the emperor and his idols, in their hearts, they still clung to Jesus.

In the end, grace won. The church found a way to reconcile people back into the community. It involved a process of penance and re-commitment.

Why is this coming to mind?

When this is all over - and one day, it will be, though it could be months or years before that happens - the church will have to reconcile with those who supported the horrors of today. With those who justified the killing and the deaths of immigrants in detention and the sending of people to third-world torture camps and the breaking up of families. With those who stayed silent and allowed illegal and immoral acts to occur, who cheered on the start of wars, and who celebrated the breaking of every commandment. 

It won't be enough to say, I just wanted a better economy or a safe border. I didn't want all this other stuff to happen.

There will need to be penance. A process of re-commitment. A time of grieving... and a time of healing. 

There's a Japanese proverb that says, If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.

If you've been on the train heading the wrong way - here is your invitation to get off. It'll be a hit to your pride to admit you've been wrong, but it'll be even harder later.

For those of us on the other train... all I can say is... keep up the faith. Keep up the prayers. Support one another. Show grace to those changing direction. And if you're going out to protest today... I know you're angry, but stay peaceful, stay safe. 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

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