Tragic Events in Buffalo, NY

May 16, 2022

This weekend was punctuated by the horrifying news of two more racially-motivated mass shooting events in our country.  First, we learned of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York fueled by a racist worldview antithetical to God’s kingdom and the foundational principles of our school.  Still reeling, we received news of another wrenching act of hate-motivated violence at a church in Laguna Woods, California.  We are not insulated from these events; as a Christian school called to Christ-like engagement with our world, we mourn with those who mourn the agonizing loss of loved ones.

How can we as a community possibly process such a horrific event and all its meanings?  How can we respond?

Our initial inclination as Christians is to pray for those in grief, and that’s a great place to start.  Let’s pray our hearts out.  Let’s invite the Holy Spirit to touch us with empathy so that we can share in the victims’ grief and cry out on their behalf.

Then, let’s take another step in prayer.  Let’s pray, as our Savior taught us, that His kingdom would come and His will would be done: not in some future paradise, but on earth – in Buffalo; in Laguna Woods; in our country; in greater Boston; in our own hearts and minds – as it is in Heaven.  His Kingdom represents His reign, in which all things are made new, the weak made strong, the humble exalted, the last made first, and the mourning comforted.  Thy kingdom come, oh Lord!  His will was to create all people in His image with equal dignity and beauty; to unite His children into one Body; to draw people “of every nation, tribe, people, and language” to worship Him together.  May your will be accomplished, oh Lord!  The Lord’s prayer is a bold prayer.  Let’s pray it boldly.

Then, let’s take yet another step together.  As we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth, let’s offer ourselves anew as His instruments for those purposes – to become, in new ways, the Lord’s answer to that very prayer.  He has given us what we need: hope in His resurrection; the presence of the Holy Spirit; love that drives out fear; and clear instructions to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly” with Him.  

So, let’s orient our lives ever more closely to His purposes.  In keeping with our school’s mission, let’s equip ourselves and our students not only with the knowledge and skills necessary to exert influence and change our world, but also with the spiritual maturity, character, and vision to deploy all of that knowledge and skill for the advancement of Biblical shalom in the cities to which we have been sent (Jeremiah 29:7), seeking God’s wholeness, goodness, righteousness, and justice in every sphere of society even as we preach the good news of redemption through His death and victorious resurrection.

We must acknowledge the racist worldview behind these killings for the evil it is (I Corinthians 10:5).  But more: we must offer to our broken world God’s beautiful vision of shalom, and offer to Him our very selves, courageously acting according to His good purposes.