Nature and Mourning Death

Today was an interesting day. I spent the afternoon going on a hike and the evening mourning the death of victims of some recent homicides.

Cut to this evening. I meet with a group on Tuesday nights called Access which is dedicated to spiritual formation and engaging in poverty. There have recently been some people on the periphery of our group who have been the victims of homicide. Tonight we gathered to mourn these deaths and to reclaim the places of tragedy as places of peace. It was a very powerful evening for me.

We gathered outside the Denver Rescue Mission and stated that we recognized that somebody was killed here and that this was a moment of injustice and a failure of peace. We stated as a group that we were reclaiming this spot as a place for peace and justice and would do our best to bring Jesus to this city, and to this place, so that these things do not happen as much.

As I stood in this location in the middle of the city of Denver so much made sense to me. I felt like if Jesus were here today (and please don't say "Jesus is everywhere") I mean if He was walking around in Denver today, I feel like He would have been there. Right by all of the drug addicts, where people were being killed, where women are prostituting themselves, etc...

It was interesting to contrast this with how I spent my morning hiking. I love seeing God in nature and wondering what He was thinking when He created that mountain, how he came up with the color blue for the sky, are there other spots in nature that God created that no person will ever touch?

But when I was in the city is where I felt Jesus. That's where Jesus is. At the end of the day I came up with the thought that God shows us beauty and we can worship Him in all of His creation, but Jesus came here to show us how to live. It's great to go see God in nature, but Jesus would probably be hanging out in the city most of the time.

Bin Laden

Lots of emotions right now. I don't expect to win over everybody with what I am going to write. As soon as the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced I felt very strange. As I watched people celebrate in the streets of DC (on the news) something didn't feel right.

Celebrating the fact that somebody was killed just doesn't seem like something Jesus would have us do.

I think what I found most interesting was the fact that we were so thankful that no Americans were harmed in this operation. I don't think that God looks at Americans and is happy that they survived any more than He is happy when somebody from Saudi Arabia or anywhere else lives to see another day. We are all people of God. There is no American or Pakistani. There is only those that God loves.

I stole this piece of scripture from Megan Duhon's facebook.

Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn't it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right - really living? -Ezekiel 18:23

And this piece from Richard Doe's

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.” Proverbs 24:17

It sucks when somebody is killed. My heart hurts right now.

One thing I do want to add is that I am very happy to see that more people are reacting negatively to the celebration of this death than positively.