Reflections on Alton Sterling, Philando Castille, and the Dallas Shooting

In light of the shooting of Alton Sterling, Philando Castille, and the officers in Dallas, ON Scripture contributors reflect on these tragic events. To continue the conversation, join us on Twitter at #ONscripture.

Rev. Eric Barreto

In times like these, our faith is tested because we are forced to be clear about we believe but also how that belief empowers us to move through a broken world with God’s grace and God’s justice as our guide.

So let’s be clear about two things at least.

First, violence is inane. The logics of violence are irrational, for violence requires the distortion of someone else's image-bearing. Violence bears its own destruction even as it will drag some to death in its wake. Violence does not make sense of the world; violence distorts the creation of God.

So, what if the opposite of violence isn't peace as much as it is a radical love that cannot bear the taking of life because the taking of life is a denial of whom God has said we are?

So, let’s also be clear about this as well: justice is not an implication of the gospel.

Justice is not an afterthought to the good new. Justice is not something we concern ourselves after we’ve been saved. Justice is the good news itself in a world turned upside down. Justice is our salvation. Justice is the very presence of God’s grace in our world.

And so, if the gospel we preach is mute in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights, then it is no longer the gospel.

If the gospel we preach cannot bear the weight of grief our neighbors are carrying, then it is not worthy of Jesus.

If all the gospel can offer are platitudes and the promise of eternal life later, then this is not the gospel of Jesus. These are empty words belied by a Roman cross and an empty tomb.

Jim Kast-Keat

Two years ago I was on vacation when I heard the news about the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO. Since then my head continues to spin, my feet continue to march, and my voice continues to chant, “Black Lives Matter.”

And now with the recent news of the murders of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and countless others who have not yet been memorialized as a hashtag, I find myself shaken up and pissed off, not to mention the senseless killing of five police officers in Dallas, TX during a peaceful protest. To borrow a phrase from organizers around the country, “The whole damn system is guilty as hell.” Or to borrow a phrase from the prophets of my faith tradition, “How long?” I am tired of seeing another person of color killed at the hands of the state.

In the coming weeks Thirty Seconds or Less will become a space for people to share reflections on the current state of America, specifically regarding police and people of color.

For more information on this project and Thirty Seconds or Less, click here.

Dr. Karyn Wiseman

Three mornings in a row we have awakened to heartbreaking news. We have heard painful stories of death, loss, and violence. We have watched again and again as names were written with hashtags beside them. We are tired.

We are tired of senseless violence. We are tired of the denial of the humanity of others by those in power and those without. We are tired of the use of guns to resolve our disputes. We are tired of the systemic racism that results in the loss of black and brown lives. We are tired of the hatred that fueled the ambush of Dallas police officers. We are tired.

But we are not alone. God is with us. God calls us to act to help change a culture where racism, violence, and hatred have taken root. God calls us to hold each other as beloved Children of God despite our differences. God calls us to work for justice in the people and systems that would rob us of our peace.

We are tired, but we’ve got work to do. And we are not alone.

Dr. Raj Nadella

I was on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai on July 7th. The man next to me, a Malaysian, had just heard news of events in Louisiana and Minnesota and asked why Blacks die so frequently at the hands of police. I didn't have a ready explanation. I don't wish I did. But his question highlighted how instances of police killing Blacks are not isolated incidents, but are part of a pattern of racial violence. They are also intrinsically connected to our nation's long history of racial oppression. As a nation, we spent significant resources building and fortifying structures of racism that surround every street--literally and metaphorically--and influence our actions. Although the individuals who commit racial violence are direct participants in it, the responsibility for such violence lies, on some level, also with our collective inability to confront our past that continues to foster trouble in the present.

We need healing. We need justice. We need a future together, one in which deaths of Blacks and police officers is not an acceptable reality. If we are to have a future together as a nation, it is imperative that we revisit our troubled history with courage, honesty, and commitment to moral values we espouse as a nation. A way to the future is through the past. There are no short cuts.

Rev. Laura Everett, Massachusetts Council of Churches

Pastoring in a time of violence and tumult*:

1. Name it. Name the particular violence and people killed. Name them by name in your prayers, in your sermon, in your newsletter. God knows every name of the dead and grieves their death; may we also.

2. Reach out to particular parishioners: congregants of color, members who are police officers, parishioners who are parents or children or loved ones of these groups. Check in on whoever it is on the front line. God knows and loves us in our particularity; may we also.

3. Reach out to colleagues: send a note to clergy colleagues of color, police chaplains, those who bear the responsibility of public ministry even as their own hearts break. Jesus sent us out two by two; who do we need to companion? Who else do we need to be in relationship with to do this work?

4. Listen: listen to the grief and pain without correcting, fixing or solving. Bear witness to the pain. Learn when to be silent and listen. Trust that God can handle it. 

5. Lament: When the time is right, find ways to lament. This may mean creating space as a host, or learning to be a guest. God gives us the tradition of public lament.

6. Rest: take enough space to be a good pastor to those who are hurting, so that you can be fully human and fully present.

* An initial list of ideas. ~ What would you add? ~ Rev. Laura

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