Americans will file into their places of worship this morning to worship the god of their chosen tradition. American Christians will worship their God and pay homage to the Prince of Peace (a.k.a. Jesus Christ).
They will sing hymns, offer prayers, and listen to sermons, all the while hoping that things will change for the better or that the next mass shooting will not occur in their town or village or city or community.
But it just may, and this is the reality in which we all live.
Our country is becoming more and more dangerous in which to live and work. Fathers go to work each day not really knowing if it’s the day they will be shot and killed.
Mothers will take their little children to schools or to the bus stop not knowing if this is the day another Sandy Hook will occur.
Americans will go to malls or shopping centers or even Walmart not knowing if this will be their last shopping trip.
All the while unstable and angry shooters are plotting and planning their next attack. It’s frightening. It’s alarming to be sure.
America is undergoing a spiritual crisis not seen in many years.
It is indeed a "sickness unto death."
America is devolving into a moral and spiritual sickness devoid of any serious Gospel influence. The values so clearly taught by Jesus are either ignored or reinterpreted to fit into a particular political platform or an ideological point of view.
My prayer this morning is that as Americans file into their places of worship they will encounter the God of grace and the Lord of peace, joy, and love. They will encounter the life-changing values of the Gospel contained, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount and make them their standard-bearing platform upon which to live their lives.
Maybe, in the words of author Gregory Boyd, it's time to "crucify the Warrior God" image of popular imagination.
Otherwise, I am afraid, we are all doomed!
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